Wagner - Die Feen (The Fairies) / Ether Gray, J. Alexander, J. Anderson, Studer, Hermann, Rootering, Orth, Lövaas, Laki, Moll, Helm; Sawallisch

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
This recording is for the Wagnerian who must have everything including the master's least known opera Die Feen (the Fairies), a work so obscure that it did not see the footlights until five years after the composer's death. Ordinarily when dealing with Wagnerian juvenilia, one finds obscure artists in less than ideal recordings (pirated editions, as often as not). Orfeo performs meritorious service for the Wagnerian faithful here by providing a genuine first string cast for this work in a live performance from the 1983 Munich Opera Festival. The Weberian flavor of the score is admirably realized by the Bavarian Broadcasting Symphony under Swallisch. For those interested in the early musical style of the future genius of Bayreuth, this is likely to remain the best recording of any of these early efforts. --Christian C. Rix

Tracks:

The Mastersingers: Prelude
Lohengrin: Prelude To Act III
Faust: Overture
The Mastersingers: 'Awake!'
The Mastersingers: 'Mad, All The World Is Mad'
The Fairies: Overture
Siegfried: Forest Murmurs
The Mastersingers: Act III Quintet
Rienzi: Overture
The Flying Dutchman: Overture
Tannhaeuser: Pilgrim's Chorus
Tannhaeuser: Overture
Gotterdammerung (Twilight Of The Gods): Siegfried's Rhine Journey
Tannhaeuser: Song Of The Evening Star
Lohengrin: Bridal Chorus
Tristan und Isolde: Love-Death
Tannhaeuser: Venusberg Music
Lohengrin: Prelude To Act I
The Mastersingers: Prelude
The Mastersingers: Prize Song
The Mastersingers: Beckmesser And Sachs Duet In Act II
The Valkyrie: The Ride Of The Valkyries
Gotterdammerung: Siegfred's Rhine Journey
Siegfried: Siegfried Idyll
Parsifal: Good Friday Spell
Gotterdammerung: Siegfred's Funeral Music
Tannhaeuser: Overture
Lohengrin: Preludes To Act I And III, And Bridal Chorus

Wagner: Preludes and Overtures; Orchestral Works

Average customer rating:

Very fine of orchestral highlights and rarities

Wagner: Preludes and Overtures; Orchestral Works

Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00005UVAN
Release Date: 2005-07-14

Tracks:

Overture - Orchestre Phillharmonique De Radio France
Prelude - Orchestre Phillharmonique De Radio France
Act I: Prelude - Orchestre Phillharmonique De Radio France
Act III: Prelude - Orchestre Phillharmonique De Radio France
Siegfried-Idyll - Orchestre Phillharmonique De Radio France
Act I: Prelude - Orchestre Phillharmonique De Radio France
Act III: Prelude - Orchestre Phillharmonique De Radio France
Dance Of The Apprentices - Orchestre Phillharmonique De Radio France
Finale - Orchestre Phillharmonique De Radio France

Tracks:

Kaisermarsch - London Symphony Orchestra
Eine Faust-Ouverture - London Symphony Orchestra
Huldigungsmarsch - London Symphony Orchestra
Overture - London Symphony Orchestra
Grosser Festmarsch (Centennial March), For The Centenary Of Indpendence Of USA. - London Symphony Orchestra
Overture - London Symphony Orchestra

Customer Reviews:

Very fine of orchestral highlights and rarities .......2004-08-10

This set, with Marek Janowski, offers the best disk of Wagner's early overtures and later occasional pieces that I know of, as well as a well-played disk of better-known "bleeding chunks" from the operas.

Disk One, with the French Radio Phil, offers mainstream Wagner excerpts: the _Tannhäuser_ overture, the _Tristan_ prelude, the preludes to _Lohengrin_ Acts I and III, the _Siegfried Idyll_ and the _Meistersinger_ overture, with orchestral selections from Act III. All of this is very well played, and towards the top third, let's say, of a very crowded and competitive field. That makes them very good indeed.

