Wagner: Lohengrin

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Semyon Bychkov conducts a robustly powerful yet airily textured performance, keenly dramatic yet finely detailed. His Cologne orchestra and various choruses, focused and involved, sound tremendous... — BBC Music Magazine, July 2009, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 30th Mar 2009
Catalogue No: PH09004
Label: Profil Medien
Length: 3 hours 34 minutes

Gramophone Magazine

Collection
Presto Recording of the Week

19th April 2010
BBC Music Magazine Awards

2010

Disc of the Year & Opera Award Winner
Opera

June 2009

Recording of the Month

Wagner: Lohengrin

Work length3:34:42

$51.00

$66.30

Adrianne Pieczonka (soprano), Kwangchul Youn (bass), Eike Wilm Schulte (baritone), Falk Struckmann (baritone), Johan Botha (tenor), Petra Lang (mezzo-soprano)
North German Radio Chorus, Prague Chamber Chorus, Cologne West German Radio Chorus, Cologne West German Radio Orchestra
Semyon Bychkov

Act I: Prelude

Track length8:23

$2.00

$2.60

Act I Scene 1: Hort! Grafen, Edle, Freie von Brabant! (King's Herald)

Track length4:30

$1.00

$1.30

Act I Scene 1: Dank, Konig, dir, dass du zu richten kamst! (Friedrich)

Track length6:21

$1.00

$1.30

Act I Scene 2: Seht ihn! Sie naht, die hart Beklagte (All The Men)

Track length3:42

$1.00

$1.30

Act I Scene 2: Einsam in truben Tagen (Elsa)

Track length6:56

$1.00

$1.30

Act I Scene 2: Des Ritters will ich wahren (Elsa)

Track length2:30

$1.00

$1.30

Act I Scene 2: Wer hier in Gotteskampfe zu streiten kam (All The Men, Friedrich)

Track length4:45

$1.00

$1.30

Act I Scene 3: Nun sei bedankt, mein lieber Schwan! (Lohengrin)

Track length5:17

$1.00

$1.30

Act I Scene 3: Wenn ich im Kampfe fur dich siege (Lohengrin)

Track length3:54

$1.00

$1.30

Act I Scene 3: Welch holde Wunder (Chorus)

Track length3:38

$1.00

$1.30

Act I Scene 3: Nun horet mich, und achtet wohl (Herald)

Track length7:12

$2.00

$2.60

Act I Scene 3: Durch Gottes Sieg ist jetzt dein Leben mein (Lohengrin)

Track length4:09

$1.00

$1.30

Act II Scene 1: Introduction

Track length3:43

$1.00

$1.30

Act II Scene 1: Erhebe dich, Genossin meiner Schmach! (Friedrich)

Track length4:05

$1.00

$1.30

Act II Scene 1: Was macht dich in so wilder Klage doch vergehen? (Ortrud)

Track length2:08

$1.00

$1.30

Act II Scene 1: Eintsetzlich! Wie tont aus deinem Munde (Friedrich, Ortrud)

Track length9:00

$2.00

$2.60

Act II Scene 2: Euch Luften, die mein Klagen (Elsa)

Track length3:40

$1.00

$1.30

Act II Scene 2: Elsa - Wer ruft? (Ortrud)

Track length4:10

$1.00

$1.30

Act II Scene 2: Entweihte Gotter! Helft jetzt meiner Rache! (Ortrud)

Track length1:17

$1.00

$1.30

Act II Scene 2: Ortrud, wobist du? (Elsa)

Track length2:46

$1.00

$1.30

Act II Scene 2: Wie kann ich solche Huld dir lohnen (Ortrud)

Track length7:48

$2.00

$2.60

Act II Scene 3: Im Fruh'n versammelt uns der Ruf (Chorus)

Track length4:24

$1.00

$1.30

Act II Scene 3: Des Konigs Wort und Will' tu' ich euch kund (Herald)

Track length8:09

$2.00

$2.60

Act II Scene 4: Gesegnet soll sie schreiten (Chorus)

Track length5:26

$1.00

$1.30

Act II Scene 4: Zuruck, Elsa! Nicht langer will ich dulden (Ortrud)

Track length5:09

$1.00

$1.30

Act II Scene 5: Heil! Heil dem Konig! (Chorus)

Track length3:20

$1.00

$1.30

Act II Scene 5: O Konig! Trugbetorte Fursten! Haltet ein! (Friedrich)

Track length5:36

$1.00

$1.30

Act II Scene 5: Welch ein Geheimnis muss der Held bewahren? (King)

Track length4:48

$1.00

$1.30

Act II Scene 4: Mein Held, entgegne kuhn dem Ungetreuen! (King)

Track length4:09

$1.00

$1.30

Act II Scene 5: Heil Elsa von Brabant (Chorus)

Track length3:20

$1.00

$1.30

Act III: Prelude

Track length3:21

$1.00

$1.30

Act III Scene 1: Treulich gefuhrt, ziehet dahin (Wedding March) (Chorus)

Track length4:24

$1.00

$1.30

Act III Scene 2: Das susse Lied verhallt (Lohengrin)

Track length2:05

$1.00

$1.30

Act III Scene 2: Fuhl' ich zu dir so suss mein Herz entbrennen (Elsa)

Track length5:34

$1.00

$1.30

Act III Scene 2: Atmest du nicht mit mir die sussen Dufte? (Lohengrin)

