Search - Richard [Classical] Wagner, Thomas Beecham, Booth Hitchin :: Wagner: Tristan & Isolde

The Two Tristans

Sergey Sh. | Moscow Russia | 10/22/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'd like to compare briefly the two famous Tristan sets - this by Beecham and another by Reiner on Naxos label.
Flagstad are excellent and similar on both sets, Melchior to my mind is better with Reiner.
Reiner and Beecham made very different interpretations, Beecham is more fiery and dynamic, Reiner is more lyrical and transparent and both are total involving in this wonderful score and producing excellent music flow.
Sound quality is far superior on Naxos due to excellent restoration work."

The impossible has happened

Erik Aleksander Moe | Oslo, Norway | 03/25/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I thought that the Reiner Tristan und Isolde performance issued by Naxos Historical would be the best that one was likely to hear. This recording has proven me wrong. Both Lauritz Melchior and Kirsten Flagstad are even better here. More passionate, more fiery. Flagstad sings a little more beautifully on the Reiner set, but Beecham drives her and Melchior so that they perform even better here. This recording is an edited version of two performance, with Beecham conducting in both performances, with some difference in the supporting cast. Paul Schöffler plays Kurnewal and Margarete Klose is Brangäne in one performance and Herbert Janssen is Kurnewal and Karin Branzell is Brangäne in the other. All four of them play their parts very well. I do so prefer Klose to Kalter in the passages in act 1. I always thougth that Kalter on the Reiner set was not what the Brangäne character could be, despite of what the notes enclosed said. Klose really was so good in the role. Branzell is also very good in her small appearance at the end of act 3. Both Janssen and Schöffler were extremely good. They have different ways of singing, but both came out perfectly. Sven Nilsson sings King Marke with much heartfelt sadness and he delivers the long monologue magnificently. Then there is Sir Thomas Beecham. In many ways he is superior to Fritz Reiner, at least to my hears. Beecham picks up small nuances in the score and lets the orchestra play them beautifully. It says in the notes that Beecham insisted that Melchior play a little longer version of act 3 than he usually does, which Melchior protested against. For me this makes Beecham a man of integrity about his art and his way of performing the opera. This disagreement is evident in the performance too with Melchior singing even more passionately that ever before. The sound is not as good as on the Reiner set, but it is still ok. It is a little in the distant, but it doesn't have the bad volume mixing the Reiner set has again. There are some cracks here and there, but still very listenable. If the sound was worse I couldn't have gived it 5 stars, but the performance alone deserves it. At this low price it is a major bargain to have this magnificent performance."

The best Tristan?

Scott Robinson | New York, NY USA | 08/03/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Could be. Melchior, Flagstadt and Beecham - that says it all. I didn't think I'd like Becham's Wagner but I do. This is the best transfer of this great performance I have heard. It has acceptable mono sound (one star demerit).Don't hesitate. Highly recommended! (See my comments under Reiner's version on Naxos)"