This is the first major release of the Wagner bicentenary
year to come my way, and it’s thrilling. Even more exciting
is the news that it is only the first instalment of a complete
Mariinsky Ring: Rheingold will follow in September
2013, with Siegfried and Götterdämmerung
in 2014. If this instalment is anything to go by then this it’s
going to be a Ring to cherish.
So much about this set works so well, but it makes sense to
begin with the singing. Much of the attention this release gets
will focus on Jonas Kaufmann’s Siegmund, and rightly so
because he is a marvel. He is now at the point of his career
where his voice is perfect for the role of the Wälsung
hero. He combines lyrical beauty with dark, rugged heroism and
a supreme sense of excitement in articulating every phrase.
The baritonal darkness of his voice makes you sit up and take
notice from the very first phrase, and it’s this that
makes his assumption of the role so distinctive. It adds an
even greater layer of pathos to the character’s suffering
while giving Siegmund extra heroic grandeur that makes us root
for him all the more. The excitement is there in his cries of
Wälse! Wälse! and in his ringing excitement
of Wälsungen-Blut that brings down the curtain on
Act 1, but the lyrical beauty of his Winterstürme
is every bit as compelling, as is his lovely song to the sleeping
Sieglinde at the end of Act 2. As important as the vocal beauty,
though, is the thoughtful artistry that underpins everything
he does. Like a lieder singer, he seems to have thought deeply
about the text and each phrase feels laden with meaning, articulated
with clarity and precision. Listen, for example, to the way
in which he grows into his narration of his past in the first
act. The opening phrases seem tentative, even nervous, as if
he is reluctant to share his life story with Hunding, but the
monologue grows like a great arch leading to a final couplet
(Nun weisst du, fragende Frau...) that will break your
heart. Likewise, the entire Todesverkundigung scene grows
in stature from its dream-like beginnings through to a hair-raising
finale, electrified by Kaufmann’s identification with
the text, before subsiding into the peace of Zauberfest.
Kaufmann’s Siegmund is more lyrical than Jon Vickers (Karajan
on DG), more beautiful than Gary Lakes (Levine on DG), more
distinctive than Poul Elming (Barenboim on Warner) and more
heroic than James King (Solti on Decca or Böhm on Philips).
The closest comparison I’ve come across on disc is with
Ramón Vinay (Krauss on Archipel and Keilberth on Testament)
whose dark voice is of a similar hue to Kaufmann’s and
who has a similarly complete identification with the character.
This should be enough to show you that Kaufmann’s Siegmund
is in a very special league indeed, and for his contribution
alone this set is worth the purchase price.
This is far from being a one-man show, though, because the rest
of the cast are just as notable. Anja Kampe’s Sieglinde
develops most movingly as the opera progresses. When she first
appears in Act 1 her primary characteristic is of clarity and
thrilling nobility, as well as beauty of tone that you can take
as read. Her attempt to get Siegmund to remain in the house
of bad luck (So bleibe hier!) made the hairs on my neck
prickle, and she crests the wave of ecstasy in Du bist der
Lenz. However, by the time of Acts 2 and 3 she has assumed
an air of wounded vulnerability, almost broken in Act 3 when
she asks to be left alone. She revives rapidly when she hears
the news of her child, though you’ll hear O herrstes
Wunder sung better from other sopranos. René Pape’s
Wotan is almost as remarkable as Kaufmann’s Siegmund.
He has already recorded roles like Landgrave Herman and King
Heinrich for Barenboim, and his graduation into Wagner’s
most difficult role is a triumph. He has a bewitching beauty
of tone that will win over any listener, but his secret weapon
is the way he sings with a bel canto-like ear for the
long line. This obviously helps to make the farewell very moving,
but it also helps to energise and unify other moments that can
sprawl, most notably the great monologue of Act 2 which ebbs
and flows with a natural air that you seldom hear from other
singers. His interpretation emphasises the warmth of Wotan the
father, and during the moment in Act 3 where he pronounces his
sentence on Brünnhilde you can really sense the character’s
pain, as if he is forcing himself to say the reluctant words.
As that errant daughter, Nina Stemme reminds us that she is
the premier Wagnerian soprano at work today. Her voice has a
grandeur and nobility that lends dignity and stature to the
role of the Valkyrie - it is another reason why the Todesverkundigung
is so thrilling, as is her interaction with her sisters at the
start of Act 3 - and her singing with Pape makes the end of
Act 3 very special. She still manages an element of impetuosity
in her Hojotohos that open Act 2, even if she never sounds
exactly girlish. Mikhail Petrenko is a genuinely malevolent
Hunding. He never falls back on posturing or vocal colour alone,
but uses an edge to his voice to make him sound properly sinister
while remaining exciting at the same time. Ekaterina Gubanova’s
Fricka is noble, dignified and very well sung, if slightly anonymous
in her vocal acting. Furthermore, I have seldom heard a band
of Valkyries sound so convincingly war-like. They sing thrillingly,
but have an excited ring about their voice that never lets you
forget that these are warrior maidens.
Gergiev’s Wagner has not always been well received - his
Ring was slated during its appearances in this country
- but for me this recording shows him as a Wagnerian of importance
and skill. He conducts with an eye on the long view. This works
exceptionally well in Act 1, whose orgasmic climax on the retrieval
of the sword is so powerful because it has been so well prepared.
The same is true for Act 3, which unfolds entirely appropriately,
each scene giving way naturally to the next, though for me it
was marred by a too speedy rendition of the Magic Fire Music
which made the end of the act feel rushed. Only Act 2 felt a
bit episodic, though it’s sometimes hard to make it seem
anything else. He is particularly skilled at judging transitions,
and in most cases they are so powerful because you barely notice
them, a skill surely honed from his vast experience in the theatre.
His tempi don’t tend to draw attention to themselves,
though a few times I noticed him holding onto a moment for a
fraction longer than you might expect (such as in Siegmund’s
Wälse monologue), thereby heightening the expectation
for what is to come next. He repeatedly lights up a particular
passage with a sharp flash of colour, and in this he is helped
by the superb playing of the Mariinsky orchestra. The press
notes for this release make great play of the theatre’s
connection with Wagner, including the informed speculation that
it was this orchestra that first played any music from The
Ring, and their playing is indeed very special, comfortably
passing any comparison test with orchestras to their west. The
surging, pulsing strings are particularly effective in Act 1,
and the brass add a special touch of class to the climaxes of
Acts 2 and 3. The whole enterprise is supported by excellent
recorded sound. The engineers have done a fantastic job of capturing
the performances (sessions and live concerts) with supreme clarity
and, perhaps surprisingly, they reveal an enormous amount in
the Ride of the Valkyries, laying bare the sound with a degree
of clarity that is often lost elsewhere: you’ll never
hear better piccolos in the Ride than here!
Few operas take their audience on a journey as extensive or
profound as does Walküre, and it is difficult for
any recording to do it complete justice. In terms of modern
performances, though, this is the finest CD version to have
appeared in many long years. For me, this version surpasses
digital recordings from Haitink, Levine and Janowski, and, while
it won’t make anyone throw away Solti, Keilberth or (especially)
Böhm, it is able to look them in the face and stand the
comparison. The booklet contains a thoughtful essay with libretto
in Russian, German and English. Incidentally, while some of
the music was recorded live in concert, there are no intrusive
audience noises, though you might pick up a fair amount of groaning
in the quieter passages, presumably coming from the maestro
himself.
If the rest of the Wagner bicentennial produces recordings as
good as this then we are in for a great year.
Simon Thompson
Masterwork Index: Die
Walküre
Support
us financially by purchasing this disc from: |
|
|
|
|
Siegmund - Jonas Kaufmann 
[4 CDs: 67:48 + 50:24 + 45:41 + 72:43] 