Richard Wagner (1813 - 1883)
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Linda Esther Gray, John Mitchinson
Anne Wilkens, Gwynne Howell, Joll Phillip
The Chorus of Welsh National Opera
The Orchestra of Welsh National Opera
dir:Reginald Goodall
DECCA (1995) 443 682-2 DDD 4CDs
[flac & cue; cover, inlays, booklet & discs scans]
The Tristan und Isolde by Reginald Goodall when it appeared on CD for the first time soon and inexplicably disappeared from the market and DECCA did not reissue it. It wasn’t until 2011 (I think) that Arkik Music reissued it under license and then disappeared again from circulation and second hand copies that could be found online had exorbitant prices.
Earlier this year, Universal Australia, in its task of reprinting many titles from the opera catalogue out or print, edited it at a low-price but without booklet.
During these years all those who were not lucky enough to have it, had to settle for mp3 formats or itunes because as far as I know (and believe me I searched it feverishly) had not been uploaded to any blog in lossless format.
I had the idea to buy the Australian edition but on the one hand I like operas with booklets and on the other hand if I had bought it I could not have uploaded it here given the recent issue date.
But who seeks finds: two weeks ago before my great surprise and happiness I found a second hand set at Amazon marketplace at the same price as the new edition,in excellent condition.
I am very happy to share it here with all those who do not yet have it.
Reviews
"No matter how many "Tristan" recordings you own - and as a "Tristan" nut I have too many - you need to add this one to your collection to hear a truly different and original interpretation which will never leave you bored or indifferent.
As is so often the case with Reginald Goodall's Wagner, at first the tempo seems unduly indulgent or leisurely but a very short way into the overture you are gripped by Goodall's firm command of the pulse and Schwung of the music and ten minutes later you find yourself wholly transported body, mind and soul into Wagner's febrile and mystical alternative universe. The second surprise comes with the timbre of Linda Esther Gray's Isolde: she has a rich, fruity sound in the middle and lower regions of her voice, ample power and sparkling top notes. She makes particularly telling use of frequent, shimmering portamento effects which ride on her quick vibrato. This is a young woman of great will-power and undaunted courage; there is none of the maternal tinge or steely glare which mars some famous accounts and unlike Nina Stemme, she can convey irony and sarcasm. I find her plunges into those lower reaches heart-stoppingly beautiful; tellingly employed in her "Tantris" narrative, they bespeak of suppressed passions; she also has a superb command of both upward and downward portamento to suggest repressed emotion. The key point "Er sah mir die in die Augen" is just the still point that Wagner's score demands; she triumphs exactly where Stemme fails (so what a pity the accompanying viola is squawky). Immediately afterwards, "Er schwur mit tausend Eiden" and her hurled-out top B's ooze desperate scorn and fury. No-one else in the cast comes up to her standard and it gives one greater cause than ever for regret that her career was curtailed. I have no hesitation in calling hers the greatest and most complete Isolde I know in that she is capable of encompassing all the aspects of her character.
Not that the supporting cast is inadequate - although Philip Joll's Kurwenal comes nearest to letting the side down in the first Act with a somewhat dry, laboured taunting song, he certainly picks up in Act III, adopting a suitably plaintive and plangent tone as he ineffectually nurses Tristan. Anne Wilkens makes a strong, direct Brangäne, a bit squeezed and throttled of tone in sustained passages but contrasting well with Gray - which is not the case in the Pappano recording. Mitchinson's Tristan is firm and manly, baritonal in the Vinay tradition, if occasionally a little broad in the vibrato department and a little grating in tone. His all-important vision of the ship bringing Isolde scudding over the waves towards him is rather prosaically delivered in an uncomfortable croon but Goodall's conducting is gorgeous. Gwynne Howell's King Mark is simply perfect - a beautiful voice used with exceptional sensitivity to convey the pathos of betrayal by those one loves. He crumples at the end of his monologue, employing a crushed mezza-voce while still sustaining beauty of utterance; this is a portrayal to set alongside that by Talvela even if Howell cannot command that great artist's mighty scale of voice. And his German is very good.
And throughout the whole recording Goodall maintains and unerring sense of the proper weight and pacing to release the full drama of this extraordinary work. He has drilled the Welsh National Opera Orchestra and his singers in every nuance and detail until any deficiency is inherent in the practical limitations of their artistry and technique, not his. Despite his reputation for weightiness, the Act II music leading up to the "Telegram Duet" is fleet and cleanly articulated with a tremendous sense of erotic tension and the distancing of the hunting horns is keenly judged.
Even though Pappano's "Tristan und Isolde" - EMI's last studio recording - was in many ways a success, I would give the palm to this account as the best from the modern era."www.amazon.com - Ralph Moore
Anne Wilkens, Gwynne Howell, Joll Phillip
The Chorus of Welsh National Opera
The Orchestra of Welsh National Opera
dir:Reginald Goodall
DECCA (1995) 443 682-2 DDD 4CDs
[flac & cue; cover, inlays, booklet & discs scans]
The Tristan und Isolde by Reginald Goodall when it appeared on CD for the first time soon and inexplicably disappeared from the market and DECCA did not reissue it. It wasn’t until 2011 (I think) that Arkik Music reissued it under license and then disappeared again from circulation and second hand copies that could be found online had exorbitant prices.
Earlier this year, Universal Australia, in its task of reprinting many titles from the opera catalogue out or print, edited it at a low-price but without booklet.
During these years all those who were not lucky enough to have it, had to settle for mp3 formats or itunes because as far as I know (and believe me I searched it feverishly) had not been uploaded to any blog in lossless format.
I had the idea to buy the Australian edition but on the one hand I like operas with booklets and on the other hand if I had bought it I could not have uploaded it here given the recent issue date.
But who seeks finds: two weeks ago before my great surprise and happiness I found a second hand set at Amazon marketplace at the same price as the new edition,in excellent condition.
I am very happy to share it here with all those who do not yet have it.
Reviews
"No matter how many "Tristan" recordings you own - and as a "Tristan" nut I have too many - you need to add this one to your collection to hear a truly different and original interpretation which will never leave you bored or indifferent.
As is so often the case with Reginald Goodall's Wagner, at first the tempo seems unduly indulgent or leisurely but a very short way into the overture you are gripped by Goodall's firm command of the pulse and Schwung of the music and ten minutes later you find yourself wholly transported body, mind and soul into Wagner's febrile and mystical alternative universe. The second surprise comes with the timbre of Linda Esther Gray's Isolde: she has a rich, fruity sound in the middle and lower regions of her voice, ample power and sparkling top notes. She makes particularly telling use of frequent, shimmering portamento effects which ride on her quick vibrato. This is a young woman of great will-power and undaunted courage; there is none of the maternal tinge or steely glare which mars some famous accounts and unlike Nina Stemme, she can convey irony and sarcasm. I find her plunges into those lower reaches heart-stoppingly beautiful; tellingly employed in her "Tantris" narrative, they bespeak of suppressed passions; she also has a superb command of both upward and downward portamento to suggest repressed emotion. The key point "Er sah mir die in die Augen" is just the still point that Wagner's score demands; she triumphs exactly where Stemme fails (so what a pity the accompanying viola is squawky). Immediately afterwards, "Er schwur mit tausend Eiden" and her hurled-out top B's ooze desperate scorn and fury. No-one else in the cast comes up to her standard and it gives one greater cause than ever for regret that her career was curtailed. I have no hesitation in calling hers the greatest and most complete Isolde I know in that she is capable of encompassing all the aspects of her character.
Not that the supporting cast is inadequate - although Philip Joll's Kurwenal comes nearest to letting the side down in the first Act with a somewhat dry, laboured taunting song, he certainly picks up in Act III, adopting a suitably plaintive and plangent tone as he ineffectually nurses Tristan. Anne Wilkens makes a strong, direct Brangäne, a bit squeezed and throttled of tone in sustained passages but contrasting well with Gray - which is not the case in the Pappano recording. Mitchinson's Tristan is firm and manly, baritonal in the Vinay tradition, if occasionally a little broad in the vibrato department and a little grating in tone. His all-important vision of the ship bringing Isolde scudding over the waves towards him is rather prosaically delivered in an uncomfortable croon but Goodall's conducting is gorgeous. Gwynne Howell's King Mark is simply perfect - a beautiful voice used with exceptional sensitivity to convey the pathos of betrayal by those one loves. He crumples at the end of his monologue, employing a crushed mezza-voce while still sustaining beauty of utterance; this is a portrayal to set alongside that by Talvela even if Howell cannot command that great artist's mighty scale of voice. And his German is very good.
And throughout the whole recording Goodall maintains and unerring sense of the proper weight and pacing to release the full drama of this extraordinary work. He has drilled the Welsh National Opera Orchestra and his singers in every nuance and detail until any deficiency is inherent in the practical limitations of their artistry and technique, not his. Despite his reputation for weightiness, the Act II music leading up to the "Telegram Duet" is fleet and cleanly articulated with a tremendous sense of erotic tension and the distancing of the hunting horns is keenly judged.
Even though Pappano's "Tristan und Isolde" - EMI's last studio recording - was in many ways a success, I would give the palm to this account as the best from the modern era."www.amazon.com - Ralph Moore