The Last Ring, Part I: Das Rheingold and Die Walküre

James Morris as Wotan.
The Metropolitan Opera opened its final performance of its famous Otto Schenk/Gunther Schneider-Siemsen Ring cycle on Monday night with a definitive Das Rheingold. Too often, the Met Rheingold has felt like a perfunctory exercise in stagecraft. But from the mysterious opening notes of the Prelude to the majestic final "Entrance into Valhalla", this was a Rheingold that stood on its own merits. James Levine conducted with drawn-out tempos that exposed fresh textures in the score.

The cast was excellent. Most notable was the marvelous, nasty Alberich of Richard Paul Fink, complete with an old-style bone-chilling laugh after he stole the gold. James Morris, in what may have been his last Wotan at the Met, gave a resonant, finely acted performance. Face it folks, this is role that this capable American bass-baritone could sing with patches over both eyes. Two once-and-future Wotans--Rene Pape (Fasolt) and John Tomlinson (Fafner)--made a magnificent pair of giants. Kim Begley was a high-energy Loge, bounding about the stage and singing with a pleasing, lyrical character tenor--somehting that does not always happen with this part.

James Levine set a very slow tempo that brought fresh orchestral textures to the ear. His orchestra played like gods, from the lush carpet of strings to the firm, ringing brass. Even the odd sound effects (the anvils, the thunder-strike) that can make or break a Rheingold worked on Monday night.

The major hitch on Tuesday came when the stage manager announced that Placido Domingo was not feeling well, and asked our indulgence. Halfway through the first act of Walküre, the singer stepped off stage right, had a coughing fit and was quickly replaced by tenor Gary Lehman, who was in costume and ready to take over. This was the only hitch in a thrilling performance that stood as companion piece to the Rheingold of the previous evening.

Linda Watson was a thrilling Brunnhilde, with soaring high "Hojotoho's" and an emotionally sensitive portrayal of Wotan's favorite daughter. James Morris was in top form, injecting real pathos as he sang Wotan's Farewell, more so because this Ring may be his own farewell to Valhalla. As Sieglinde, Adrienne Pieczonka was free of mannerism and affect. Despite the first-act hitch, she had good chemistry in the second with Gary Lehman. Yvonne Naef was a stern, compelling Fricka. Finally, Rene Pape was a marvelous, slimy Hunding--his two fine performances this week make one regret his two onstage deaths.

Classical Music 101: Building a Music Collection

Five Tips For Getting Your Hands on the Best Recordings




Price: How Much Should You Pay?
Classical music CDs have traditionally been divided into three price levels: "Full" price ($15-$18/disc), "Mid-price" ($10-$12/disc) and "Budget Price" ($8 and below.) Some stores can charge lower prices because they don't have to pay rent, or they are selling promotional items or other gently-used products. Used CD stores (not many of these left) will sometimes allow shoppers to bring a portable CD player to check the discs before buying, but this is rare. More recently, super-budget labels (like Brilliant Classics and Gala Records) have been releasing venerable performances at super-budget prices.


Format: Vinyl, CDs, or MP3s?
Most collectors swear by the original vinyl for the sheer quality of sound. However, vinyl records are bulky, hard to maintain, and require a good system with a turntable. They're also hard to find, as many vinyl recordings were deleted from shops as the industry switched over to cheaper, easier to manufacture CDs. Most classical music is available on CD, from Bach's solo violin pieces to the Wagner's grandiose Ring Cycle. CDs are a good place to start. Unfortunately the CD Database (CDDB) is notably inconsistent when it comes to generating names and track titles of classical and opera MP3s, making music in this format hard to find.

Performance: Choosing the Artist
There is a bewildering array of performances and repertory available. Start with the basics--the 1962 Beethoven symphonies conducted by Herbert von Karajan, or the works of Debussy or Stravinsky led by Ernst Ansermet. Sometimes older is better--most recordings made before the CD boom are of very high quality, and you can save some money, get better recordings, and develop a really fine collection. Research is recommended: the Penguin Guide, the Rough Guide to Classical Music or the Gramophone Good CD Guide are all good places to start. Read the internet, the classical music blogs, or best of all, talk to the senior clerk in a large record store.

Analog vs. Digital vs. Remastered
When an older, analog recording (that is one made with ordinary tape and originally issued on vinyl) is burned onto a CD, there is always some decay of the signal as it is re-written ("remastered") for the digital format. Some decay also happens when a recording is issued as an MP3. Ironically, some of the recent "budget" series released by the major labels (DG Originals, Decca Original Masters, EMI Great Recordings of the 20th Century, etc.) combine a classic recording with a low price and scintillating digital sound. Seek these recordings and performances out.



"Period Performance" vs. Modern Instruments
In the 1970s and '80s, the trend emerged where conductors and performers would play works on authentic or replica instruments from the 18th century. Wooden flutes, finger-hole clarinets, and "natural" horns all have very different sounds from their modern orchestral equivalents, and this is something to take into account when shoping for a recording. Also, some conductors like to use "metronome markings" found in the score, which often results in Mozart that you can pace off with an egg-timer. Many of these so-called "period" performances have great artistic value, but they may not be what you are listening for if you are just starting out.

Recording Recommendations: Five Fabulous Figaros

Hermann Prey as Figaro. Album cover © 1968 Deutsche Grammophon.

As I am slowly working my way through Brilliant Classics' Complete Mozart Edition, I thought this would be a good time to talk about one of the greatest comic operas ever written, Le Nozze di Figaro. With many recording on the market, it can be confusing for the consumer, especially since those great havens of wisdom--record stores--are disappearing from our urban landscape faster than Kathleen Battle from the Metropolitan Opera roster. Better yet, none of these are full price recordings, except for the Gardiner, which is due for a cheap-o DG Collector's Edition reissue one of these days.


Anyway, to launch a new semi-regular feature here at the blog, we are going to look at five recommended recordings of this great opera, in chronological order. Next week, we'll do another. And so on. Enjoy!

Vienna Philharmonic cond. Erich Leinsdorf. (Decca 1955)
Studio recording.
The heavyweight champion. Finally given a proper CD mastering in 1999, this effervescent performance by the senior Kleiber with the Vienna Philharmonic is anchored by a phenomenal cast, which includes Hilde Gueden, Cesare Siepi and Fernando Corena. And did we mention the Goddess of Vienna, Lisa della Casa, radiant yet mournful as Mozart's Countess.




Chor und Orchester der Deutsches Oper Berlin cond. Karl Böhm (DG, 1968)
Studio recording.
With Hermann Prey as Figaro and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as Almaviva, this German-flavored recording has a pair of very strong leads. Rich comic timing, crisp, nimble performances and a great Mozartean at the helm. A loveable Figaro and the first one I reach for. And with a cast that includes Gundula Janowitz, Edith Mathis and Tatiana Troyanos, can you blame me?


Drottingholm Court Orchestra and Chorus cond. Arnold Östman. (L'oiseau-lyre 1988, now Decca)
Live recording.
Originally pressed on Decca's now-defunct period label L'oiseau-lyre this was the first Figaro on period instruments. Östman is a sure hand at the podium, leading his radically reduced orchestra and a fresh cast (featuring future superstar Barbara Bonney) through a complete performance of this opera. Includes an appendix with the often cut arias for Basilio and Marcellina in the final act. A marathon Figaro but a satisfying experience. Currently available (with three of Östman's other Mozart recordings) as a super-bargan box set from Decca.

1994: English Baroque Soloists cond. John Eliot Gardiner. (DG Archiv 1994)
Live recording.
Gardiner's fussy, quicksilver conducting dominates this live recording made at the Theatre du Chatelet and filmed for release on VHS and DVD. In fact, this was one of the first opera DVDs released by DG back in 2000. The recorded debut of Bryn Terfel as Figaro, alongside a strong cast of future stars that includes Rodney Gilfrey and Alison Hagley. Pamela Helen Stephen is an excellent Cherubino. Hillevi Martinpelto gives an emotional, carefully weighted portrait of the Countess, the perfect, irresistible compliment to the macho bluster of the two male leads.

