Bayreuther Festspiele series

“If the recording of the live performance had been on CD, I would have been mainly enthusiastic. Andris Nelsons is the most promising Wagner conductor I have heard for a long time, and his account of this glowing, radiant score is broad. The singing is good, too, with a lovely Elsa from Annette Dasch, and a Lohengrin who has magnificent moments.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2012 **

“This is a rather special Lohengrin...the spacious Bayreuth sound is moulded with exceptional tonal refinement and richness of colour...Vogt has more than enough stamina and vocal authority to sustain the role. All six solo singers are musically excellent and dramatically persuasive, with Petra Lang's excoriating Ortrud and Georg Zeppenfeld's grave yet warm-toned King Henry particularly memorable...The general air of conviction owes much to the excellent cinematography” Gramophone Magazine, October 2012

“If the recording of the live performance had been on CD, I would have been mainly enthusiastic. Andris Nelsons is the most promising Wagner conductor I have heard for a long time, and his account of this glowing, radiant score is broad. The singing is good, too, with a lovely Elsa from Annette Dasch, and a Lohengrin who has magnificent moments.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2012 **

“This is a rather special Lohengrin...the spacious Bayreuth sound is moulded with exceptional tonal refinement and richness of colour...Vogt has more than enough stamina and vocal authority to sustain the role. All six solo singers are musically excellent and dramatically persuasive, with Petra Lang's excoriating Ortrud and Georg Zeppenfeld's grave yet warm-toned King Henry particularly memorable...The general air of conviction owes much to the excellent cinematography” Gramophone Magazine, October 2012

“In appearance and textual delivery Vogt is ideal, but his sweet, plaintive voice doesn't ring on top...Vogt hasn't an ideal legato style either, but his tenderness is extremely affecting...[Lang is] directed into overacting, but she sigs passionately into the text and for this role has transformed her mezzo into a bright-toned dramatic soprano. Bayreuth's incomparable chorus really deserves a medal for its performance here.” International Record Review, September 2012

“The sets, reflecting the blue-grey and orange hues of the Festspielhaus foyer, create some striking stage pictures...Botha as Siegmund is ungainly, yet gives this dark character unusual innocence and a voice both clarion and lyrical...Edith Haller's creamy-voiced Sieglinde is even more heartfelt...Albert Dohmen's voice isn't large, but delivery and acting make him a powerful Wotan.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2011 ****

“[Botha] is outstanding throughout as Siegmund...Dorst's production, and this filming of it, are at their best in the latter stages of Act 3 and the result is a powerful and affecting account of one of The Ring's greatest episodes...there's nothing obscure or understated about Thielemann's galvanising presence in the pit and seeing its effect on his singers in Act 3 makes these DVDs even more recommendable than the original CDs.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2011

“[Botha] cuts an ungainly figure but sings Siegmund just about perfectly; there's power to spare, he sings off the text, his soft singing is appropriate and touching. Haller has a warm sound and uses legato like a bel cantist; the occasional high note may fly sharp but she's exciting and committed...Thielemann and the Bayreuth Orchestra create a ravishing wall of sound and not a moment is less that aurally stunning: one listens, agape.” International Record Review, April 2011

“The sets, reflecting the blue-grey and orange hues of the Festspielhaus foyer, create some striking stage pictures...Botha as Siegmund is ungainly, yet gives this dark character unusual innocence and a voice both clarion and lyrical...Edith Haller's creamy-voiced Sieglinde is even more heartfelt...Albert Dohmen's voice isn't large, but delivery and acting make him a powerful Wotan.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2011 ****

“[Botha] is outstanding throughout as Siegmund...Dorst's production, and this filming of it, are at their best in the latter stages of Act 3 and the result is a powerful and affecting account of one of The Ring's greatest episodes...there's nothing obscure or understated about Thielemann's galvanising presence in the pit and seeing its effect on his singers in Act 3 makes these DVDs even more recommendable than the original CDs.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2011

“[Botha] cuts an ungainly figure but sings Siegmund just about perfectly; there's power to spare, he sings off the text, his soft singing is appropriate and touching. Haller has a warm sound and uses legato like a bel cantist; the occasional high note may fly sharp but she's exciting and committed...Thielemann and the Bayreuth Orchestra create a ravishing wall of sound and not a moment is less that aurally stunning: one listens, agape.” International Record Review, April 2011

“this production revolves around Beckmesser, and Michael Volle puts in an exceptional performance...I would urge even the sceptics to take this production seriously...A complex and troubling but also consummate and satisfying experience: even on DVD it leaves a lasting impression.” Classical Review, 9th November 2010

“Katharina Wagner at first presents Walther von Stolzing as a paint-spraying performance artist and Beckmesser as a retentive, Reclam-photocopying pedant...This nicely observed updating would be enough to sustain some productions for a whole evening. But, for Katharina Wagner, this is just the tip of the iceberg...as all stage productions should be, this is 200 per cent a Meistersinger to see.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2011

“[Volle's Beckmesser] is so consistently alert, so wary of traditional caricature, so mellifluous in sound, and so well acted that it is, in fact, almost plausible to see him as the opera's hero...Franz Hawlata is a refreshingly youthful Sachs (which makes the Sachs-Eva-Walther triangle more affecting)” International Record Review, March 2011