But disk 2, with the London Symphony Orchestra, offers some less common pieces, perhaps more enticing to the serious Wagnerian: the _Kaisermarsch_, the _Faust Overture_, the _Huldigungsmarsch_, the _Die Feen_ overture, the _American Centennial March_ and the _Das Liebesverbot_ overture.

The Janowski/LSO disk offers easily the best playing of most of this music that I've ever heard. The _Faust_ overture in particular shines, as perhaps the earliest piece of great music that Wagner wrote. As is often the case with early Wagner, it sounds a bit like unknown Beethoven, with additional orchestral flavouring from Weber, but for the first time you hear a new voice: Wagner's own. This comes in the form of a new richness and darkness in orchestration (though the version played here includes revised orchestration by the mature Wagner), plus a real and effective dramatic instinct, allied with strong and distinctive themes. Wagner said the _Faust_ overture is the piece with which he "became Wagner", and he is surely right.

Janowski even manages to convince me that there's some merit in the _American Centennial_ march, probably the worst music written by the mature Wagner, despite, as Cosima's _Diaries_ show, his sincere admiration for America. I've heard this piece in three other performances, in each of which it struck me as banal, emptily noisy, and interminable. But the London SO under Janowski work a miracle in finding some forward propulsion and argument, some contrasts of light and shade, and making the piece come quite close to working. It's only a small miracle, because even when brilliantly played this still isn't great music. But if you have to hear the American Centennial March_ at all, this is certainly the version to hear.

The _Kaisermarsch_ is perhaps beyond rescue, but again, Janowski offers as good and as committed a performance of this piece as one is ever likely to hear. He also offers the best _Huldigungsmarsch_ I know of, and excellent accounts of the _Die Feen_ and _Das Liebesverbot_ overtures. Though the very best performances of these operatic overtures that I've heard are the versions that open the Sawallisch complete sets of these two operas.

For very good versions of familiar orchestral excerpts from the mature operas, plus outstanding performances of some Wagner rarities, this disk is strongly recommended.

Cheers!

Laon

WAGNER: The Complete Overtures and Orchestral Music from the Operas

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WAGNER: The Complete Overtures and Orchestral Music from the Operas
Yuri Simonov , Francesco D'Avalos , and London Philharmonia Orchestra
Manufacturer: Brilliant Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00005MLXT
Release Date: 2001-06-12

Wagner: Overtures (Tannhauser, Die Fliegende Hollander, Die Feen)

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Wagner: Overtures (Tannhauser, Die Fliegende Hollander, Die Feen)
Richard Wagner , Edo de Waart , Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam , and Edo Dewaart
Manufacturer: Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B00000E2KZ
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Average customer rating:

Mostly minor, mostly attractive, early Wagner

Wagner: Overtures

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Wagner: Marches & Overtures
Wagner: Cantatas & Overtures

ASIN: B0001Z65J4
Release Date: 2004-06-15

Tracks:

Rienzi
Konig Enzio (King Enzio)
Dos Liebesverbot ( The Ban On Love)
Die Feen (The Fairies)
Christoph Columbus
Faust

Customer Reviews:

Mostly minor, mostly attractive, early Wagner.......2004-08-06

This is an interesting and worthwhile disk of Wagner rarities, offering the _Rienzi_, _König Enzio_, _Das Liebesverbot_, _Die Feen_, _Christolph Columbus_ and _Faust_ overtures.

These are mostly minor pieces, and mostly attractive, as well as being fascinating products of a brash young genius learning his trade. The _Rienzi_ overture is the best-known piece, and perhaps the least "minor". Still, the best piece here is probably the _Faust_ overture. This tautly dramatic piece imitates Beethoven and Weber, as Wagner does in most of his early work, but also establishes an interesting darkness in harmony, and reveals skill in building up tension, which shows Wagner starting to find his own voice. Wagner said that it was with the _Faust_ overture that he first "became Wagner", and he was right. (By the way the cover gives the Faust overture's timing as 12 minutes, 19 seconds. Actually it's 12' 15". It's not that there are four seconds of music missing from the CD; it's just a misprint.)

