Lohengrin recommendations

Jose Echenique
Posts: 1323
Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2012 6:33 pm

Re: Lohengrin recommendations

Post by Jose Echenique »

Seán wrote:
Jose Echenique wrote:You are welcome Fergus. At least you get the opinion from someone who has the recordings and has listened to them.
Ouch! My apologies.
Oh Seán, this comment had nothing to do with what you said. In fact I had in my mind things written in the CMG Forum from people who never listen to opera and yet are very opinionated. Sorry if this was read the wrong way.
Seán
Posts: 4885
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2010 11:59 pm

Re: Lohengrin recommendations

Post by Seán »

Jose Echenique wrote:
Seán wrote:
Jose Echenique wrote:You are welcome Fergus. At least you get the opinion from someone who has the recordings and has listened to them.
Ouch! My apologies.
Oh Seán, this comment had nothing to do with what you said. In fact I had in my mind things written in the CMG Forum from people who never listen to opera and yet are very opinionated. Sorry if this was read the wrong way.
Thanks Pepe, I am a bit rusty on the behaivour of our friends on CMG and have only just started back after a break of several months.

Off topic perhaps, (I am sure Fergus will forgive me) with regard to James King: I have a copy of Das Lied van der Erde with King and I simply adore it for the awesome power and beauty of the RCO and for King's singing too, which I think is magnificent. For a time this was one of my Christmas stocking fillers. Pepe, do have an opinion on it?
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"To appreciate the greatness of the Masters is to keep faith in the greatness of humanity." - Wilhelm Furtwängler
Jose Echenique
Posts: 1323
Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2012 6:33 pm

Re: Lohengrin recommendations

Post by Jose Echenique »

The Haitink Das Lied von der Erde is one of my favourite versions, maybe my favourite in stereo, but mostly because of Dame Janet Baker´s heavenly singing and the stupendous playing of the RCO.
King is fine, as he was in the older Bernstein/DECCA version. But if you want to hear the tenor songs sung at their finest turn to Fritz Wunderlich in the Klemperer recording.
I heard James King live only once, and that was in 1986 singing one of the armed men in The Magic Flute. His voice was huge live, even at that late date, but compared to other contemporary tenors in his fach, he missed Jon Vickers´immense personality, or even Domingo´s star-charisma and golden voice. He is not a tenor I especially dislike, it´s just that I like more individuality.

Pity that the Sandor Konya version is not better known because his singing there is just exquisite. Fortunately he also recorded Walther in Kubelik´s Meistersinger where he also gives a star performance.
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