Search - Heinrich August Marschner, Richard [Classical] Wagner, Giuseppe Verdi :: Hans Hotter

Hotter in His Golden Prime

Lynn in Dallas | Dallas, TX USA | 04/05/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Many people know Hans Hotter's work from his later years--"the very late afternoon of a very long career", as J.B. Steane put it--when the nobility of his artistry was often compromised by a persistent wobble and a somewhat hollow tone. This CD, comprised of recordings from 1939 to 1943, is a thrilling reminder of what Hotter could do in his prime. The voice captured here is huge, of course, as it continued to be, but also absolutely steady, with brighter and more forward tone, and wonderful, almost honeyed, soft singing. He was also a true baritone at that time, with high notes to match.



The great prizes, of course, are from German opera. The opening track from Marschner's "Hans Heiling" truly thunders--"awesome" is not a word I use lightly, but here it fits--and even so, the legato is scrupulous. Of the Wagner, my favorite is a marvelously nuanced "Wahn! Wahn!" from "Die Meistersinger", with the voice roaring when necessary and floating softly almost like Fischer-Dieskau at other times. It is all so effortless. Indeed, the ease and warmth of Hotter's singing here in both of the "Meistersinger" excerpts remind the listener that the opera is at least CALLED a comedy, without the vocal grayness that later crept into his Hans Sachs. Immediately following is Wotan's Farewell from "Die Walkure" in a performance for the ages, with Hotter creating huge legato waves of sound truly befitting a Norse god. If only he could have made his studio recording of the opera then, instead of 23 years later! The only Wagner selection which may have been bested by him later in his career is "Die Frist ist um" from "Der fliegende Hollander", which is gloriously sung but a bit fast-paced, and without the wintry, "innerlich" (inward) quality which his 1960 recording (Orfeo C 501 991 B) conveys so movingly.



The selections from Italian and French operas are almost as good, even though they are all sung in German. I may never be able to hear the Aida-Amonasro duet again without having Hotter's immense, insinuatingly sinister voice playing in my brain. Add Falstaff, Iago, Tonio, and Escamillo, all in splendid voice, and it is a true musical feast. This was Hotter when he was not only a great artist, but also an indisputably great singer. If you only want one operatic recital by Hotter, this should be the one. As an unexpected bonus, the sound is surprisingly good, and the voice soars over even the Wagner excerpts with startling clarity.

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