Wagner - Der fliegende Holländer / Morris, Voigt, Heppner, Rootering, Groves, Svendén, MET, Levine

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
James Levine's is a more recent entry in the realm of Dutchman recordings, and sonically the recording is absolutely stunning, with great attention having been paid to the recording process. The casting for this Metropolitan Opera effort is also uniformly first rate, even in the less grateful roles of the hapless Erik, sung by the impressive Ben Heppner, and the scolding nurse, Mary, sung by Birgitta Svendén. Morris's brooding Dutchman is hard to match on any other available recording, and Deborah Voigt is a ravishing Senta. The chorus work is quite good, though not quite as rich as that heard in the Solti/Chicago recording. Overall, Levine does a workmanlike job of conducting these impressive forces, though there are passages in which his tempi seem to drag. This recording is a must for anyone who needs a completely up to date version of Wagner's first major opera. --Christian C. Rix

Wagner - Der fliegende Holländer / Morris, Voigt, Heppner, Rootering, Groves, Svendén, MET, Levine, Music, Deborah Voigt, Richard Wagner, James Morris, Ben Heppner, James Levine, Brigitta Svendén, Paul Groves, Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Jan-Hendrick Rootering, Classical, Classical Music, German/Austrian Romantic Opera, Opera, Opera / Operetta / Oratorio, Opera/Operetta
Wagner - Der fliegende Holländer / Morris, Voigt, Heppner, Rootering, Groves, Svendén, MET, Levine
Average customer rating: 3 out of 5 stars
  • A Fine Dutchman
  • Orchestra is fine, but . . .
  • A complete DUD. Avoid.
  • Great performance, but POOR sound
  • Slow and Dull but Nice Enough
 Wagner - Der fliegende Holländer / Morris, Voigt, Heppner, Rootering, Groves, Svendén, MET, Levine
Deborah Voigt , Richard Wagner , James Morris , Ben Heppner , James Levine , Brigitta Svendén , Paul Groves , Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra , and Jan-Hendrick Rootering
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:
  1. Wagner - Tristan und Isolde / Heppner, Eaglen, Pape, Dalayman, Ketelsen, Metropolitan Opera
  2. Wagner - Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg / Heppner, Mattila, Morris, Pape, Allen, Polenzani, Levine, Metropolitan Opera

ASIN: B000002AR1
Release Date: 1997-04-15

Tracks:

  1. The Flying Dutchman: Ach! wo weilt sie
  2. The Flying Dutchman: Senta! Willst du mich verderben?
  3. The Flying Dutchman: Nr. 5: Duett: Bleib, Senta!
  4. The Flying Dutchman: Auf hohem Felsen lag ich traumend
  5. The Flying Dutchman: Nr. 6 Finale: Mein Kind, du siehst mich auf der Schwelle
  6. The Flying Dutchman: Arie: Mogst du, mein Kind, den fremden Mann
  7. The Flying Dutchman: Duett: Wie aus der Ferne langst ver gangner Zeiten
  8. The Flying Dutchman: Wirst du des Vaters Wahl nicht schelten?
  9. The Flying Dutchman: Terzett: Verzeiht! Mein Volk halt drauben sich nicht mehr
  10. The Flying Dutchman: Nr. 7 Chor und Szene: Steuermann! Lab die Wacht!
  11. The Flying Dutchman: Johohoe! Johohoe! Hoe! Hoe!
  12. The Flying Dutchman: Nr. 8 Finale: Was mubt ich horen!
  13. The Flying Dutchman: Kavatine: Willst jenes Tags du nicht dich mehr entsinnen
  14. The Flying Dutchman: Verloen! Ach! Verloen!
  15. The Flying Dutchman: Erfaehre das Geschick, vor dem ich dich bewar'

Tracks:

  1. Overture
  2. Hojoje! Hojoje! Hollojo! Ho!
  3. Lied: Mit Gewitter und Sturm
  4. Die Frist ist um
  5. He! Holla! Steuermann!
  6. Duett: Durch Strum und bosen Wind verschlagen
  7. Wie! Hort! ich recht?
  8. Sudwind! Sudwind!
  9. summ und brumm, du gutes Radchen
  10. Du boses Kind! Wenn du nicht spinnst
  11. Ballade: Johohoe! -- Traft ihr das Schiff