The best disk of early Wagner overtures I know is from a two-CD set by Marek Janowski. One CD, with the French Radio Phil, offers mainstream Wagner excerpts from _Tannhäuser_, _Tristan_, _Lohengrin_ and _Meistersinger_, plus _Siegfried Idyll_, all very well played. But disk 2, with the London Symphony Orchestra, offers some rarities: the _Kaisermarsch_, the _Faust Overture_, the _Huldigungsmarsch_, the _Die Feen_ overture, the _American Centennial March_ and the _Das Liebesverbot_ overture. Janowski's may be the best account of the _Faust_ overture (also performed by Rahbari on this Naxos disk) that I know of. Janowski also offers better versions of the _Die Feen_ and _Das Liebesverbot_ overtures, while the versions in the Sawallisch complete recordings of these two early Wagner operas are better still. But the Rahbari/Malaga Phil performances of each of these pieces are still perfectly satisfactory in every way.

And, still with other performances of Wagner rarities, the world premier recording of the _König Enzio_ overture, also on this Naxo disk, was released in 2001 by the Robert Schumann Philharmonic Chemnitz under Oleg Caetani. That also offers a better performance than the Malaga Phil under Rahbari, though Rahbari and crew are perfectly good. The Caetani disk is worth having not only for the _König Enzio_ overture, which at the time wasn't available elsewhere, but also for the original version of Wagner's Prelude to Tannhäuser_ Act III, which is longer and more complex, and in my opinion better, than the better known, later, version. In more familiar territory the Caetani disk also offers a rattling good _Fliegende Holländer_ overture, and good performances of the _Lohengrin_ Acts I and III preludes, the _Tannhäuser_ overture, a "Walkürenritt" and the _Meistersinger_ overture.

So where Rahbari and the Malaga Phil duplicate these earlier disks, the performances are good but not quite as good. But this is still a great collection of Wagner rarities, on which every piece is well played.

Moreover, as far as I know Rahbari offers the only performance of the _Christolph Columbus_ overture on the market. This is an attractive piece, with a lot of heroic trumpeting about and a couple of "bold mariner" type themes, competently handled by the young Wagner. By the way, Cosima's Diary notes that Wagner once heard Rubinstein playing an arrangement of Mendelsohnn's _Calm Seas and Prosperous Voyage_ overture, and remarked [quote from memory], "that's my _Christolph Columbus_ overture! What a thief I was as a young man!"

While I'd agree with Wagner that his younger self pinched ideas from all over the place, and the older composer was still prepared to help himself to the odd good thing, on this particular occasion I think Wagner accused himself falsely. Both overtures are excellent, but they are two independent pieces of music.

I strongly recommend this disk, especially at the Naxos price, to people wanting to explore some early, mostly minor but mostly attractive, Wagner.

Cheers!

Laon

Average customer rating:

Wagner: Opera Orchestral Music

Manufacturer: Vox (Classical)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000001KAH
Release Date: 1994-09-27

Average customer rating:

Wagner: The Overtures

Manufacturer: Asv Living Era
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000030XD
Release Date: 1997-06-17

Tracks:

Die Feen: Ov
Das Liebesverbot: Ov
Rienzi: Ov
Der Fliegende Hollander: Ov
Tannhauser: Ov And Venusberg Music (Bacchanale)
Eine Faust: Ov

Wagner: Fliegende Holländer WWV63; Rienzi WWV49

Average customer rating:

Wagner: Fliegende Holländer WWV63; Rienzi WWV49

Manufacturer: Asv Living Era
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B0000030RR
Release Date: 1993-12-16

Average customer rating:

Orchestra del teatro di where? No competition for Sawallisch

Wagner: Die Feen

Manufacturer: Dynamic Italy
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00000I6I6
Release Date: 1999-06-01

Tracks:

Ov - Orch Del Teatro Comunale Di Cagliari/Gabor Otvos
Act One: Intro. Chor: Scwinget Euch Auf... - Coro Del Teatro Comunale Di Cagliari/Paolo Vero
Act One. Recitative: Warum, Zemina - Manuela Kriscak/Ulrike Sonntag
Act One: Ihr Geister All! - Manuela Kriscak/Ulrike Sonntag
Act One. Scene And Recitative: Was Seh' Ich?... - Frieder Lang/Sebastian Holecek/Artur Korn
Act One. Aria: Wo Find Ich Dich, Wo Wird Mir Trost? - Raimo Sirkia
Act One. Recitative: Da Steht Ihr Nun... - Artur Korn/raimo Sirkia
Act One. Romance: War Einst' Ne Bose Hexe Woh! - Artur Korn
Act One. Qt: Arindal! - Frieder Lang/Raimo Sirkia/Artur Korn
Act One. Cavatina: Wie Muss Ich Doch Beklagen - Sue Patchell
Act One: Wo Bin Ich?... - Raimo Sirkia
Act One: Auf, Arindal... - Sebastian Holecek/Frieder Lang/Artur Korn/Raimo Sirkia/Coro Del Teatro Comunale Di Cagliari...
Act One: Dir Tonet Freudig Unser Jubel - Sebastian Holecek/Frieder Lang/Artur Korn/Raimo Sirkia/Jyrki Korhonen/Sue Patchell/Ulrike Sonntag...

Tracks:

Act Two. Intro: Weh! Uns, Weh, Wir Sind Geschlagen - Coro Del Teatro Comunale Di Cagliari/Paolo Vero
Act Two. Aria: O Musst Du, Hoffnung, Schwinden - Dagmar Schellenberger
Act Two. Chor: O Konig... - Coro Del Teatro Comunale Di Cagliari/Paolo Vero/Raimo Sirkia/Sebastian Holecek...
Act Two: Weh' Mir... - Sue Patchell
Act Two. Recitative: Wie? Ist Dir's, Gunther - Artur Korn/Frieder Lang
Act Two. Duet: Wie? Seh' Ich Recht? - Birgit Beer/Artur Korn
Act Two. Finale: Hort Ihr Des Sturmes Brausen - Sebastian Holecek/Frieder Lang/Artur Korn/Raimo Sirkia/Jyrki Korhonen/Sue Patchell/Ulrike Sonntag...
Act Two: O Seht Die Holden Kleinen - Dagmar Schellenberger/Birgit Beer/Frieder Lang/Artur Korn
Act Two: O Gott, Was Horen Wir - Sebastian Holecek/Frieder Lang/Artur Korn/Raimo Sirkia/Jyrki Korhonen/Sue Patchell/Ulrike Sonntag...

Tracks:

Act Three: Intro. Chor: Heil Sei Dem Holden Frieden - Coro Del Teatro Comunale Di Cagliari/Paolo Vero
Act Three: Genug, O Endet Dieser Feste Jubel! - Sebastian Holecek
Act Three. Scene: Halloh! Lasst Alle Hunde Los! - Raimo Sirkia
Act Three. Aria: Ich Seh' Den Himmel Dort Sich Offnen - Raimo Sirkia
Act Three. Recitative: So Ware Uns're Ada Denn Gegrettet - Manuela Kriscak/Ulrike Sonntag
Act Three. Trio: Auf! Erwache, Arindal! - Manuela Kriscak/Ulrike Sonntag/Raimo Sirkia
Act Three: Finale. Chor: Ihr Geister, Auf, Bewachtet Treu - Coro Del Teatro Comunale Di Cagliari/Paolo Vero
Act Three: Doch Jetzt Erlahme Seine Kraft - Manuela Kriscak/Raimo Sirkia/Ulrike Sonntag
Act Three: O Ihr, Des Busens Hochgefuhle - Raimo Sirkia

Customer Reviews:

Orchestra del teatro di where? No competition for Sawallisch.......2001-10-09

Whoever thought that one day there'd be two competing, non-pirate, recordings of Wagner's first opera, _Die Feen_?

It's an unjustly neglected opera, with a surprisingly good libretto for Wagner's first time out: a remarkably sophisticated effort with echoes of _Zauberflöte_ and pre-echoes of _Die Frau ohne Schatten_. And a score that reminds us that Wagner was a great melodist, who could have spent his career banging out tunes every bit as good as Donizetti's, if he'd had a mind to. (The immediate musical inspirations in this score may be Weber and Beethoven, but Donizetti and Bellini aren't far behind, especially in the big romantic arias for Wagner's lovers, and some supple and witty vocal writing for the second, buffo, couple.)

But this recent recording, with Gabor Otvos conducting the Orchestra Del Teatro Comunale Di Cagliari, isn't really much competition for the superb earlier recording with Sawallisch conducting, and leading an infinitely better cast than Otvos' singing unknowns.

There's nothing wrong with unknown singers, of course. The Naxos _Fleigende Holländer_ was also handled by obscure singers; the difference is that those singers more than rose to the occasion, making it clear that they deserve to be better known. But the obscurity of the singers in this recording of _Die Feen_ cast is unlikely to be lifted by this recording. The singing is adequate but never special, not in vocal beauty nor in characterisation. Nor does Otvos work any miracles with his barely fourth-rate orchestra.

All in all this is the sort of recording that might reasonably have been released _before_ the Sawallisch set: to fill the gap in the catalogue with a library-reference recording. But it can't seriously set itself in competition with that set.

This might be worth buying at a budget price, but at only a couple of dollars less than the Sawallisch set, it's not recommended.

Cheers!

Laon

Wagner - Die Feen (The Fairies) / Ether Gray, J. Alexander, J. Anderson, Studer, Hermann, Rootering, Orth, Lövaas, Laki, Moll, Helm; Sawallisch
Average customer rating:

Incredible!

"If music be the food of love . . . . . ."

Wagner - Die Feen (The Fairies) / Ether Gray, J. Alexander, J. Anderson, Studer, Hermann, Rootering, Orth, Lövaas, Laki, Moll, Helm; Sawallisch
Richard Wagner , Wolfgang Sawallisch , June Anderson , Cheryl Studer , John Alexander , Linda Esther Gray , Roland Hermann , Jan-Hendrik Rootering , Norbert Orth , Krisztina Laki , and Kurt Moll
Manufacturer: Orfeo
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

All Works by Wagner | Wagner, Richard | ( W ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
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Wagner - Das Liebesverbot / Hass, Coburn, Schunk, Prey, Engen, Bayerische Staatsoper, Sawallisch

Wagner: Rienzi

Wagner: Das Liebesverbot

Wagner - Rienzi / Kollo · Studer · Rootering · Bayerische Staatsoper · Sawallisch

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Complete Works (170 CD Box Set)

ASIN: B00000597S
Release Date: 1994-12-12

Tracks:

Act One: Ouverture
The Fairies - 1. Bild Feengarten: Act I: - Introduktion (Chor der Feen)
The Fairies - 1. Bild Feengarten: Act I: Rezitativ (Farzana, Zemina) - Chor der Geister und Feen
The Fairies - 2. Bild Wilde Einode mit Felsen: Act I: Szene und Resitativ (Gunther, Morald, Gernot) - Gernots Erzahlung
The Fairies - 2. Bild Wilde Einode mit Felsen: Act I: Arie (Arindal)
The Fairies - 2. Bild Wilde Einode mit Felsen: Act I: Rezitativ (Gernot, Arindal)
The Fairies - 2. Bild Wilde Einode mit Felsen: Act I: Romanze (Gernot)
The Fairies - 2. Bild Wilde Einode mit Felsen: Act I: Quartett (Arindal, Gunther, Gernot, Morald) - Finale I
The Fairies - 2. Bild Wilde Einode mit Felsen: Act I: Rezitativ (Arindal)
The Fairies - 3. Bild Feengarten mit glanzendem Palast: Act I: Cavatina (Ada)
The Fairies - 3. Bild Feengarten mit glanzendem Palast: Act One : Rezitativ und Duett (Ada, Arindal)
The Fairies - 3. Bild Feengarten mit glanzendem Palast: Act I: Szene (Ensemble und Chor)

Tracks:

The Fairies - Vorhalle eines Palastes in der Hauptstadt Arindals: Act II: Introduktion (Chor der Krieger und des Volkes, Lora)
The Fairies - Vorhalle eines Palastes in der Hauptstadt Arindals: Act II: Arie - Szene (Bote, Lora, Chor)
The Fairies - Vorhalle eines Palastes in der Hauptstadt Arindals: Act II: Chor un Terzett (Lora, Arindal, Morald)
The Fairies - Vorhalle eines Palastes in der Hauptstadt Arindals: Act II: Rezitativ (Gernot, Gunther) - Duett (Drolla, Gernot)
The Fairies - Vorhalle eines Palastes in der Hauptstadt Arindals: Act II: Rezitativ (Ada, Farzana, Zemina)
The Fairies - Vorhalle eines Palastes in der Hauptstadt Arindals: Act II: Szene und Arie (Ada)
The Fairies - Vorhalle eines Palastes in der Hauptstadt Arindals: Act II: Finale II (Chor des Volkes und der Krieger, Lora, Drolla, Arindal, Gunther, Morald, Gernot, Harald, Zemina, Farzana)

Tracks:

The Fairies - 1. Bild Festliche Halle: Act III: Introduktion (Chor, Morald, Lora, Drolla, Gunther, Gernot)
The Fairies - 1. Bild Festliche Halle: Act III: Szene und Arie (Arindal)
The Fairies - 1. Bild Festliche Halle: Act III: Szene (Stimmen Adas und Gromas; Farzana, Zemina)
The Fairies - 1. Bild Festliche Halle: Act III: Terzett (Arindal, Farzana, Zemina)
The Fairies - 2. Bild Furchtbare Kluft des undterirdischen Reiches: Act III: Finale III - Szene (Chor der Erdgeister, Arindal,Farzana, Zemina, Gromas Stimme, Chor von Gromas Geistern und der ehernen Manner, Ada)
The Fairies - 3. Bild Herrlichter Feenpalast, von Wolken umgeben: Act III: Schlussszene (Feenkonig, Arindal, Chor der Feen und Geister)

Amazon.com

This recording is for the Wagnerian who must have everything including the master's least known opera Die Feen (the Fairies), a work so obscure that it did not see the footlights until five years after the composer's death. Ordinarily when dealing with Wagnerian juvenilia, one finds obscure artists in less than ideal recordings (pirated editions, as often as not). Orfeo performs meritorious service for the Wagnerian faithful here by providing a genuine first string cast for this work in a live performance from the 1983 Munich Opera Festival. The Weberian flavor of the score is admirably realized by the Bavarian Broadcasting Symphony under Swallisch. For those interested in the early musical style of the future genius of Bayreuth, this is likely to remain the best recording of any of these early efforts. --Christian C. Rix

Customer Reviews:

Incredible!.......2003-12-05

This is Wagner's first opera he ever wrote, well the first he finished (he did draft one where everyone was dead by the end of the first act, and there were 3 acts left to go). For a first attempt at opera I would say he didn't fail at all. What is so wrong is we often compare works like this one (and Renzi, and "the Ban on Love" -- I forget the German title) with his later music dramas. When we resurrect Mozart's early works they are seldom compared to his masterpieces. Instead, we simply enjoy the composer for what he had to offer. The main reason Wagner's early works get such negative reviews is his style changed drastically throughout his composing career. Mozart's style didn't change at all.

