COMPOSERS: Wagner
LABELS: Philips
WORKS: Der fliegende Holländer
PERFORMER: Franz Crass, Anja Silja, Josef Greindl, Fritz UhlBayreuth Festival Chorus & Orchestra/Wolfgang Sawallisch
CATALOGUE NO: 442 103-2 ADD Reissue
Perhaps not the best recorded performance from the Festspielhaus (the orchestra sounds too congested), but one of the best sung. We have that rarity on disc, a wholly satisfying exponent of the Dutchman (Crass). Silja was at her best in the early Sixties, too, and combines emotion with security of timbre. Sawallisch’s conducting has real character, though he opts for tension-breaking gaps between the acts. Matthew Rye
Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer
Perhaps not the best recorded performance from the Festspielhaus (the orchestra sounds too congested), but one of the best sung. We have that rarity on disc, a wholly satisfying exponent of the Dutchman (Crass). Silja was at her best in the early Sixties, too, and combines emotion with security of timbre. Sawallisch’s conducting has real character, though he opts for tension-breaking gaps between the acts. Matthew Rye
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:33 pm