Bryn Terfel Sings Wagner [Hybrid SACD] [Hybrid SACD]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Bryn Terfel brings a resonant voice and wide emotional range to Wagner's bass-baritone roles. He's a touching Flying Dutchman, a grief-laden Amfortas in two scenes from Parsifal, a wise, sympathetic Hans Sachs in the two monologues from Die Meistersinger, and at his best in a smoothly sung rendition of Wolfram's Evening Star aria from Tannhäuser. The only quibble is a degree of overemoting that can sectionalize scenes through an excess of passion where understatement often works better. The first part of "Leb' wohl," for example, is delivered with a surplus of anger where sad resignation would be more appropriate, since Wotan's fury has been spent by the time we reach this point. Such vocal heavy lifting sometimes reminds one of the old "Bayreuth bark" school of Wagnerian singing, but those moments pass quickly. It's doubtful you'll find anything amiss if you're not familiar with past masters like Hans Hotter and Friederich Schorr. Wagnerians and Terfel fans will snap this up. --Dan Davis --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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From the vocal and musical point of view, Terfel sings every piece beautifully. His words are crystal-clear even without following the texts (though this clarity also conveys the 'u' of Amfortas's 'unenthullt' as 'unenthalt'). Interpretatively, however, it sounds as if he has tried to imagine the missing environment of each excerpt and succeeded almost too well. Even for listeners familiar with those musical surroundings, the experience of hearing such passages separately requires a different... read more --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Bryn Terfel Sings Wagner [Hybrid SACD] [Hybrid SACD]

Bryn Terfel Sings Wagner, Music, Richard Wagner, Claudio Abbado, Berliner Philharmoniker, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Vocals, German/Austrian Romantic Opera, Miscellaneous Music, Opera

Average customer rating:

Not a Wagnerian

New hot tenor

A TASTER OF THINGS TO COME

Wagner's Music Beautifully Sung

Yawn...on to the band wagon too Mr Terfel?

Bryn Terfel Sings Wagner
Bryn Terfel , Wagner , Bpo , and Abbado
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra | ( B ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B000079BGI
Release Date: 2003-01-14

Amazon.com

Bryn Terfel brings a resonant voice and wide emotional range to Wagner's bass-baritone roles. He's a touching Flying Dutchman, a grief-laden Amfortas in two scenes from Parsifal, a wise, sympathetic Hans Sachs in the two monologues from Die Meistersinger, and at his best in a smoothly sung rendition of Wolfram's Evening Star aria from Tannhäuser. The only quibble is a degree of overemoting that can sectionalize scenes through an excess of passion where understatement often works better. The first part of "Leb' wohl," for example, is delivered with a surplus of anger where sad resignation would be more appropriate, since Wotan's fury has been spent by the time we reach this point. Such vocal heavy lifting sometimes reminds one of the old "Bayreuth bark" school of Wagnerian singing, but those moments pass quickly. It's doubtful you'll find anything amiss if you're not familiar with past masters like Hans Hotter and Friederich Schorr. Wagnerians and Terfel fans will snap this up. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

Not a Wagnerian.......2007-01-23

Well, what can one say after waiting so long? I expected to be awash in this gorgeous voice, with wave after wave of beauty. The impression that I actually had, after all was sung and done, was that Mr. Terfel is not a Wagnerian. The voice is certainly beautiful, but it simply lacks the heroic thrill I was looking for (and waiting for all these years). He sounds pressed at times, like the voice has no more to give. This also has to be the most overinterpreted Wagner I have heard. It has a certain lieder quality to it, but her it is excessive finesse, subtle delicacy and shading for no purpose, when the grander line is indicated. It is worth having, but not listening to over and over for the sheer joy of beauty.

New hot tenor.......2006-02-25

While I was looking for him to sing an entire opera, this was next best. He is smooth!

A TASTER OF THINGS TO COME.......2005-09-16

Here's a disc to get Wagnerians salivating at the prospect of great things to come. Despite numerous and, no doubt, lucrative offers, Bryn Terfel wisely resisted the lure of the big Wagnerian roles until he felt he and his voice were ready for them. Apparently we have, in part, to thank Solti's wise words of warning for that. There is no doubt that here is potentially one of the great Wagnerian bass-baritones in the making, worthy to be compared with van Rooy, Schorr and Hotter. Terfel has the ability and the taste to sing with the kind of bel canto line that Wagner always said he wanted but, alas, has so seldom received.

