Recordings Review: This Guy in the House of Love

The 1963 Herbert von Karajan Tannhäuser on DG.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Hans Beirer as Tannhäuser, Vienna, 1963.
Photo © 1998 Deutsche Grammophon/UMG/Archives of the Vienna State Opera.

In his five decades on the podium, the late Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan committed nine of the ten "canon" Wagner operas to disc. He made studio recordings with Berlin, Vienna and Dresden, releasing these performances for EMI Classics (Tristan, Lohengrin, Dutchman, Meistersinger) and Deutsche Grammophon (Parsifal and the Ring.) The missing opera was Tannh äuser, a work which eludes any sort of definitive set-in-stone interpretation. In 1998, this recording was finally released on DG. If you can find an import copy of this recording, you can finally hear Karajan's take on Wagner's most problematic mature work.

Recordings Review: The Hero on the Podium

Christian Thielemann is the star of this new Vienna Ring.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Getting the point: Siegfried (Stephen Gould) swears on Hagen's (Erik Halfvarson) spear in
Act II of Götterdämmerung from the Vienna State Opera. These performances are the
basis for the new CD cycle conducted by Christian Thielemann.

Any recording of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen is a major artistic statement. When you're the Vienna State Opera, whose orchestra members recorded the first studio cycle of the operas (as the Vienna Philharmonic under the late Georg Solti), that statement must be of the utmost profundity. After all, the "Solti Ring" from 1958-1964 remains the industry standard for opera recordings and stereo demonstration, and features an all-star cast from the silver age of 20th century Wagner singing.

DVD Review: Come for the Opera, (Stay for the Pizza!)

Don Carlos from the Vienna State Opera

Don Carlos (Ramon Vargas) and Princess Eboli (Nadja Michael)
celebrate the imminent arrival of pizza in Peter Konwitschny's Don Carlos.
Photo © 2004 Vienna State Opera/Arthaus Musik

This two-DVD set, filmed in 2005 at the Vienna State Opera, is the first visual record of a performance of the complete original version of Verdi's Don Carlos. Sung in French by a mostly idiomatic cast and led by the talented French conductor Bertrand de Billy, this is fascinating to watch if you're an aficionado of the frequently performed 1883 revision of the opera, or a lover of Verdi in general. But the clever production is sometimes undercut by a middling cast.

Don Carlos is Verdi's third and final attempt to write a French grand opera. It premiered in 1867, in the wake of works by Halévy and Meyerbeer. But the excessive length of the original version (these discs run just over four hours) led the composer to trim the opening chorus with the woodcutters in the forest of Fontainebleau. Further cuts over the years included the beginning of Act III, the lengthy ballet, and a chorus of inquisitors in the last act. Verdi revised the opera heavily in 1884, cutting the first act entirely and using Italian translation of the original book. Today, many companies restore the first act, an idea Verdi approved in 1886.

This is a good (not great) cast. Ramón Vargas holds his own, singing lyrically through the title role. He sings "Je le vieux" when lying prone, (very Homer Simpson) but hits the notes. As Elisabeth, Iano Tamar lacks bloom at the very top of her range, but improves for her touching Act V showpiece. Bo Skovhus is yet another skilled lieder singer tackling Rodrigue. He overacts, but sounds good in his three duets with Mr. Vargas.