There are lapses in dramatic movement in this work, and there are musical expressions that are not completely developed as we would expect from Wagner, however, the work is masterful. The orchestral writing is very advanced and looks forward to his more complex writing.

Where we become confused, if I can word it like that, is with the style. Wagner has mastered the accompanied dramatic recitative and is equal to Verdi, or Bellini (who was his idol at this time; he even wrote an additional aria for the Bass in Norma to flesh out where he thought Bellini could have done more), even Donizetti. In fact, at times it is hard to tell who he was inspired by. Surely Weber inspired him in thematic material, and in the "rage for all things supernatural", but Weber is clumsy with recitative, where as Wagner is not. At times one is reminded of Beethoven, then just as you are sure you know where Wagner got his inspiration, you are rushed off wondering where this new musical idea had its birth.

It wasn't that Wagner hated this opera when he wrote it (like Rienzi, it would fall out of his favor as he developed his ultimate musical voice; Rienzi is French Grand opera alla Meyerbeer at its best, even though it was always written in German, but Die Feen is of that strange "non-specific German Romantic Period"), it was simply impossible for him to get anyone interested in even looking at the score. When if finally was premiered, it was years after his death and after his mature style was well established and influencing music writing all across Europe. The original audience laughed at it (I believe it had only one performance) unwilling to even accept this from the "Musical Genius" they knew as Wagner.

For decades, nearly a century, really, it was seen as nothing more than a footnote in all accounts of Wagner's life, and even denigrated as a "worthless piece of trash." The only piece even known from the work was the soprano scene and aria from Act 2 for Ada, "Weh' mir, so nah' die furcherliche stunde." This was recorded by such great singers as Birgit Nilsson.

Fortunately, we have a live performance of the work, so we can imagine how it came across to those attending the performance. Amazingly (though it shouldn't be), facts have proven the "historians" wrong. It seems that this opera is completely acceptable, in fact, it is delightful, dramatic, very well orchestrated, exciting, and interesting. The singing in this recording is simply wonderful, and we have voices that can handle the coloratura requirements of the roles. That may sound funny, but there are coloratura requirements (remember the Bellini influence of this time period). No, they are not the flashes of technical wonder one would find in Donizetti or Bellini, but they are there. Usually voices that sing Wagner well (and even in this early opera a small voice would not have rode over the orchestra easily) are completely unable to sing runs, trills (which are usually never sung well even in Walkure), or anything like that. For once we have singers who can produce the goods, and do it in spades.

Would this recording be to everyone's liking? That is a matter of taste. If you are not familiar with Wagner's early writing at all, I would recommend you borrow the recording before buying it. It may prove a bit boring at times, for like all Wagner, it is NOT a short opera. If the earliest Wagner you know is the Flying Dutchman, then you will find elements of this work that are similar to that one (and the dramatic recitatives are just as telling), but the over all coherency of the work is not as good. Still, that said, it is great theatre. I rated it five stars because it is worthy of five stars. One thing to add, the singers and the conductor obviously love the work and see great merit in it, for they all perform like they really are enjoying what they are doing. That added energy is truly exciting to experience.

"If music be the food of love . . . . . .".......2001-06-22

A sublime recording, technically perfect, and it's live [without the usual accoutremonts]. Weber? Mozart? [some thought even Beethoven was "the muse"]..... Draw your own conclusion - a superbly structured debut.

Cheryl Studer brings great joy to this rarely heard [never seen?] work.

Perhaps it's time for a staged resurrection with - Oh - maybe the luminous Nadine Secunde? Not forgetting Paul Groves?

This is not a "museum piece" - this one is for Everyman!

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