Tristan und Isolde

[Lethevich]

Decca should have never sold the distribution rights of the Keilberth '55 to Testament!

To be fair, no other label would have done so good a job with it in terms of restoration and documentation, and with a discovery like this it deserves the best - not some shabby job (which sadly even Decca would've done nowadays). It's down to around £100 now, and presumably will creep lower. Considering how high Decca have been selling the Solti ring for ever since its release, it's not all bad...

[Lisztianwagner]

Hello all,

I am rather ashamed to say that I am yet to listen to my first Wagner opera in full! But my time has come now to start my Wagnerian journey and I have decided to start with 'Tristan und Isolde' after being absolutely amazed by the beauty and passion in a variety of excerpts I have heard. I would like some help though in choosing a good recording, so please comment away with your favourite recordings of the work. Is it Karajan? Furtwangler? Solti? Barenboim? Pappano? Kleiber? Bohm? Bernstein? Thielemann?

Thank you!     
Best Wishes,










Daniel

p.s Apologies if this topic has already been raised, but I couldn't find it...

That's great, it's very hard to find another opera which could compete with "Tristan und Isolde" for intensity, harmonic richness, sensuality and colourful orchestration!
I suggest Furtwangler's version with the Philharmonia Orchestra, the rising, emotional intensity of his conducting style catchs the wagnerian ideal of the infinite melody.
Also Karajan's Tristan is excellent, and of course there's the Berlin Phil 

But you've got "Der Fliegende Hollander", haven't you taken a listen to it yet?!?

Don't forget to look for both the Ring Cycle and Parsifal in future as well, they're absolutely worth listening to

Ilaria

[Brahmsian]

Don't forget to look for both the Ring Cycle and Parsifal in future as well, they're absolutely worth listening to

Ilaria

Absolutely correct!   

The famous Solti Ring cycle turned me into a Wagner fan!  I love it so much, I listened to the entire Siegfried opera twice in one day, while out fishing in Ontario!    

The Karajan/BP Parsifal is outstanding!

[Lisztianwagner]

Absolutely correct!   

The famous Solti Ring cycle turned me into a Wagner fan!  I love it so much, I listened to the entire Siegfried opera twice in one day, while out fishing in Ontario!    

The Karajan/BP Parsifal is outstanding!

Definitely agree!

I may say that the same thing happened to me with Karajan Ring Cycle! Hahaha, it's really surprising you listened Siegfried twice, you were in a good company before finishing in Ontario Well, when I listened to Wagner's music for the first time, I listened to "Das Rheingold", "Die Walkure" and the first act of "Siegfried" on end in the same day, I coudn't stop myself!

Yeah, Karajan's Parsifal is the best version of that opera I've ever heard! Knappertsbusch made a great recording at the Bayreth Festival too, but pity the sound quality is not perfect.

Ilaria

[madaboutmahler]

That's great, it's very hard to find another opera which could compete with "Tristan und Isolde" for intensity, harmonic richness, sensuality and colourful orchestration!
I suggest Furtwangler's version with the Philharmonia Orchestra, the rising, emotional intensity of his conducting style catchs the wagnerian ideal of the infinite melody.
Also Karajan's Tristan is excellent, and of course there's the Berlin Phil 

But you've got "Der Fliegende Hollander", haven't you taken a listen to it yet?!?

Don't forget to look for both the Ring Cycle and Parsifal in future as well, they're absolutely worth listening to

Ilaria

Hello Ilaria
Thank you for your comments, I knew that you suggest Karajan! I can imagine Furtwangler would be amazing as well!
Yes, I think I would rather start with Tristan than Der Fliegende Hollander, I think I would enjoy Tristan more as I believe it has more emotional power and beauty. I imagine that Tristan would be a much more mature work than Der Fliegende Hollander.

I shall definitely be listening to the Ring and Parsifal sometime in the future.
Have a nice day, Ilaria
Daniel

[Todd]

How much better is the 1955 than the 1952 Keilberth?

Quite a bit.  Aside from markedly superior sound, the singing is better in many key roles and the band plays better.  The 52 ain't at all bad though.

[Lisztianwagner]

Hello Ilaria
Thank you for your comments, I knew that you suggest Karajan! I can imagine Furtwangler would be amazing as well!
Yes, I think I would rather start with Tristan than Der Fliegende Hollander, I think I would enjoy Tristan more as I believe it has more emotional power and beauty. I imagine that Tristan would be a much more mature work than Der Fliegende Hollander.

I shall definitely be listening to the Ring and Parsifal sometime in the future.
Have a nice day, Ilaria
Daniel

There's nothing you can do about it, I'm an extreme Karajan's fan! 
But Furtwangler's Tristan is even better than the Karajan's one; if you could find it at a good price, it would be absolutely great.

Yes, I perfectly understand, and I agree: it would be better to start with one of Wagner's masterpieces, where music goes so far as to touch the peak of beauty. 
It goes without repeating what I think about Tristan und Isolde

I can't remember who is the conductor of your Der Fliegende Hollander, who are the performers?

Ilaria

[madaboutmahler]

There's nothing you can do about it, I'm an extreme Karajan's fan! 
But Furtwangler's Tristan is even better than the Karajan's one; if you could find it at a good price, it would be absolutely great.

Yes, I perfectly understand, and I agree: it would be better to start with one of Wagner's masterpieces, where music goes so far as to touch the peak of beauty. 
It goes without repeating what I think about Tristan und Isolde

I can't remember who is the conductor of your Der Fliegende Hollander, who are the performers?

Ilaria

haha Well, Karajan certainly is amazing in the Wagner performances I have heard of his, mainly the overtures/preludes!
Is this the Furtwangler recording you are talking about? I can get it very cheap off amazon, only £10!

[asin]B0001E8C14[/asin]

The recording I have of Der Fliegende Hollander is the Vienna Phil/Dohnanyi with Hale and Behrens.

Daniel

[Lisztianwagner]

haha Well, Karajan certainly is amazing in the Wagner performances I have heard of his, mainly the overtures/preludes!
Is this the Furtwangler recording you are talking about? I can get it very cheap off amazon, only £10!

[asin]B0001E8C14[/asin]

The recording I have of Der Fliegende Hollander is the Vienna Phil/Dohnanyi with Hale and Behrens.

Daniel

Exactly, the Furtwangler 
Only £10?? How beautiful!!! I hope it is the remastered version, because Furtwangler recorded Tristan in the fifthies, and I'm not sure the original version has an excellent sound quality....

I've never listened to the Vienna Phil/Dohnanyi.

Ilaria

[madaboutmahler]

Exactly, the Furtwangler 
Only £10?? How beautiful!!! I hope it is the remastered version, because Furtwangler recorded Tristan in the fifthies, and I'm not sure the original version has an excellent sound quality....

I've never listened to the Vienna Phil/Dohnanyi.

Ilaria

Yes, I was surprised to see it so inexpensive! I think this is the remastered version, yes.

Daniel

[Jaakko Keskinen]

I have had interesting progression with Tristan. On first listenings, I liked Tristan's act 1 best. Now I admit it has its longueurs. As I matured, my favorite act changed to II, having so intense love music it could almost be called pornographic. But now, I probably deem act III as the greatest. The high strings portraying the open sea, devoid of any ships, are sublime. Tone painting at its finest.

My first (and possibly, along with Solti's, my favorite) recording of Tristan was that of Carlos Kleiber, with Rene Kollo as Tristan and Margaret Price as Isolde. For me, Price was perfect Isolde. Never really reminded me of Mozartian, that singing voice of hers.

[knight66]

Up to a point the following recording might be considered specialist.

Vickers, Nilsson, Berry, Rundgren, Ruth Hesse, ORTF Nat Orch, Bohm Orange live recording 1971 Opera D'Oro label.

I have been on a Tristan splurge recently adding a live Karajan, this recording and the studio Goodall to the eight or so I already had. The reason this might not be for the mainstream listener is the sonics. Although for the most part the participants are quite well caught, the sound is dry. The mistral was blowing and the gusts are picked up. It sounds like a storm, no doubt simply exagerated by the equipment. However, in this outdoor opera that takes place on ship and shore, the sound in some ways adds to the drama. But some may not appreciate it.

With that caveat taken care of, I recommend this as one of the most dramatic and best sung versions I have heard. Vickers is pretty much ideal, just as on the Karajan studio discs, but with a bit more wildness in Act 3....yes, even more of the madness, anguish and the hallucinatory. Nilsson is her tireless self, more overtly involved than in the other live version with Bohm with Windgassen. The two protagonists do not just stand and give it large. Despite being outdoors in an amphitheatre there is lots of subtlty and soft singing. All three acts are highly successful. Bohm sweeps the whole thing along; never really being a lingerer. It does not however sound rushed. The orchestra does very well,but it obviously does not sound like the Berlin Phil in a studio.

The other parts are perfectly well taken without being outstanding.

For drama and commitment and involvement it is difficult to beat.

Mike

[Jo498]

I have that Orange Tristan on early 1990s (Rodolphe) discs and it say July 7th 1973. It's been a while that I listened to it but it was my first recording of the piece almost 25 years ago and the sound is pretty good stereo, albeit with some disturbances by the wind (and within the first few minutes of the prelude some people in the audience seem to get into a fight, maybe latecomers or so). It has a slight (supposedly standard) cut in the 2nd act.

I am very far from an expert on that music and I do not even know whether the opera d'oro has worse or better sound. But I can recommend my issue with confidence. The minor sound issues hardly distract from the gripping performance.

[Todd]

I have a DVD of the Orange production.  The sound is poor, the set is terrible, and the video quality is abysmal.  The performance, though, is superb, and Vickers in Act III is insanely good.  Seeing him act out the anguish of Tristan as he sings adds an extra dimension.  Great stuff.

[Jo498]

I am not completely sure but I think I read somewhere that the sound on the CD issue is considerably better than on the DVD. I might even have compared uploaded tracks with parts of it with someone years ago but I do not remember details - I do remember that I discussed this with someone online. Maybe someone here has actually both CD and DVD.

That's a picture of the issue I have

http://www.ebay.de/itm/KARL-BOHM-Nilsson-Vickers-WAGNER-Tristan-und-Isolde-3-CD-Set/262289252884?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140117130753%26meid%3D7f6748d2bb824926af76a33a7a9a777e%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D390581050133

[knight66]

I have read that the DVD is from two years later, so the sound etc may well be different. What I have is OK and better than a later Covent Garden Rosenkavalier I got at the same time. So for me the sound quality of the Tristan is perfectly serviceable.

Mike

Checking Amazon, the DVD is described as being 1973, but whether the various dates are accurate, I would not know. All the soloists are the same on DVD and on CD.

[ritter]

The current Bayreuth production of Tristan und Isolde, directed by Katharina Wagner and conducted by Christian Thielemann, will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray by Deutsche Grammophon in July: