Richard Wagner

One of the greatest and most revolutionary composers of the nineteenth century, Richard Wagner transformed the realm of musical drama. Years before his towering successes of the Ring Cycle, Tristan und Isolde and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, he wrote the now lesser‐performed The Flying Dutchman, an opera that marks the beginning of Wagner’s mature works.

The opera – premiered in Dresden in 1843 – is based on Heinrich Heine’s telling of the legend in which the captain of a ghostly vessel, The Flying Dutchman, is doomed to roam the seas for all eternity until he wins the love of a woman. The fate of the Dutchman is said to have struck Wagner as a mirror image of his own disastrous fate in Paris; having expected the city to hail him as a genius, he was left bitterly disappointed. From the outset, the overture depicts the vast expanse of the rolling sea and hints at the despair that is to come, while weaving together other leitmotifs that will reoccur later in the work.

Other highlights include Senta’s heartfelt ballad from Act II, the Dutchman’s soliloquy ‘Die Frist ist um’ and the raucous shanty that is the Sailors’ Chorus. The role of the Dutchman is sung by legendary lyric baritone Dietrich Fischer‐ Dieskau, described by The Guardian as ‘the most influential singer of the 20th century’. Playing his love interest, Senta, is Marianne Schech, while Gottlob Frick takes the role of her father. The soloists are supported by the Chor der deutschen Staatsoper Berlin and the Staatskapelle Berlin, conducted by Franz Konwitschny.

Legendary soprano Kirsten Flagstad is featured on this super budget re-issue in 10 songs by Grieg, Dido’s lament from Purcell’s most famous opera and Wagnerian scenes from Tannhauser, Tristan und Isolde and Götterdämmerung .

Rudolph Kempe conducts this 1962 Bayreuth performance of Die Walküre with a top line up of soloists.

By the time Solti came to record Tristan und Isolde in 1960, he had already recorded Das Rheingold , the first installment of his Decca Ring Cycle. Solti had come to be ranked amongst the foremost Wagner interpreters of his day, and his recordings were in demand worldwide.

The Solti/Decca story would continue to create great recordings for almost three decades more. The recordings on this keenly priced boxed set are a vital early chapter in the story, important in their own right and a harbinger of so much more to come.

Celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of the Opera de Montreal with a stunning two disc set (at the price of one), the Directors said about this release: “Our great annual celebration of opera gives us the opportunity to present a magnificent showcase of Canadian talent. Brought together on the same stage are some of our finest voices who, along with the Orchestre Metropolitain conducted by Alain Trudel, perform some of the most beautiful arias and ensembles in the repertoire.”

CD 1 rolls off with The Ride of the Valkyries, CD 2 with The Flying Dutchman Overture – there’s over 150 minutes of Wagner on this star compilation.

Of course, Wagner also wrote big ballads as well, so there’s the Siegfried Idyll, the Tristan Prelude and Liebestod and the ethereal Prelude to Lohengrin

The big names are there, above all Karajan, Böhm, Kubelik and Jochum. It’s a mainly orchestral set, with just the Lohengrin Bridal Chorus and two extracts from The Ring (conducted by Karajan) to remind you that Wagner was writing operas.

The perfect Wagner starter-set!