Amazon.com

James Levine's is a more recent entry in the realm of Dutchman recordings, and sonically the recording is absolutely stunning, with great attention having been paid to the recording process. The casting for this Metropolitan Opera effort is also uniformly first rate, even in the less grateful roles of the hapless Erik, sung by the impressive Ben Heppner, and the scolding nurse, Mary, sung by Birgitta Svendén. Morris's brooding Dutchman is hard to match on any other available recording, and Deborah Voigt is a ravishing Senta. The chorus work is quite good, though not quite as rich as that heard in the Solti/Chicago recording. Overall, Levine does a workmanlike job of conducting these impressive forces, though there are passages in which his tempi seem to drag. This recording is a must for anyone who needs a completely up to date version of Wagner's first major opera. --Christian C. Rix

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars A Fine Dutchman.......2006-10-02

This recording, featuring noted Wagnerians James Morris and Deborah Voight, is a great recording of Dutchman. I can't figure out why there are so many negative reviews here.

Morris' Dutchman is nothing short of stunning and Voigt makes an amazing Senta (her rendition of Senta's Ballad is just perfect). Dismiss the naysayers and add this to your collection.

2 out of 5 stars Orchestra is fine, but . . ........2006-08-23

The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra gives out a spectacular performance, creating enormous power and precision. And that's probably the only thing that's good about this Flying Dutchman. James Levine's tempi are dragged (most notably the "Overture" and the "Spinning Chorus"), making this the least Wagnerian of all studio recordings. The choir is surprisingly unpleasant: their diction isn't good enough and their pitch isn't completely correct. The vocal soloists . . . well, let's just say that even Daniel Barenboim's choice of casting is better than this. As for the sound quality, it's just plain awful: The volume is a bit weak and the bass sound is heard incorrectly.

All in all, if you want to get this ONLY for the orchestral sound, then do it. Otherwise, go for the Solti, Sinopoli, or Klemperer recordings.

1 out of 5 stars A complete DUD. Avoid........2006-07-04

I'll just get straight to the point. I agree with the other reviews, this is not a good Dutchman. The cast is certainly decent, if not great, but there are more insightful performances on other sets, Klemperer on EMI having the best cast overall. The amazon review mentions the good sound quality, and it is very good.......if all you want to hear is the orchestra. True the MET orchestra plays superbly, at loud parts the orchestra sounds massive and powerful, impressive in its own right. But the orchestra simultaneously drowns out the singers at every tutti throughout the entire performance. And the loud parts are the only times this performance sounds any good. Levine's shaping of the score is formless and lifeless, lacking in any sense of drive or momentum, sounding pratically comatose in slow and/or quiet sections. Just listen the beginning of Act 2, the maiden's spinning song. No pulse, no verve, no life. I was quite frankly bored listening to this performance. There are many better performances of this piece on record. Among them, the classic Klemperer on EMI; Steinberg on Naxos, a great bargain version; and in the realm of modern digital recordings, Sinopoli on DG and Dohnanyi on Decca are both superb. Get any of them before getting this dud of a performance.

1 out of 5 stars Great performance, but POOR sound.......2005-02-10

I wanted this recording to sound good, technically. But, that is where it falls way short. The recorded sound is distant. The performance is outstanding. I disagree with other review about Levine's tempo -- I like what he does here. The singers are fantastic. It is just the technical quality of the recording that is so darn bad.

3 out of 5 stars Slow and Dull but Nice Enough.......2004-08-27

This recording seems to have been made at the nadir of Levine's fixation on glacial tempos. The result is not more profound or more sublime--it's just dull. The sound is lovely but entirely bereft of any trace of drama. So much so that I'd almost recommend Barenboim's recording--with Eaglen's horrific Senta--just as an antidote. But luckily there are plenty of recordings to go around, so no such choice is necessary. In any event, though, skip this one. The overture, spinning song, ballade, double chorus--they're all pretty, but deadly dull. The choral singing is also pretty unfocused.

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