Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Fidelio - Opera in two Acts [141:03]
Leonore - Sena Jurinac (soprano); Florestan - Jon Vickers (tenor); Rocco -
Gottlob Frick (bass); Don Pizarro - Hans Hotter (bass); Marzelline - Elsie
Morrison (soprano); Jaquino - John Dobson (tenor); Don Fernando - Forbes Robinson
(bass)
Covent Garden Chorus and Orchestra/Otto Klemperer
rec. live, Covent Garden Opera House, London, 7 March 1961
no text or translation included
IDIS 6638-9 [77:47 + 63:16]
I have had great pleasure in listening to the live recordings of Beethoven
symphonies conducted by Otto Klemperer and issued by IDIS. Despite poor sound
and inadequate notes they show much more clearly than do his studio recordings
just how exciting as well as perceptive and wise this conductor was in this
music. I could say the same about the present set but here unfortunately my
welcome to the reissue has to be much more muted.
The reason is simple. This set has necessarily to be compared with the reissue
by Testament (SBT2 1328) of the first performance of this production, which
took place on 24 February 1961 with an apparently identical cast. I say this
advisedly as IDIS do not credit the singers of two solo prisoners. At the
earlier performance they were Joseph Ward and Victor Godfrey. It sounds as
though they sang these roles also on 7 March but I cannot be sure of this.
The Testament recording has been justly praised and I can only echo that view.
There is a single-mindedness about its projection of the drama which seizes
the listener right from the start and a casting which is virtually flawless.
At both performances Klemperer interpolates the Overture Leonora No III before
the final scene which may well offend you but which can easily be omitted
on record.
Most of the virtues of the earlier performance apply also to that given two
weeks later. In both versions there are minor slips of the kind you may reasonably
expect in a live performance, but there seem to have been more on the later
date. The second half of the first Act in particular seems more accident-prone
and less focused than before. Both recordings derive from BBC recordings although
only the later one was actually broadcast. The audio quality on the two reissues
is very different. The Testament version was re-mastered by Paul Bailey and
has a warm and full sound which makes the listener very quickly forget its
age. By contrast the IDIS version, by Danilo Profumo, is thin and uncomfortable
to listen to, with much detail obscured. The difference may well be due to
differences in the source material, but whatever the reasons I am in no doubt
as to which is superior.
Similar differences appear in relation to presentation. The IDIS set has merely
an incomplete cast list and a track list. There is no text or translation
and no background essays on the work or on this performance. I regret that
there is simply no contest between the sets. The standard of the performance
is such that the IDIS could be welcomed with open arms if there were no competition
but when the much superior Testament can be had for a relatively small additional
outlay that welcome has to be severely reduced.
John Sheppard
Out-pointed by the Testament version.