Wagner's Valhalla

Started by Greta, April 07, 2007, 08:09:57 PM

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ritter

#2120
A wonderful conclusion to your review of the Bayreuth Ring, Jens! Yes, after the curtain came down on Götterdämmerung (last year for me) one had a sense of occasion, of having experineced 15 hours of something very special (not unlike what I felt in 1979 after the final curtain on another--now classic--groundbreaking production, the oulez/Chéreau centennial Ring).




Jaakko Keskinen

Poor Erda! Wotan is no gentleman...
"Javert, though frightful, had nothing ignoble about him. Probity, sincerity, candor, conviction, the sense of duty, are things which may become hideous when wrongly directed; but which, even when hideous, remain grand."

- Victor Hugo


ritter

OpusArte is packaging all its DVDs of Bayreuth Festival productions in one single and affordable box:



The contents is (work, year, director, conductor):

Meistersinger (2008) - Katharina Wagner / Sebastian Weigle
Walküre (2008) - Tankred Dorst / Christian Thielemann
Holländer (2013) - Jan Phillip Gloger / Christian Thielemann
Lohengrin (2011) - Hans Neuenfels / Andris Nelsons
Tannhäuser (2014) - Sebastian Baumgartner / Axel Kober
Tristan (2009) - Christoph Marthaler / Peter Schneider

jlaurson

Quote from: ritter on August 12, 2015, 01:05:26 AM
OpusArte is packaging all its DVDs of Bayreuth Festival productions in one single and affordable box:


The contents is (work, year, director, conductor):

Meistersinger (2008) - Katharina Wagner / Sebastian Weigle | *** secretly ingenious... although Weigle isn't an absolutely TOP choice as a conductor. http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2012/02/holy-german-art-katharina-wagners.html

Walküre (2008) - Tankred Dorst / Christian Thielemann         | ???

Holländer (2013) - Jan Phillip Gloger / Christian Thielemann  | (*) + **** for the conducting http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2012/08/bayreuth-2012-dutchman-faltering.html

Lohengrin (2011) - Hans Neuenfels / Andris Nelsons             | ****(*) one of the finer Lohengrins of our times... and one of Neuenfels' best productions. Blocking is ingenious, rats are super-cute... http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2012/08/bayreuth-2012-lohengrin-rats-tale-about.html

Tannhäuser (2014) - Sebastian Baumgartner / Axel Kober    | *** much better than reviewed and thought-of, this Tannhaeuser has real moments. Not sure about Kober's conducting, though; myself I heard it with CT http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2012/08/bayreuth-2012-tannhauser-is-gasser.html

Tristan (2009) - Christoph Marthaler / Peter Schneider          | (*) pretty bloody boring in every way. http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2012/08/bayreuth-2012-tristan-solid-stolid.html


ritter

Once again, thanks for the excellent review, Jens! I say it's refreshing to hear a dissenting voice concerning this Tristan, because in general te German press, as well as acquaintances of mine who attended a performance, raved about the musical aspects, and were relatively positive regarding the production.

GMG member LisztianWagner was set to attend this year's festival (for the first time, IIRC). I hope she shares her thoughts as well. (Ci sei, Ilaria;) ).

As for me, I'll do my utmost to see this in 2017 (along with Parsifal, Meistersinger and--perhaps--the Castorf Ring for the second time).  :)

Regards,



Lisztianwagner

Quote from: ritter on August 22, 2015, 11:57:31 AM
GMG member LisztianWagner was set to attend this year's festival (for the first time, IIRC). I hope she shares her thoughts as well. (Ci sei, Ilaria;) ).
I was very happy to have attended the Festspiele for Tristan und Isolde; it was the first time I went to Bayreuth and it was a wonderful experience, absolutely one of the greatest emotions of my life!
I was more overwhelmed by being at the sacred temple of the wagnerian art than by the performance of the opera, the staging was too modern and completely distorting Wagner's ideas about Tristan and the Gesamtkunstwerk for me, who I love more traditional productions. The first act took place in a large room full of stairs, Tristan and Isolde seemed openly fallen in love even before drinking the love potion, which was not drunk at all; in the second act, the lovers were locked, with Kurwenal and Brangane, in a sort of mad house with strange machines, Marke was not a noble king, heart-broken by Tristan's betrayal, but he had fun to spy Tristan und Isolde; the scene of Tristan's delirium, with Isolde continuing to appear in different parts of the stage in triangles of light, was an interesting idea; but in the finale, after the Liebestod, I excpected Isolde was transfigured and died, but it didn't happened. It was horrible to see the singer singing something and acting in a completely different way.
Musically anyway, Thielemann did an excellent job, he conducted a very powerful, passionate performance; the singer were all fine, but unfortunately Evelyn Herlitzius hasn't got the right voice for Isolde in my opinion, she was too sharp in the highest notes.
"Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire." - Gustav Mahler

Jaakko Keskinen

Quote from: Lisztianwagner on September 22, 2015, 07:40:35 AM
Tristan and Isolde seemed openly fallen in love even before drinking the love potion, which was not drunk at all;

I agree with the opinion that the love potion might as well have been just plain water: they already loved each other, despite the outward coldness: it is only when they both expect to die (thinking the drink was a death potion) that they decide "Oh what the hell, let's show our emotions, it's all the same now!"
"Javert, though frightful, had nothing ignoble about him. Probity, sincerity, candor, conviction, the sense of duty, are things which may become hideous when wrongly directed; but which, even when hideous, remain grand."

