Dutch treat
To wind up this summer’s Wagner festival on Unnatural Acts of Opera, La Cieca plans to play the composer’s first “canonical” opera, Der Fliegende Hollander. But which live performance, she wonders. That’s where you come in, cher public. La Cieca lists below a selection of exciting live Hollanders, and you get to vote on which you would most like to hear. Voting will be open until 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 28, at which time La Cieca will declare a winner and proceed to post the performance.
UPDATE: Voting is now closed, and the winner is the 1955 Knappertsbusch performance from Bayreuth. Here is the final tally:
Be sure to listen in to this special “democratic” edition of Unnatural Acts of Opera.
Gedda did sing and record Lohengrin…once. He immediately realized (and says so in his autobiography) that it wasn’t a role for him to continue with. He sang it successfully and very beautifully.
I also enjoy Wagner, but I think too much is too much – especially if it’s going to continually be Parsifals and Meistersingers and Tristans. At least let’s listen to Die Feen or Das Liebesverbot!! or the Rienzi with Christa Ludwig!
I, for one, amy loving the summertime Wagner. And btw, La Cieca did Rienzi recently. I also voted for the Varnay. Like many othes, I’ve heard Rysanek as Senta but not Varnay.
While we’re on the subject of Wagner, am I the only one who’s favorite Ring Opera is RHEINGOLD? I dunno, maybe because it’s short, maybe it’s because for once the Tenor is actually a pretty cool guy, or maybe it’s because I just love the Rheinmaidens.
Yesterday, When I was in San Francisco on buisness (the buisness of trying to find a place to live there), I picked up a copy of the Jurowski RHEINGOLD for eight bucks(!) at a small store called Searchlight records. (Oh, Remember that name, and it’s fantastic prices!) I happened to have the newly released Kellibereth RHEINGOLD with me for the trip, and that night I listened to them back to back, and was struck by the differences in the Two Wotans: Hotter, with his darkly-colored Basso, and Theo Adam, who really is a true Heledenbariton. Seriously, what should Wotan be: A Bass with High Notes or a Baritone with Low notes?
Based on succesful Wotans of the past, I’d say a baritone with good low notes. It’s a true bass-baritone role, in my opinion. It requires not only high notes but also the ability to sustain a high tessitura in certain passages (like the third act of Siegfried) but it also needs substance at the bottom to portray the gravity of the role.
Everytime I listen to Rheingold, I’m reminded of how much I love this opera. But there’s just so much to love in the next three that I can’t count Rheingold as my favourite. Walküre, as well as having the greatest emotional power and my favourite characters (the twins) also has what I consider to be the most perfect act in the cycle: Act one.
It’s hard to pick a favorite RING opera. I think Rheingold is a lot of fun, but it’s a killer to play–2 hrs 40 minutes with no intermission. But it FLIES by for the audience, and the “Entry of the Gods in Valhalla” (esp. the Rainbow bridge and Wotan’s paean to Valhalla) is one of the most sublime passages ever penned…that said, Walküre act 1 can’t be beat; Siegfried act 3 is otherworldly; Götterdämmerung Act 2 is one of the best central acts in opera (musically, dramatically, vocally), and the immolation is a terrific culmination to the aformentioned. So there’s no clear “favorite”–they’re ALL great. I’m intimately familiar, so to speak, with this repertoire, and they never loses their appeal for me. Keep those Wagner podcasts coming, La Cieca.
Varnay gives one of the performances of her career here. She is even better than she was with Keilberth which was also recorded that same year for Decca. Hermann Uhde is amazing at capturing the psychological nuances of the Dutchman. This is one of my favorite performances of this opera. Enjoy!
I disagree that Das Rheingold “FLIES” for the audience. To me, the Vorabend is the hardest installment of the Ring because it goes on forever without a break. Could it be the longest “act” in the operatic canon? Probably.
I think Rheingold is indeed the longest single act in the repertoire. Seattle Opera’s orchestra contract has a specific exception to overtime for that opera alone; so yes, I can see how it can be a long night for the audience too. maybe I should have said “A well-done performance flies by…”
The First Act of Gotterdammerung always feels longer than Rheingold, and, depending on the speed of the performances, I think it can be.