Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman, Le Vaisseau Fantôme) - CD

“The great singing actor Hermann Uhde embodies the Dutchman almost perfectly with his darkly powerful baritone and anguished characterisation… Astrid Varnay's… passion and power are no less compelling, and their rapport in the great duet is moving. …Keilberth... builds up the big ensembles powerfully, with a positively incandescent finale.” BBC Music Magazine, October 2006 *****

“As with the Ring, Keilberth seemed on high in 1955; once again his reading moves with electrifying concentration from scene to scene. Keilberth achieves great unanimity of approach from his players and absolutely superb singing from the chorus (trained by the remarkable Wilhelm Pitz). The orchestra, perhaps because they knew they were being recorded, play their hearts out to create a fusion of notes and rhythm that is really thrilling from start to finish.
The singers are no less inspired. Uhde gives a supreme interpretation of the tortured, yearning Dutchman. His firm, compact, grainy tone is used with his customary artistry to convey the character's longing for salvation, total elation in the love duet, and desperation when he thinks Senta has betrayed him. Phrase after phrase etches itself in the mind in this unmissable portrayal. Incredibly Varnay, who was also Brünnhilde in 1955, brings to Senta a tireless dedication and vision to match Uhde's hero. She fines her large voice down to the more intimate needs of Senta, and only once or twice do the most taxing passages, as her final outburst, slightly strain her resources.
Ludwig Weber's earthy, experienced Daland is another rewarding interpretation. Lustig, who took over Erik from Windgassen, makes rather a throaty sound in the manner of earlier German Heldentenors, but he has all the notes and conveys the character's understandable frustrations. The Mary is admirable. All seem under the spell of the work and the conductor in a reading that now has the stereo sound it so richly deserves.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“This enthralling performance has always been a highly recommended version. Now Testament has had access to the original stereo tapes and, as in the case of the same year's Ring now in progress, the sound is truly amazing, allowing us to enjoy the intense, vital performance even more than in the past. As with the Ring, Keilberth seemed on high in 1955; once again his reading moves with electrifying concentration from scene to scene. Uhde gives a supreme interpretation of the tortured, yearning Dutchman, on a par with that of Hans Hotter and more evenly sung. Incredibly Varnay, who was also Brünnhilde in 1955, brings to Senta a tireless dedication and vision to match Uhde's hero.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2006

“Musically, one notes instantly the extra clarity of textures and the fact hat the orchestra does not so easily overwhelm the singers...Jörg Dürmüller is excellent as Georg, Germanic in tone yet free from strain...Lively conducting and first-rate sound.” Penguin Guide, 2010 **/*

“Sinopoli's is an intensely involving performance...Cheryl Studer is a deeply moving Senta, not just immaculate vocally but conveying the intense vulnerability of the character in finely detailed singing...Bernd Weikl is a dark-toned, firmly focused Dutchman, strong and incisive.” Penguin Guide, 2010 ****

“[van Dam is] thoughtful, finely detailed and lyrical, strong but not at all blustering...superbly matched and contrasted with the finest Daland on record, Kurt Moll, gloriously biting and dark in tone, yet detailed in his characterisation...Vejzovic is wonderfully intense in Senta's Ballad” Penguin Guide, 2010 **/*