- Victor Hugo

Lisztianwagner

Quote from: Alberich on September 22, 2015, 08:03:39 AM
I agree with the opinion that the love potion might as well have been just plain water: they already loved each other, despite the outward coldness: it is only when they both expect to die (thinking the drink was a death potion) that they decide "Oh what the hell, let's show our emotions, it's all the same now!"

It's a suggestive idea. Tristan and Isolde surely love each other before drinking the love potion, but they don't understand exactly what they feel, because Tristan is the perfect, loyal knight who doesn't want to betray his king, while a confused feeling of love and hate ties Isolde to Tristan (she fell in love with the knight Tantris, but then she discovered Tristan, who killed Morold, and Trantris are the same person); the love potion brings them the truth and they know one can't live without the other.
"Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire." - Gustav Mahler

ritter

Quote from: Lisztianwagner on September 22, 2015, 07:40:35 AM
I was very happy to have attended the Festspiele for Tristan und Isolde; it was the first time I went to Bayreuth and it was a wonderful experience, absolutely one of the greatest emotions of my life!
I was more overwhelmed by being at the sacred temple of the wagnerian art than by the performance of the opera, the staging was too modern and completely distorting Wagner's ideas about Tristan and the Gesamtkunstwerk for me, who I love more traditional productions. ...
Thanks fro sharing, Ilaria! Glad you enjoyed being in Bayreuth, even if the perfromance as such wasn't of your liking. As you know, I personally am sympathetic to productions that search to reinterpret Wagner's work, but won't comment on this specific one (which I've only seen on YouTube). But, vive la difference  ;)

jlaurson

Quote from: ritter on September 23, 2015, 11:48:59 PM
Thanks fro sharing, Ilaria! Glad you enjoyed being in Bayreuth, even if the perfromance as such wasn't of your liking. As you know, I personally am sympathetic to productions that search to reinterpret Wagner's work, but won't comment on this specific one (which I've only seen on YouTube). But, vive la difference  ;)

Incidentally, I also thought this wasn't a good Tristan & Isolde[/b]... alas for very different reasons from Ilaria. She would have HATED that Ring.  :D

Lisztianwagner

Quote from: jlaurson on September 24, 2015, 02:56:01 AM
Incidentally, I also thought this wasn't a good Tristan & Isolde[/b]... alas for very different reasons from Ilaria. She would have HATED that Ring.  :D

Castorf's Ring? As a matter of fact, I'm not a fan of that production.....
"Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire." - Gustav Mahler

(poco) Sforzando

"I don't know what sforzando means, though it clearly means something."

ritter

Cross-posted from the "New Releases" thread:

Quote from: ritter on October 22, 2015, 07:48:02 AM
Apparently never before released, a must (I suppose) for admirers of Hans Knapperstbusch:


....
More information here: http://www.orfeo-international.de/pages/new_176_e.html

Jaakko Keskinen

Quote from: marvinbrown on March 12, 2008, 06:08:53 AM
Wagner fans I would like to ask you how many of you are consenting that this recording is the finest recording of Tristan und Isolde ever made??

Very old quote but personally I think Carlos Kleiber's recording of Tristan from 1982 is the best one I've ever heard.
"Javert, though frightful, had nothing ignoble about him. Probity, sincerity, candor, conviction, the sense of duty, are things which may become hideous when wrongly directed; but which, even when hideous, remain grand."

- Victor Hugo

Lisztianwagner

Quote from: Alberich on December 06, 2015, 03:23:27 AM
Very old quote but personally I think Carlos Kleiber's recording of Tristan from 1982 is the best one I've ever heard.

The Kleiber is incredible, such a powerful, passionate performance; I certainly agree that's one of the best recordings of Tristan, along with the Furtwängler and the Karajan.
"Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire." - Gustav Mahler

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: Lisztianwagner on December 08, 2015, 08:26:33 AM
The Kleiber is incredible, such a powerful, passionate performance; I certainly agree that's one of the best recordings of Tristan, along with the Furtwängler and the Karajan.

I've just discovered the Goodall,  which is oft forgotten. Much more naturally recorded than the Karajan, and Linda Esther Gray is superb. Goodall's tempos tend to be slow, admittedly, but the music never drags and there is no want of power. Try it.
\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

Lisztianwagner

Quote from: Greg Mitchell on December 08, 2015, 08:32:38 AM
I've just discovered the Goodall,  which is oft forgotten. Much more naturally recorded than the Karajan, and Linda Esther Gray is superb. Goodall's tempos tend to be slow, admittedly, but the music never drags and there is no want of power. Try it.

Is it in English, like Goodall's Ring?
"Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire." - Gustav Mahler

Tsaraslondon

\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas