The passing of Sir Colin Davis has left a big hole
in British musical life. One of his most important and long-lasting
musical relationships was with the LSO and, more recently, LSO Live,
which has brought us some of the finest recordings of his career. Here
they bring us his final opera recording, and it’s definitely worth
exploring, even though most of the time it is very clearly a
concert
recording.
It’s appropriate that the star of the recording is Davis himself
and, in partnership, the London Symphony Orchestra. They are at their
absolute finest in the splendid account of the overture that opens the
set. It’s wonderfully atmospheric. Listen, for example, to those
opening string phrases, redolent with meaning - is it menace or promise?
Then there’s that magical horn quartet that sounds like the mist
rising, here beautifully played and recorded, as fine as I've ever heard
it. Next along comes the C minor theme associated with Samiel's evil
magic, here sounding urgent, thrusting and angular, even frightening
in places. Yes, Agathe's C major theme wins in the end, but here it
sounds like more of a struggle than I've ever heard before, thanks primarily
to the fantastically exciting sound of the LSO brass. Davis too, a showman
to his fingertips, is unafraid to throw in a diminuendo or a ritardando
to heighten the dramatic tension and wrong-foot the listener: the pauses
between the pizzicato chords that introduce the coda, for example, seem
to go on for ever but then give way to a blazing climax that sets the
seal on the overture and heightens the listener's sense of excitement
for the opera that is about to unfold.
The orchestra consistently revel in the opportunity to let their hair
down and relish Weber's extraordinary colour. Listen, for example, to
the abandon with which they throw themselves into the hunters' waltz
in Act 1 or the rollicking of the horns in the entr'acte that opens
Act 3, not to mention the Hunters’ Chorus itself. The piccolos
that punctuate Caspar's drinking-song sound positively devilish and
the string tremolos that accompany the references to Samiel are chilling.
The low brass that accompany the Hermit's utterances are appropriately
awe-inspiring, and the solo flute and cello that play so important a
role in the scene of Max's pardon add a lovely touch of colour.
The players are also very good at conjuring up entirely different sound-worlds
for, say, the outdoor exuberance of the hunters' scenes and the domestic
interior world of Agathe and Ännchen.
The singers are also very good, if rather earthbound in places, and
it is here that you most get the sense that this is a recording of a
concert rather than a lived-in dramatic experience. That’s particularly
true for the women. Christine Brewer is a treat for the ears. Her rich
refulgent voice gives the role a luxurious quality that you seldom hear,
even from the likes of Gundula Janowitz. It's something to revel in,
even if it's not particularly well acted. She sounds more like a Wagnerian
princess than a humble hunter's daughter, but for many that will be
a price worth paying for such a resplendent account of
Leise, leise,
though perhaps it doesn't work quite so well for
Und ob die Wolke.
Sally Matthews sounds great, but her Ännchen isn't as skittish
and light-hearted as you might have hoped. I can imagine her making
a very successful Agathe one day, but it’s a problem that the
two female roles aren’t particularly well contrasted.
As for the men, Simon O'Neill is an ardent, heroic Max. Perhaps he doesn't
have the excitement of Rudolf Schock or, on Davis’ earlier recording,
the honeyed smoothness of Francisco Araiza, but he is fully inside the
drama of the part. He doesn't quite relax into
Durch die Wälder
in the lyrical manner of Peter Schreier but he rises to an exciting
climax at the end of the aria when he questions the very existence of
God. Lars Woldt as Caspar has a touch of gravel in his voice that
points up the sinister elements of his character and sets him apart
from the more dignified bass voice of, say, Martin Snell's Cuno. While
Woldt may not be as blackly malevolent as Matti Salminen in
Harnoncourt’s
recording he is fantastically devilish in his aria at the end of
Act 1 where he exults in Max's pending destruction. Stephan Loges is
a vigorous and interesting Ottakar, though Gidon Saks is an underwhelming
Hermit, the low tessitura evading him somewhat.
The LSO Chorus do sound primarily like a symphonic chorus, and some
of the excitement of the text eludes them somewhat, but they still make
a fantastic sound, especially when they throw themselves into the opening
chorus celebrating Kilian’s victory, and they help to raise the
roof in the final bars.
The one place where the limitations of a concert setting are put aside
comes, as well it should, with the Wolf's Glen scene, which the engineers
have captured with cunning use of off-stage effects, creative placing
of microphones and even some sound-effects like a gathering thunderstorm.
It's very effective and is one of the moments where the pulse really
quickens.
No-one should dismiss this
Freischütz out of hand - it is
definitely worth hearing, especially for the contribution of Davis and
the orchestra, and it is a very good recording to have as Davis’
final opera - but I don’t think it really holds the field against
the competition. Nor is it as compelling as some of Davis’s other
LSO Live opera sets, most notably his Berlioz cycle which reflected
this conductor’s magnificent Indian Summer when it came to that
composer with whom he had spent his entire artistic life.
As for a first choice
Freischütz, for me Kleiber’s
recording still beats off all comers and, even though I was a little
rude about it at the time, I like
Keilberth’s
1958 recording more and more the more I hear it. This LSO Live edition
comes at a bargain price, but the recording omits the dialogue, which
some will like but which I most certainly did not. The booklet contains
the German sung texts with the English translation but the synopsis
is irritatingly incomplete, leaving out key details such as the mistaken
wreath or even the shooting of Agathe, so you'd be well advised to have
some extra help at hand when you sit down to listen.
Simon Thompson
See also review by
Göran
Forsling 
[64:20 + 58:23] 
