Penguin Guide Rosette Winners

“At one and the same time this is a beautiful Parsifal… a modern Parsifal… and a new look at Parsifal, informed by Thielemann's experience and knowledge of a great tradition. …Domingo's… commitment to the role is undiminished and his understanding of the text is superior to earlier recordings under Levine... The high-ranging vocal landscape of Kundry's final attack on Parsifal in Act 2 pushes Meier to the limit... her phrasing and characterisation are now of almost Hotter-like perception. ...the VPO are attentive and flexible to every novel requirement, the winds (a crucial part of Thielemann's sound world for this opera) a colourful and seductive joy.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2006

“…a quite remarkable performance from New Bayreuth's golden era, with an underrated conductor and truly classic cast. …Hotter's magnificent Wotan… his verbal sensitivity and expressive range make this tragically sympathetic characterisation unequalled on disc. ...the performance as a whole sounds splendid, carrying one along with immense dramatic sweep.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2006 *****

“Very properly, Hans Hotter, as Wotan, dominates this utterly absorbing and exciting account of Walküre, the second instalment of the rediscovered Keilberth Ring at Bayreuth in 1955.
There exist several other incarnations of his dominant reading but perhaps only that in the Krauss cycle of 1953 reveals him in such superb form. Whether arguing the moral toss with von Milinkovi?'s harrying Fricka, sunk in deep desolation after his capitulation to his spouse (Wotan's long narration so full of insights, not for a moment dull), his fury at Brünnhilde's disobedience and his final relenting in an unforgettable account of the Farewell, Hotter commands every aspect of the role. His sonorous, wide-ranging voice is matched by his verbal acuity, text and tone in ideal accord. This, much more than his portrayal in the Solti cycle, when his voice often struggles with the part, is the performance to judge him by.
As ever, his long-standing stage partnership with the Brünnhilde of Astrid Varnay pays many dividends. She, too, is in prime form; she, too, melds words and voice into a well-nigh perfect unity. Not even a god could fail to response positively to her appeals to be forgiven, and that follows a warmly sung and deeply considered account of the the Todesverkündigung in Act 2.
That wonderfully moving scene also finds Ramón Vinay's Siegmund in most eloquent form. As throughout the first two acts, his singing benefits from his attractively plangent tone and, in Act 1, his tale of his sad plight. That, of course, turns to ecstasy in the glorious love music that ends Act 1, where Gré Brouwenstijn's womanly, vibrant Sieglinde is a fit match. She is properly distraught and guilt-ridden in Act 2 but – as so many lyrical sopranos have found – the taxing passages in Act 3 prove a shade beyond her.
In Act 1, Keilberth's direction takes a while to catch fire. From the exciting start of Act 2 he is in his most persuasive form, he and his fine orchestra projecting the manifold events and changes of mood with a persuasively dramatic drive. The Ride of the Valkyries whizzes along, Wotan's fury is frightening, the Magic Fire music elating. Once more, he proves that this was the year his Ring came into its own.
The recording is again amazingly lifelike, catching the excitement of a notable occasion on the Green Hill. The stage noises are hardly ever distracting, nor should one be too bothered by two or three moments when a singer forgets his or her words. Altogether we are here in the highest realm of Wagnerian interpretation.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Hans Hotter's Wotan dominates this utterly absorbing and exciting account of Walküre, the second instalment of the rediscovered Keilberth Ring at Bayreuth in 1955, following on from the much-lauded Siegfried… Hotter command every aspect of the role. His sonorous, wide-ranging voice is matched by his verbal acuity, text and tone in ideal accord. ...Astrid Varnay... too, is in prime form; she, too, melds words and voice into a well nigh perfect unity.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2006

“Time and again, as I listened enraptured to this overwhelming performance, I felt as though as I was sitting in the Bayreuth stalls. …Keilberth's… command of every aspect of this vast score is unerring in balance, detail and overall Schwung. No opera house or recording has since rivalled the cast assembled here, not even the Decca set, by which time Hotter Windgassen and Neidlinger were all some 10 years older. In 1955 all three are at the peak of their form and - singing live rather than in the studio - are that much more involved and involving. Don't take my word for it: buy the discs and experience Wagner as he was supremely performed in those special days...” Gramophone Magazine, March 2006

