Search - Wagner, Rysanek, Leibl :: Flying Dutchman

Astounding, overlooked recording of Wagner's 1st masterpiece

darragh o'donoghue | 06/14/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Opera's most shiversome ghost story, 'The flying Dutchman' was Wagner's fourth opera, and still remains within conventional bounds - not just in terms of constructing harmony, but in forms such as recitatif, ballads, straightforward arias etc. used throughout. And yet already Wagner is chomping at the bit, in the way these bounds are strained to the limit. The most exciting moments are those glimpses of future Wagner, the continuous movement of the Dutchman's anguished opening soliloquy; the ecstatic love duet, complete with spacy 'Tannhauser' backing. The climax is one of the greatest in opera, the marriage from Hell, as a standoff between sailors and ghosts is engulfed in a thunderous storm, with the orchestra blaring motifs all over the chaos. It is significant that the most conventionally beautiful, melodious music is ironically given to the commercial transaction of a love that is is supposed to have transcendant, redemptive power. Perhaps Wagner's finest achievement in 'Dutchman' is his balancing the two levels of his story, the allegorical one of damnation and perverse redemption through love and death, provoking genuinely otherwordly and spiritual music; and the surface 'realistic' one of the backdrop, the surges of the sea, the echoing vastness of the fjords, the community of sailors and their women. With the exception of 'Die Meistersinger', Wagner wouldn't achieve such a balance again. This recording is not at all well-known, and despite being a great bargain, the lack of a libretto will prove a handicap. To overlook it, however, would be a great mistake. Antal Dorati conducts as if the opera was of its time (another mid-19th century work) rather than fully-formed 'Wagnerian' (as is too often the case), and this concentrated constraint paradoxically allows the music to break free and overpower, just as the supernatural does the everyday in the opera. The 'Dutchman' isn't so much of a marathon as later Wagner, so there is little flagging in the singing: Leonie Rysanek gives great sincerity to Senta, a role which could easily be very silly."

Best then, best now.

Howard G Brown | Port St. Lucie, FL USA | 10/08/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I owned a copy of this in the early '60s when it was released in the US on 3 RCA lps. The only other stereo recording then available was on Angel (EMI), featuring Fischer-Dieskau in a recording from East Berlin conducted by Franz Konwitschny. You paid your money, you took your choice: London's black-and-white Dutchman or FiDi's range of gray. It was Leone Rysanek that tipped the scales for me, along with the superior Decca engineering (licensed by RCA in a brief partnership between the labels).Those lps are long gone, so it's a great pleasure to have the set back on CDs. Get one of these used copies -- or you can wait, and hope it emerges in the Decca Legends series. Either way, it will be a valuable addition to your library."

Good Singing and Conducting

Virginia Opera Fan | Falls Church, VA USA | 04/13/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is my favorite "Dutchman". The singers are all very fine in their respective roles. Rysanek is something of an acquired taste. I don't think her commercial recordings really capture her at her frequently awesome best, but she is still a top rank Senta. London, captured before his voice began its decline of only a few years hence is second only to Fischer-Dieskau on disc. For me, Tozzi is the standout in the cast. His richly overtoned bass is probably much better than Daland (willing to sell his daughter to the highest bidder) deserves. Erik is a role that leaves a hole in almost every performance, so Liebl is perfectly acceptable. Lewis' Steerman is second only to Wunderlich under Konwitschny.



I think Dorati's conducting steals the show. To begin with, he plays the opera as a single act as Wagner originally intended. The preludes of the three act version become interludes in the continuous arch of the performance. He also conducts with a propulsive quality that is appropriate to this early work. For example, listen to the Act I duet between Daland and the Dutchman. It's not top drawer Wagner and in lesser hands can sound pretty awkward. Dorati's insistence on forward motion makes the best case for the piece. As much as I admire Klemperer's conducting in general, his work in the slightly later vintage EMI set, which I also own, can make for some pretty leaden listening.



The sound is a little disappointing considering what RCA and Decca were achieving in sonic quality in their joint ventures, of which this is one, at the time. I've never heard the original Living Stereo LPs, but the CD re-mastering has a high hiss level. Minor faults aside, this is a "Dutchman" to treasure."