Wagner: Tristan und Isolde

Peter Hofmann (Tristan), Hildegard Behrens (Isolde), Yvonne Minton (Brangaene), Hans Sotin (Marke), Bernd Weikl (Kurwenal), Heribert Steinbach (Melot), Heinz Zednik (Hirt), Raimund Grumbach (Steuerman), Thomas Moser (Seemann)

Leonard Bernstein, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks

There is no acting as such in terms of movement of props used…But it is a strong cast. It’s good to be reminded of Hofmann’s big, deep tenor…, of Hildegard Behrens’s passionate use of the text... — Gramophone Magazine, September 2018 More…

Release Date: 15th Jun 2018
Catalogue No: 746208
Label: C Major

Wagner: Tristan und Isolde

Peter Hofmann (Tristan), Hildegard Behrens (Isolde), Yvonne Minton (Brangaene), Hans Sotin (Marke), Bernd Weikl (Kurwenal), Heribert Steinbach (Melot), Heinz Zednik (Hirt), Raimund Grumbach (Steuerman), Thomas Moser (Stimme eines jungen Seemanns)
Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Leonard Bernstein

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This is surely one of the most beautiful recordings of Wagner´s Tristan und Isolde, available for the first time on DVD and Blu-ray. Leonard Bernstein’s way of conducting this opera was unique, displaying a unique ability to make both orchestra and singers perform at their very best. The Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks was the only German orchestra with which Leonard Bernstein regularly collaborated for many years. A star cast of singers with Peter Hofmann and Hildegard Behrens in the title roles, completes this exceptional semi-staged production. Bernstein’s 1981 recording of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde is still considered an outstanding interpretation and has set the bar until this day. When he heard this performance Karl Böhm said, 'Bernstein has conducted Tristan und Isolde the way that Wagner intended it to be conducted'.

Sound format: PCM Stereo

Picture: NTSC, 4:3

Subtitles: German (original language), English, French, Spanish, Italian, Korean, Japanese

Booklet: English, German, French

Total running time: 291 mins

Reviews

September 2018

There is no acting as such in terms of movement of props used…But it is a strong cast. It’s good to be reminded of Hofmann’s big, deep tenor…, of Hildegard Behrens’s passionate use of the text and sheer colour and accuracy of Yvonne Minton’s Brangäne…Watching Bernstein – compulsive or annoying, according to taste – does confirm how amazingly well he knows and delivers a score, a majority of which was a personal premiere for him. However, his interpretation, or lack of it, can be frustrating.

January 2019

The outstanding feature here is surely the conductor…Instead of conducting for the cameras, he employs gestures that are neither overstated nor theatrical…The Prelude is an extraordinary achievement…and whatever the timings might suggest, Bernstein’s interpretation by no means registers as sluggish but rather as one responsive to the shifting continuum of the drama at a local level as well as in overview.

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Wagner: Tristan und Isolde

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