“[Windgassen] is in gloriously fresh voice...Neidlinger too is clear and incisive as Alberich, with Josef Greindl darkly majestic as Fafner...The duetting of Varnay and Windgassen as Siegfried and Brunnhilde then makes a thrillingly passionate conclusion in Keilberth's thrustful reading.” Penguin Guide, 2010 edition ****

“Another landmark set, and a life-enhancing experience. Simon Rattle’s terrific Glyndebourne company, with every support from the recording team – the production sounds superb – manage to turn Abbey Road into a real theatrical environment. The cast are so much a part of their roles that one almost takes the excellence of their contributions for granted. And behind it all is Rattle, so attuned and so alive to every aspect of this remarkable score.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2008

“Glyndebourne's epoch-making production, taken to the recording studio two years later, helped cement the work's reputation as one of the greatest 20th-century operas.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2006 *****

“Here is the first night of Otto Klemperer's legendary 1961 Fidelio, from the Royal Opera House, to challenge his noted studio set from a year later.This confirms the Achilles' heel of Walter Legge, EMI's leading mogul at the time, in his unwillingness to record live occasions, probably because he liked to have every aspect of a recording under his control. In this case there is more to it than that. Klemperer wanted, in the studio, to retain his Covent Garden cast; Legge preferred to make changes with two exceptions (Jon Vickers and Gottlob Frick). On the evidence of this magnificent issue, Klemperer was right. Not only are the singers, by and large, better equipped for their roles, but given the electricity of the occasion the conductor's interpretation is more vital (often faster tempi) and even more eloquent. For his own staging, Klemperer decided to include far more dialogue than is usually heard so that we have as much a play with music as an opera. The singers speak and act with such feeling and immediacy, most particularly Jurinac, Hotter and Frick, as to justify the added text. Add to that the dedication on all sides to Klemperer, and you can imagine why this was such a special occasion.
Compared to Christa Ludwig on Klemperer's studio version, Sena Jurinac creates a more believable and vulnerable Leonore. Her heartfelt sympathy with the role is evident in every line she speaks and sings, most notably in key phrases in her duet with Rocco near the end of Act 1 and the melodrama in Act 2. Once past some first night nerves evident in 'Abscheulicher!' she proves an ideal Leonore. Vickers, even in these early days of his career, is inclined to sentimentalise his Florestan with scoops and lachrymose effects, but all is forgiven when he provides the heroic thrust and inner feeling which the part demands and which is so notably absent from the Florestan on the recent Rattle version. Frick's Rocco is, if possible, even more admirable than on the studio set, expressing the jailor's terrible dilemma in the kind of incisive, warm tones few other basses on disc match.
It is incomprehensible that Legge preferred as Pizarro the too-comfortable sounding Walter Berry to Hans Hotter. Hotter, usually known for his noble roles, is here the epitome of evil, a threatening force of nature, his voice and diction full of menace so that he can be forgiven one or two wobbles in his aria. The young lovers are personably sung and enacted by Elsie Morison and John Dobson, and another Royal Opera stalwart, Forbes Robinson, is a dignified Don Fernando.
There was a fuss at the time about Klemperer's inclusion of Leonore III, but he fully justifies it by his electrifying interpretation. He insisted on placing the wind in the middle of the orchestra spectrum, and the balance is improved throughout as a result. His reading overall has the stature and sense of the work's philosophical basis which will be familiar to those who know his discs of the symphonies.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“the quality of the splendid (1962) Kingsway Hall recording is very apparent, with the voices beautifully caught in relation to the orchestra, all within a glowing ambience. The result is a triumph to match the unique incandescence and spiritual strength of the performance, superbly cast” Penguin Guide, 2010 edition ***

“extremely well sung here by a solo group who, like the conductor, Gilbert Vinter, convey real enthusiasm for this tuneful score. The 1966 recording has transferred vividly to CD. Splendidly coupled, this inexpensive set is not to be missed.” Penguin Guide, 2010 edition