Richard WAGNER (1813-1883)
Die Walküre - music-drama in three acts (1870)
Stig Fogh Andersen (tenor) - Siegmund
Yvonne Howard (soprano) - Sieglinde
Clive Bayley (bass) - Hunding
Egils Silins (bass) - Wotan
Susan Bullock (soprano) - Brünnhilde
Susan Bickley (mezzo) - Fricka
Miranda Keys (soprano) - Gerhilde
Elaine McKrill (alto) - Ortlinde
Sarah Castle (mezzo) - Waltraute
Linda Finnie (mezzo) - Schwertleite
Katherine Broderick (soprano) - Helmwige
Alison Kettlewell (speaker) - Siegrune
Ceri Williams (mezzo) - Grimgerde
Leah Marian Jones (mezzo) - Roßweiße
The Hallé/Sir Mark Elder
rec. live, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, 15-16 July 2011 and in rehearsal.
DDD.
Booklet with synopsis included. Text and translation on CD5.
HALLÉ CDHLD7531 [4 CDs: 71:32 + 68:13 + 30:59 + 77:13 + CD 5:
libretto and translation]
Mark Elder insists that he and the Hallé Orchestra are not in the process
of recording a full Ring cycle. That's a great shame, as this Walküre
is as fine a recording as their previous and much-lauded Götterdämmerung.
Wagner recorded live in concert is rapidly becoming the rule rather than the
exception, and full Ring cycles in that format from both Gergiev and Janowski
are scheduled for the composer's bicentenary in 2013. No doubt both will be
impressive offerings, but it is hard to imagine that either will have anything
further to say on Walküre than Mark Elder has had to say here.
The performance was split across two consecutive evenings at the Manchester
International Festival in 2011. There were no patch sessions, but the mics
were in place at the rehearsals, and some of this has been edited in. The
result manages to capture the best of both worlds - it's as note-perfect as
a studio recording, but as atmospheric and dramatically coherent as a concert
performance.
From Mark Elder's description of the project, the whole thing was much more
precarious than the assured quality of the recording suggests. The concerts
were only made possible through sponsorship hastily convened by the Manchester
Festival. The cast includes three singers, Sarah Castle, Yvonne Howard and
Elaine McKrill, who were drafted in as short-notice replacements.
Mark Elder is clearly the sort of conductor who would only embark on such
a project if he knew he could do it full justice. He has rehearsed the orchestra
magnificently, not only to follow his occasionally esoteric tempos, but also
to maintain a consistency of spirit and tone across the huge spans of each
of the acts. Elder also has that crucial operatic quality of being able to
give his soloists, both vocal and instrumental, the space they need to shape
their melodic lines, while still maintaining the symphonic logic of the whole.
The orchestra repays his confidence in them with inspired playing at every
turn. The horns deserve a special mention. They are kept busy throughout,
but rarely have the horn parts sounded so fresh and vital as here. Great woodwind
playing too. The woodwind soloists really benefit from the quality of the
sound recording, which both balances them against the ensemble, and picks
them out from the centre of the group with consistent clarity. You'll also
hear better trumpets and trombones here than on most other recordings of the
work.
The performance is very much an interpretation, with Mark Elder imprinting
his musical personality on every phrase. Elder's pacing is similar to the
way he speaks. It is steady, clear and undemonstrative. Clarity of phrase
and rhythm comes though accentuation, from the heels of the strings' bows
and from the brass, while the passion and drama are projected through the
very wide dynamic range. The orchestral set pieces - the Act 1 Prelude, the
Ride of the Valkyries, the Magic Fire music - are all on the steady side as
far as tempos go. The definite and deliberate accentuation ensures that the
slower speeds never threaten the atmosphere or drama. Everything feels like
an emphatic statement, and nothing is ever treated as trivial or transitory.
In the context of other famous recordings of the work, Elder's steady tempos
resemble Haitink, the agogic weight from the orchestra approaches Solti, while
the communication from the podium and the immaculate preparation are more
akin to Karajan.
There are no huge names in the cast, which ironically helps to maintain consistent
quality between the singers. Every one of them is equal to Wagner's challenges,
and despite the concert hall setting, there is a real feeling of dramatic
involvement from each of the leads. Susan Bickley is a suitably angry Fricka,
while Susan Bullock's Brünnhilde sounds both wayward and emotionally
complex. The singers also articulate the German with a rare clarity, another
quality that benefits from the excellent sound engineering. The bass in the
mix is particularly strong and well-defined, all the better to hear the excellent
performances from the lower male voices, Clive Bayley as Hunding and Eglis
Silins as Wotan.
No cast for a Wagner opera is completely flawless. Susan Bullock is considered
one of the finest Brünnhildes of today, but I find her wide, penetrating
vibrato excessive, especially on the top notes. That said, her performance
is less abrasive than on the recent recording of the work from Frankfurt Opera
(Oehms Classics OC 936). Despite the fact that the opera was divided across
two nights, some of the singers can be heard to tire, which is perfectly understandable
given the duration and intensity of many of the monologues. Stig Andersen's
Siegmund sounds much fresher at the start of Act 1 than at the end. Eglis
Silins has similar problems towards the end of Act 2, although he's back on
form for Act 3, and then manages to maintain the tone right until the end.
These are minor quibbles though, and the overall impression this recording
gives is of consistently high musical standards from singers and orchestra
alike. Excellent sound quality too, all of which suggests significant investment
to make the recording the best it could possibly be. The packaging is a little
less opulent. The booklet gives only a track-listing, a very brief synopsis
and an orchestra list, all on unlaminated paper. An additional CD-ROM is included
with images of the concerts and a pdf libretto. In fact, there are only three
photos, a cursory offering at best, and the libretto seems redundant, considering
that it is widely available online. Personally, I'd rather a pdf of the full
score, which could easily be added at no further expense to anybody.
The packaging is the only concession to economy here, and if the qualities
of the recording itself were not enough to recommend the release, the budget
price tag ought to seal the deal. Even the reissues of Solti and Karajan conducting
the opera cost more than this brand new one. So here's hoping that the resources
and opportunities will be found for a Rheingold and Siegfried
in the same series. Should they materialise, this could become one of the
great Ring cycles of our times.
Gavin Dixon
Consistently high musical standards …excellent sound quality too.
see also review by Brian Wilson (May 2012 Recording of the Month)
Masterwork Index: Die Walküre