La Petit Bande cond. Sigiswald Kukijen. (Brilliant, recorded 1998)
Currently available in the Complete Mozart Edition, Brilliant Classics
This is a finely-balanced recording that is currently available as part of the mammoth Complete Mozart Edition from Brilliant Classics. Recorded in Belgium, it features period playing of exceptional clarity and beauty from Le Petit Bande, and a cast of mostly unknown singers that excel in the opera's complicated ensembles. Well-recorded and well performed, with excellent choral singing. When the audience applauds at the end of Act I, it's a pleasant shock as there is little stage noise.

Opera Review: No One Here Gets Out Alive

Il Trovatore at the Met.
by Paul Pelkonen

Detail from Pilgrimage to St. Isidro's hermitage by Francisco Goya, used as the show-curtain in the current Met production of Il Trovatore.

The new David McVicar staging of Il Trovatore is the perfect fuel for Verdi's fiery drama. It may not meet the Enrico Caruso standard of "the four greatest singers in the world," but last night, Marcelo Àlvarez, Sondra Radvanovsky, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Dolora Zajick came pretty close.

The dramatic excesses of Trovatore make perfect sense in McVicar's wasteland staging. Past Met productions of this opera (most recently, the unmitigated, never-revived Graham Vick disaster of the 2000 season) chose to mock the excesses of Salvatore Cammarano's superb libretto. But this production (inspired by the late "black" paintings of Goya) embraces them, creating a war-torn wasteland dominated by a giant depiction of Christ tortured on the cross.

The bleak, rotating set (by Charles Edwards) consists of crumbling walls and damaged iron gratings, not to mention a huge witch-burning stake that echoes the upstage crucifix and reminds the audience of the opera's central tragedy of mistaken identity. In this hell-world, the forces of destiny are the only things that seem to make any sense. Everyone is doomed, and no one here gets out alive.

Libretto, sets, and staging are only a framework to hang great vocal talent upon. This production has four aces up its sleeve--all spades. Marcelo Àlvarez has evolved into a full, rich spinto tenor, fulfilling his potential with a Manrico that is equal parts bel canto singing and vocal heft. His "Di quella pira" ended on a high B, not a high C, and he did run out of breath holding it. But, he recovered nicely and hit the pitch squarely the second time. Better yet was his seductive offstage opening aria and the emotional heights of the Miserere scene.


Sondra Radvanovsky rocked the house as Leonora, one of two difficult Verdi heroines of that name. Like the Forza Leonora, Radvanovsky's character ricochets through the Spanish landscape, from lady-in-waiting to aspiring nun, blushing bride and finally, resigned suicide. Her opening "Tacea la notte" (ably aided by the restrained conducting of Gianandrea Noseda) was a gorgeous flood of sweet, creamy tone and delicate soprano filigree.

She was facile and nimble in the cabalettas: those old-fashioned high-speed arias that have flummoxed many a would-be Leonora. And her final "D'amor sull'ali rosee" drew in and involved the audience, making it seem like drinking poison (rather than marrying the baritone) was, at that point, a girl's only reasonable option.

On the other hand, Dmitri Hvorostovsky was visually and vocally gorgeous as Count di Luna, exuding the right blend of sexuality and madness that makes one question Leonora's decision to off herself rather than marry him. He cut an imposing physical and vocal figure, and floated an amazing pianissimo phrase in the middle of "Il balen del suo sorriso", a moment where lesser singers elect to blast through the notes and hope for the best. Sublime.

Despite a run of bad stagings of Trovatore (we're not even going to mention the 1980s "giant staircase" production by Ezio Frigiero), the Met has always had a great Azucena: Dolora Zajick. From "Stride la vampa" to her final confrontation with di Luna, this is one of the great portrayals in opera, filled with hysteria, horror, rage and tender moments with her "son." Zajick hit some astonishing low notes last night, and produced a solid, dramatic performance that never once veered into cliché. Neither did this superb Trovatore.