Search - Wagner, Konwitschny :: Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer / The Flying Dutchman (Highlights)

Great opera! Great performance! Great recorded history!

Timothy Mikolay | Pittsburgh, PA | 06/21/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The people at Berlin classics are doing this 1960 recording justice by keeping it available. One of this performance's greatest attributes is that it towers over Solti's rendition with his Chicagoans from 1977. This is indisputable. One only needs to listen.



Aside from a rather lackluster overture, Solti's is far more lively, the singing, diction and spirit of the score leaps out of my speakers like no other. Chorus Master Karl Schmidt served his chorus and vocalists well and certainly deserves the title "master" in this recording.



Senta's ballad in Act II, sung by Marianne Schech is exquisite and exciting to listen to and the Norweigen sailor's chorus is as lively and spirited as any on record. Of course, Fischer-Dieskau's Dutchman is simply legendary and without parallel.



From beginning to end, this is one of the best recordings of this Opera ever made."