David Brian Ray on Spoutible

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Recording link:
https://www.youtube.com/wa...

Erich Kleiber conducts Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde: Svanholm, Flagstad, Hotter, Ursuleac, Weber - YouTube

Richard Wagner. Tristan und IsoldeSet Svanholm (Tristan); Kirsten Flagstad (Isolde); Hans Hotter (Kurwenal); Viorica Ursuleac (Brangäne); Ludwig Weber (König...

08:19 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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This is an obvious radio broadcast. Erich Kleiber fled Germany when the Nazis took power and settled his family in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was a major contributor to the music scene there for many years. His son Carlos would become a world-renowned conductor also, but with little ambition!

08:23 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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4/56

The cast for this performance is very promising. Flagstad may be starting to lose her freshness of tone. We shall see. Svanholm might be a fantastic Tristan, and much different than Melchior. A young Hans Hotter as Kurwenal might be a treat!

08:25 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Okay, to the recording! The sound is surprisingly good so far in the Prelude, considering it is a radio broadcast from 1948. Much audience noise. That's expected. Kleiber is taking the Prelude deliberately slow to start, much unlike his son decades later.

08:27 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Kleiber is gradually building an intensity. Okay, not the most compelling Prelude but definitely solid. Here comes the young sailor mocking Isolde. Hmm. Quite distant. He's doing fine though. Isolde reacts! Flagstad's voice is well caught. Brangäne is a bit murky here.

08:34 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Here's a decent link for the libretto:
https://www.murashev.com/o...

08:34 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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8/56

Hmm. Sound quality is definitely going to be ongoing problem with this recording. The mics are few and stationary and the singers are moving about, their voice going in and out of focus. Yep, this going to be a murky one. For a moment there even Flagstad wasn't cutting through well.

08:38 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Sailor mocks Isolde again. Still very distant. Isolde now is a wee bit clearer. Kleiber is a wee bit too expansive here. Kurwenal and Tristan enter and Brangäne is conveying Isolde's wishes. Set Svanholm so far is an appropriate timbre for Tristan IMO.

08:44 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Ursuleac is a lighter sounding Brangäne than usual, which is cool. Svanholm is quite impressive so far. Kurwenal intervenes and basically puts Brangäne in her place. Hans Hotter sounds his usual gruff self here. Interesting, given it's pretty early in his career.

08:47 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Brangäne runs back to Isolde all upset, which gets Isolde quite irate. Too bad the voices are so distant in the muck. This is truly a live performance! Lucky me, I've got my HEDDphone One on my HEDD. It resolves very impressively. This, however, would be annoying without that high definition.

08:51 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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12/56

Flagstad voice is obviously less impressive than a decade earlier. She's still hitting the notes well though. There's a hint of wobble now. Her "narration" is dramatically astute. It's just hard to hear through the muck. Ooh, she practically spat out "Vasallen" with venom!

08:56 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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She's mocking Tristan now, working herself up to the curse. Flagstad executes the curse with aplomb! Would have been nice to hear it clearly though. Ursuleac is comforting her now. As I mentioned, she's a much lighter-voiced Brangäne. Quite the vibrato on her too. She's singing admirably though.

08:59 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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"Ungeminnt
den hehrsten Mann
stets mir nah zu sehen,
wie könnt ich die Qual bestehen?"
Flagstad does the above beautifully!
Ursuleac's voice sounds a wee bit chirpy because of the murky sound. That's too bad.

09:02 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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15/56

Isolde is invoking her mother's craft and motions to fetch her chest with medicinal potions. Hmm. Yeah, by 1948 Flagstad was starting to get that mature matronly tone that is very evident in the later studio recording she made with Furtwängler. Her musical acting skills are superb though.

09:05 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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A chorus of sailors announces they are close to shore. Kurwenal enters and starts barking to the ladies to get their asses ready to be presented to King Marke. Isolde is having none of that! She tells Kurwenal to tell Tristan to get his ass down here now. Flagstad is wonderful here.

09:08 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Kurwenal storms off to relay the message. I love this part right here. The music is magical! Such angry passion here as Isolde orders which potion to pour. Brangäne is appalled and tries to talk her down.

09:11 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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"Für Weh und Wunden
gab sie Balsam,
für böse Gifte
Gegengift:
für tiefstes Weh,
für höchstes Leid -
gab sie den Todestrank.
Der Tod nun sag ihr Dank!"
Flagstad sings this so intensely! Kleiber, on the other hand, is dragging his feet a wee bit.

09:13 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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"Herr Tristan trete nah!"
The anticipatory interlude as Tristan finally enters. Surprisingly, Kleiber isn't creating enough tension here. Svanholm's first words are delivered very well. Flagstad's going to deliver here, I bet. This is my favorite scene in the whole opera!