Track length4:40

$1.00

$1.30

Act III Scene 2: Hochstes Vertrau'n hast du mir schon zu danken (Lohengrin)

Track length7:40

$2.00

$2.60

Act III Scene 2: Weh', nun is all' unser Gluck dahin! (Lohengrin, Elsa)

Track length5:25

$1.00

$1.30

Act III Scene 3: Heil, Konig Heinrich! (All The Men)

Track length4:56

$1.00

$1.30

Act III Scene 3: Was bringen die? (Chorus)

Track length1:50

$1.00

$1.30

Act III Scene 3: Macht Platz dem Helden von Brabant! (All The Men)

Track length6:43

$1.00

$1.30

Act III Scene 3: In fernem Land, unnahbar euren Schritten (Lohengrin)

Track length9:31

$2.00

$2.60

Act III Scene 3: Mir schwankt der Boden! (Elsa)

Track length6:04

$1.00

$1.30

Act III Scene 3: Mein lieber Schwan! (Lohengrin)

Track length8:14

$2.00

$2.60

About
Reviews
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About

Awards, Wagner Lohengrin - BBC Awards

19th April 2010

Profil are proud to present a recording of Wagner’s romantic three act opera with a stunning cast, recorded on superb SACD sound quality. Through its plot and such familiar music as the Bridal Chorus and the Act III Prelude, Lohengrin is one the most accessible of all Wagner operas. The performers, conducted by Semyon Bychkov will join forces with the the Royal Opera Chorus and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House in April to perform Lohengrin at the Royal Opera House.

Reviews

July 2009

Semyon Bychkov conducts a robustly powerful yet airily textured performance, keenly dramatic yet finely detailed. His Cologne orchestra and various choruses, focused and involved, sound tremendous in surround-sound, and his cast is similarly strong. Johan Botha's clear, bright tone and unforced power embody the title role splendidly...

2010

As a studio recording, this new Profil release can claim a degree of rarity value. Also rare is its inclusion of a segment of Lohengrin's 'In fernem Land' monologue which Wagner cut at the time of the premiere, though this has previously appeared in two of the best earlier recordings (from Leinsdorf and Barenboim – see below).
The studio atmosphere means that there are no obvious theatrical effects: no thumps and bumps during fights, for example. But Semyon Bychkov's impassioned conducting ensures that there's no serious loss of theatricality; and even in ordinary stereo the big ensembles sound immensely imposing (the end of Act 2 overwhelming), which compensates to a degree for a wide dynamic range that makes it difficult to set a single suitable volume level throughout.
It can be argued that Wagner never settled on a definitive version of Act 3. He was surely right to cut the anticlimactic episode after Lohengrin reveals his and his father's names, but despite its inclusion here, Profil has failed to include the text in a libretto whose usefulness is already compromised by not having German, French and English in parallel, as well as by a fusty English translation.
Fortunately, there are many positive factors too. Bychkov's reading is admirable, with only occasional exaggerations (including slowing up towards the end of the Act 1 Prayer). Although none of the cast surpasses the work's best exponents elsewhere, all are well worth hearing.
Johan Botha is ardent and mellifluous, lacking only that finely spun, silvery thread of tone that distinguished Jess Thomas in the role; nor does Petra Lang – for all her sensitivity to the text – quite set the stage ablaze as Astrid Varnay did.
Adrianne Pieczonka is occasionally shrill in more strenuous passages, but there's an attractive tonal brightness that brings extra weight to her Elsa. Underpinning it all are the excellent Cologne forces, with Bychkov in the Act 1 Prelude conveying the 'awesome sweetness' that has to be brought to life if the drama is to work its magic. Not the best Lohengrin ever then, but it's good to have such a well characterised and sumptuously recorded new version.

July 2009

The studio atmosphere means that there are no obvious theatrical effects… But Semyon Bychkov's impassioned conducting ensures that there's no serious loss of theatricality; and even in ordinary stereo the big ensembles sound immensely imposing (the end of Act 2 overwhelming)... Although none of the cast surpasses the work's best exponents elsewhere, all are well worth hearing. Not the best Lohengrin ever then, but its good to have such a well characterised and sumptuously recorded new version.

July 2010

Bychkov's study of the score is evident from the start of the Prelude, voiced as Wagner's own programme notes suggest...Pieczonka has all of Elsa's strangeness, her misapprehension, her doubts and her naivety...Botha sings and phrases the music beautifully.

26th April 2009

For the magnificent choral singing — the joint North and West German Radio choirs and the Prague Chamber Choir — and orchestral playing alone, this studio version of Wagner’s great “romantic opera” ranks with the best released on disc.

15th May 2009

This is a gloriously played and sung account of Wagner's first unqualified masterpiece...Semyon Bychkov's handling of the huge score takes pride of place on these discs, for its dramatic sweep and power, the delicacy and finesse with which the more lyrical passages are teased out, and for the superlative performances he extracts from the Cologne Radio Orchestra and its chorus...You have to go back quite a few years to find a new Lohengrin as accomplished as this on disc.

The Independent on Sunday 10th May 2009

This recording of Semyon Bychkov's slow-burning interpretation is a gift...the cast sings intelligently and subtly, while the orchestral performance combines gravity, ethereality and immaculate chording.

Wagner: Lohengrin

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Awards, Wagner Lohengrin - BBC Awards

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