But! It is still early days and there are times in this collection when a lack of stage experience in these parts shows. Yes, the singing is consistenly beautiful with the characteristic Terfel traits of wonderfully floated mezza voces and ringing top notes (listen to the end of the Dutchman's aria).

However, the depth of characterisation is sometimes lacking. Amfortas' anguish is too generalised. Sachs' understanding of mankind's foibles in the Wahnmonolog derives from the specific text rather than the character as a whole. Wotan, who undergoes the great sea-change in his character that turns him into the resigned Wanderer of Siegfried at precisely this point in Walkure (the Farewell), is still too much the angry, bitter Wotan of Act II and the beginning of Act III. (Remember, this disc was made before he embarked on his first stage performances.) Compare Terfel at "der freie als ich, der Gott: one freer than I, the God" - a forte outburst of resentment from Bryn's god: with Hotter, an infinitely moving patina of resignation colours the voice. Nevertheless, Terfel's ban on fearful fire-invaders at the end is hugely stirring.

It is, perhaps, the earlier Wagner that fares best. The Dutchman's Monologue, which he has recorded before with Levine, is hair-raising in the best sense. Wolfram's Song to the Evening Star is sublime. Even Sachs' Fliedermonolog, part of Terfel's repertoire since the famous head-to-head with Hvorostovsky in Cardiff, is sung with sensitivity and a wonderful sense of line. Amfortas perhaps lies a little high for his voice. Gurnemanz will, I think, prove to be the Parsifal part for him - a pity maybe that he didn't give us the Good Friday Scene instead of the Amfortas monologues. The orchestral accompaniments from Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic are, like the voice, stronger on beauty of tone than characterisation, but they get the recital off to a rousing start with a fine live performance of the Hollander Overture.

All in all, then, an appetising taster of (hopefully) things to come, a must for Wagnerians and Terfelians alike, but I feel sure there are greater performances to come from Terfel in this repertoire (witness his recent Wotan at Covent Garden and the Proms) - especially when he tackles complete roles rather than 'bleeding chunks'.

Wagner's Music Beautifully Sung.......2003-06-28

I am a relative newcomer to Wagner, but I'm already tired of singers (basses especially) who wobble and bark their way through the composer's glorious music. Bryn Terfel in his new Wagner CD offers a corrective to that style of "singing." Terfel's voice has grown in size and weight over the past several years, which means that it is now a more apt instrument for Wagner's music. His voice remains firm, round, warm, sweet, and above all, STEADY. I do notice some brief moments of strain on loud notes in what sounds like his upper-middle register -- but this is nothing compared to the harsh tones produced by some Wagnerian basses I've heard, past and present. On the whole, it is extremely gratifying to hear this music so beautifully sung.
I must disagree with those who find the selections dramatically bland. In the Dutchman's monologue, Terfel sounds more "inside" the role than he did when he performed the excerpt on his 1995 "Opera Arias" CD (but that was an amazing piece of singing, too!). "O du, mein holder Abenstern", which he also sang (superbly) on "Opera Arias," is here spun out with the utmost beauty of tone, suggesting Wolfram's love for Elizabeth. I also agree with the previous reviewer who thought Terfel's rendition of Wotan's Farewell emotionally "wrenching without distracting from the music." For me this track was the biggest surprise of all: Terfel's delivery has a tenderness such as I have never quite heard from him before. But I do believe that Terfel's SINGING is the main reason to buy this CD; as for the characterizations, they can only deepen as Terfel performs these roles onstage. I think he is wise, though, not to rush into them, as he is still quite young.

Yawn...on to the band wagon too Mr Terfel?.......2002-12-18

Mr Terfel is not a singer for Wagner and this CD shows this all too painfully...what more can I say? Spend your money buying any of the other CD's of Wagner that reflect the greatness of the music, not just as a "show case" for a singer. What next Mr Terfel? A touch of Harrison Birtwistle, a soupcon of Ligeti, they are all getting popular now, you know; best get on the band wagon.

Track Listings:

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

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