09:16 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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20/56

Oh, I am really liking Svanholm's Tristan! He's really good. Flagstad just let out a very fine and solid "nicht!" She is relating to Tristan now why she's so fucking pissed at him. BTW the sound has cleared up considerably starting with this scene. That's awesome!

09:20 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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She's telling Tristan how she should have stricken him down with the sword. Tristan tells her to strike him now if Morold was so damn dear to her. Svanholm delivers this impressively. Isolde explains it wouldn't look good if she slayed him here and now. Better to drink an atonement.

09:23 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Flagstad is delivering Isolde's mocking tone a wee bit too cutesy here. It should be churlish. The sailors once again announcing readiness for the shore. Tristan feigns confusion (to waste time). Isolde embarks on her mocking Tristan's intentions of delivering her to King Marke. Sailors again!

09:28 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Svanholm sings this passage very well. Then grabs the goblet and drinks! Isolde grabs the goblet away from him and drinks the other half of the potion. And now more anticipatory music. FFS! The CD ends in the middle of that interlude! Whelp! Better fetch CD2!

09:33 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Okay, back to the interlude! Not much tension here. Too expansive. BUT it does give the lovers room for their initial tender utterances. There's that. Ursuleac's short blurp there was better than most, I must admit. Flagstad and Svanholm are starting to whoop it up.

09:40 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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They actually sound quite good together. Could be a sign for good things to come in Act Two. The end here for Act One isn't all that exhilarating. Could be just the return of murky sound. Just sounds kinda lame. Oh, well.

09:43 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Act Two. Isolde and Brangäne are outside the castle apartment awaiting for it to be clear enough to signal Tristan to approach. The music has an underlying urgency. Kleiber is doing fine here. The hunting horns in the distance are barely audible though. A lot of tape noise here.

09:46 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Isolde is barely audible too! Oh, there's Brangäne! They are singing well but it's hard to hear. Very poor noisy murky sound so far in this act. I hope it clears up! The noise has parted but it's still murky and distant. Ursuleac is excellent here despite being hard to hear!

09:52 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Isolde wants to extinguish the torch. Brangäne is like hold on there, dear! If this scene had been caught in decent audio it would be riveting. But, alas! It is Murksville! [sigh] What I can hear and how I can imagine it should sound if all the muck were out of the way, no wonder this is legendary.

09:55 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Wagner was particularly cruel in this passage working up to Isolde's extinguishing the torch. It's tough to pull off. Flagstad was one Isolde who could always manage it with ease and she does here too. Wonderfully done!

09:59 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Now more anticipatory music. Kleiber is getting it right this time. It's quite ecstatic in its urgency! Hmm. Seems the lovers have moved back stage a wee bit. That's fine. Otherwise they'd be screaming in my ears! This way it's actually very tolerable! And these two are making the most of it!

10:01 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Definitely the upper balcony perspective right now. It actually is working for me. The sound is just clear enough that their bellowing back and forth at each other is quite tolerable. Will the balance correct itself in the more intimate scenes coming up? Svanholm is an excellent Tristan!

10:04 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Their "O sink hernieder" is quite lovely, despite it being a wee bit too distant. At least it's relatively clear. If this had been captured in much better sound, it would be truly amazing! Some gorgeous singing going on here. And Kleiber is getting these lyrical sections just about right.

10:13 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Brangäne's warning is somewhat underwhelming. Of the 5 recordings I've surveyed so far, Svanholm and Flagstad have been the best pairing. I'm just not much of a Melchior fan. I don't care for his baritonal Tristan. But these two? Near perfection! If only we had it in good sound.

10:18 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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"Doch dieses Wörtlein: und, -
wär' es zerstört,
wie anders als
mit Isoldes eignem Leben
wär' Tristan der Tod gegeben?"
Flagstad does a superb job singing the above!
Now the Liebestod theme commences. This is the true Leibestod, whereas at the end of the opera Isolde sings more of a Verklärung.

10:23 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Verklärung means transfiguration.
Now Brangäne's 2nd warning. Underwhelming like the first. Even through the murky sound this "O ew'ge Nacht" is something very special. Beautifully sung! What a night at the opera this must have been!

10:28 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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At the peak of excitement with the lovers soaring over the orchestral about love and death, Brangäne emits a scream. Kurwenal rushes in with his sword unsheathed and warns Tristan to "Save yourself!" King Marke and his entourage enters. Melot, that fucking prick, is all haughty.

10:31 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Hmm. The sound going into this scene has suddenly gotten much crappier again. That's disappointing. Ludwig Weber is a well-known King Marke with an amazing bass voice. Too bad it's obscured here! The noise has really picked up. Urgh!

10:33 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Okay, the noise is diminishing a bit, and Weber's voice is much more vivid. And fantastic it is! And he's quite a sensitive singer too. This is no monotonous boring King Marke. Last week, whatshisface nearly made me doze off.

10:38 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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We're only a wee bit more than halfway through the opera, but so far this particular cast might be the most cohesive of the 5 I've surveyed so far. Too bad it has the worst sound! But it goes to show why it has been preserved nonetheless. A legendary performance indeedy!

10:40 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Ludwig Weber with his commanding bass voice is not boring one bit here. Quite the opposite. This is some great singing! Svanholm's response to King Marke is wonderfully done here. He turns to Isolde then invites her to go with him. Very tender and sensitive singing.

10:48 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Flagstad reply matches him perfectly. Beautifully sung! And then that fool Melot draws his sword and acts all testosterone-y! Fucker! Then Tristan lets him stab him! FFS! The sound dimmed in this last part and the whole thing became underwhelming.

10:52 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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42/56

Not a great track record so far for this scene. All of the 5 recordings I've surveyed so far haven't made the end of Act Two work. Oh, well. There are many more to come! Onwards to Act Three now! Curious to hear how Svanholm interprets this next part.

10:54 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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43/56

Had to make pee pee and pour some wine and grab some pretzels. Sometimes Act Three can be a wee bit arduous to listen to. I do suspect Svanholm will impress though. He certainly can't be as abysmally pathetic as Melchior was last week for Leinsdorf!

11:01 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Surprisingly, the audio has cleared up a lot right from the start of the prelude! Good! Kleiber's doing a fine if somewhat measured job with it. English horn solo is quite good. The shepherd has a nice voice. Hans Hotter is drearily responding, but doing it very well

11:08 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Sheesh! These pretzel sticks are too salty! Masticating is making my earpads on my headphones make creaky squeaky sounds. Too funny!
Tristan is waking up! Kurwenal is getting excited! He tells Tristan he's back in his homeland of Kareol. Hans Hotter is certainly engaging in the "Wagnerian bark."

11:14 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Uh oh. The sound jest went crappy again! Lots of noise and loss of clarity. That's annoying! Between the crappy sound and Kleiber's spacious tempo here, this would be taxing BUT Svanholm negates that by being quite compelling.

11:20 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Tristan's getting overexcited. Svanholm is handling this very well. Such natural tone! No ship yet in sight. Tristan falls back and becomes melancholic. In his delirium he's going over in his head (out loud) all that Isolde had related to him, and goes on to blame the potion. Poor thing.

11:32 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Kurwenal fears Tristan may have just dropped dead. He hasn't, of course. Melchior should have last week! Tristan gets even more delirious and starts imagining Isolde on the ship. The ship is finally spotted approaching. Hans Hotter is barking and Svanholm is getting more delirious with excitement!

11:41 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Here comes Tristan's "O diese Sonne!" Svanholm is managing it well. Crappy sound though. And now Tristan rips off his bandages thinking Isolde can heal him like she did once before. Dumbass. Isolde arrives. Tristan dies in her arms, of course. She sings "Ich bin's, ich bin's."

11:45 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Halfway through this the sound deteriorates again. Even Flagstad's human trumpet can't completely pierce through the muck. Too bad. Now all hell breaks loose as King Marke's entourage arrives. Kurwenal goes nutty and in the end he and the entourage all die.

11:53 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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Essentially leaving King Marke and Brangäne the only survivors. Well, Isolde is still holding on. And suddenly the sound has much more presence. Go figure! Let's hope it lasts through the final Liebestod!

11:55 PM - Feb 06, 2024

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"Tot denn alles!
Alles tot!
Mein Held, mein Tristan!"
Weber does an excellent job here in his last bits in the opera. Ursuleac steps up for her last bits too! The sound still sucks but at least the voices have much better presence than before.

11:57 PM - Feb 06, 2024 (Edited)

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And now for that rapturous transfiguration.
"Mild und leise
wie er lächelt,
wie das Auge
hold er öffnet, -
seht ihr's, Freunde?
Säh't ihr's nicht?"
So far so good! Flagstad is acing it as usual.
"Immer lichter
wie er leuchtet"
GLORIOUS!

12:00 AM - Feb 07, 2024

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54/56

"In dem wogenden Schwall,
in dem tönenden Schall,
in des Weltatems
wehendem All, -
ertrinken,
versinken, -
unbewusst, -
höchste Lust!"
In 1948 Flagstad still had it! Fantastic!
Verklempt over here!

12:05 AM - Feb 07, 2024

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