Wagner: The Great Operas from the Bayreuth Festival

A special, limited edition 33-CD box set containing all of Wagner's operas from The Flying Dutchman (1841) to his final masterpiece Parsifal (1882) in performances from the opera house created specifically for the production of Wagner's masterpieces, the Bayreuth Festival Theatre. Landmark performances by some of the greatest Wagnerians can be savored here, among them singers Birgit Nilsson, Leonie Rysanek, Anja Silja, Waltraud Meier, Astrid Varnay, Wolfgang Windgassen, Jess Thomas, James King, Ramon Vinay, Peter Hoffmann, Bernd Weikl, Theo Adam, Karl Ridderbusch, Hans Sotin and Simon Estes. The all-star roster of conductors includes Karl Böhm, James Levine, Wolfgang Sawallisch and Silvio Varviso. RICHARD WAGNER (1813-83) Der fliegende Holländer Anja Silja * Fritz Uhl * Josef Greindl * Franz Crass Wolfgang Sawallisch, conductor Tannhäuser Anja Silja * Wolfgang Windgassen * Eberhard Wächter * Josef Greindl Wolfgang Sawallisch, conductor Lohengrin Anja Silja * Astrid Varnay * Jess Thomas * Ramon Vinay Wolfgang Sawallisch, conductor Tristan und Isolde Birgit Nilsson * Wolfgang Windgassen Karl Böhm, conductor Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Hannelore Bode * Jean Cox * Bernd Weikl * Karl Ridderbusch * Hans Sotin Silvio Varviso, conductor Der Ring des Nibelungen Das Rheingold Annelies Burmeister * Wolfgang Windgassen * Theo Adam * Gustav Neidlinger Karl Böhm, conductor Die Walküre Birgit Nilsson * Leonie Rysanek * James King * Theo Adam Karl Böhm, conductor Siegfried Birgit Nilsson * Wolfgang Windgassen * Theo Adam Karl Böhm, conductor Götterdämmerung Birgit Nilsson * Wolfgang Windgassen * Josef Greindl * Gustav Neidlinger Karl Böhm, conductor Parsifal Waltraud Meier * Peter Hoffmann * Hans Sotin * Simon Estes James Levine, conductor Album Description

What a Package!! What a Bargain!! What Wagner!!

There's not really a lot to say about a package containing all post-Rienzi operas from Bayreuth at less than $2/disc. I can't seriously imagine anyone being disappointed by this set: cast after cast of superb singers, conductors -- all bathed in that glorious Bayreuth sound. Some might argue over one performance vs. others, but there are no disappointments here. Decca deserves congratulations for making this available. September 16, 2008

A Phenomenal Bargain -- Don't Hesitate

Though hardly a Wagner fanatic, I have increasingly come to admire, if not always to love, his music dramas for their boldness, sublime pathos, and cosmic scope. To know Wagner is to appreciate, at very least, where Bruckner, Mahler and Strauss came from (they didn't spring fully formed from the head of Zeus--or Woden as the case may be). Wagner also has the ability to shed light--sometimes garish, sometimes healing, always searching--on some of the darkest places in the human psyche. If you fancy modern myth--Tolkien, Lewis, Mary Stewart, et. al.--then you cannot afford to ignore Wagner, who as the pioneer of *Gesamtkunstwerk* (multi-media) may well be the greatest mythmaker of all.

If you are perchance a Wagner neophyte with a hankering to discover what all the fuss is about when it comes to this greatest of musical megalomaniacs, then this box is tailor-made for you. The performances contained herein all convey a unique sense of authenticity, insofar as they were taken down live at Bayreuth, the theater that Wagner designed as a sacred shrine of consecration for the Grail that was his hypertrophic ego (when you're a genius of that caliber, I suppose a wee bit of bravado is allowed). Make no mistake: nowhere on the face of the earth is Wagner performed with greater zeal and dedication than on that Holy Hill, and nowhere will you find more prolific opportunities to be initiated into the Highest Mysteries of the music drama.

Another advantage of this set (beyond its obvious bargain status) is that every one of the ten great operas receives a performance that at least does justice to the music, and some have rightly been accorded classic status. First and foremost, you will be treated to the greatest *Tristan und Isolde* of the Stereo era, and a *Ring* cycle that must figure at or near the top of a very short list--all conducted by Karl Böhm (one of the most formidable, and dramatically compelling, Wagnerians on record). These Böhm-led performances feature the likes of Brigit Nilsson (as Isolde and Brunhilde) and Wolfgang Windgassen (as Tristan and Siegfried), alongside other top Wagnerian singers of their generation. Those five operas would have constituted a plausible bargain box on their own (and indeed the Böhm Ring cycle has fairly recently been selling for about the same price as this entire collection); but we also are treated to three wonderful performances (*Der Fliegende Holländer*, *Lohengrin* and *Tannhäuser*) under Wolfgang Sawallisch, another seasoned Wagnerian who can usually be counted on (as here) to provide a vivid theatrical experience. All three of these performances are exceptionally well cast (a difficult matter in these particular works), though some listeners might be put off by certain vagaries of live recording (odd balances, audible prompters, lots of stage noises, less than spot-on choral ensemble, etc.); these minor irritations are more noticeable in the three Sawallisch outings than in some of the other performances anthologized here. Least satisfying (to these ears anyway) are Varviso's *Meistersinger* (inconsistently cast, with less than engaging portrayals of Sachs and Walther) and Levine's *Parsifal* (too slow, and minus a musically and dramatically plausible singer in the title role); yet even in these two cases, where one could cite several superior alternatives, you will probably not be disappointed--for there is something about a live occasion at Bayreuth that stirs the blood, even when the conducting or singing prove uneven.

Perhaps the best news about this set, apart from the price, is that the recordings all date from the Stereo era, and provide a splendid sense of space and occasion, if not always ideal clarity of focus. The documentation is what one would expect for bargain boxes these days--scanty, though detailed cast lists and recording dates are provided along with a cued plot synopsis for each work.

In sum, then, you cannot go wrong with this compilation, whether you are a neophyte or a veteran opera collector and Wagnerian: the performances are memorable, the sonics variable but never less than good, and the cost minimal. Strongly recommended. September 3, 2008

Wagner: The Great Operas from the Bayreuth Festival

Great series of operas. We have been pleasently surprised at the sound quality. Great buy for a great set of 10 Wagner operas August 28, 2008

A No Brainer

Buying this set is a no brainer. The price for acquiring recordings of all of Wagner's major operas is irresistible. All of these performances range from good to great. Although recorded live, audience noise is almost non-existent and the balance between orchestra and singers is very good. The sound is as good as many of my recordings made in a studio. I had all recordings of all of these operas before buying this set. However, getting to hear other performances of these works was too pricey for me. This was a terrific way to add to my CD opera collection and hear recordings that I had coveted (Bohm's Ring for example) but would not have had the chance to experience. I recommend buying this set while it is still available. It will become a collector's item. August 14, 2008

For Wagner Fans And At A Fantastic Price.

When most music enthusiasts think of "great" Wagner conductors, usually the names of Von Karajan, Solti, and Furtwaengler come to mind. For some odd reason, Karl Boehm and Wolfgang Sawallisch are rarely considered and that's a shame. (No disrepect meant towards James Levine, an excellent conductor of Wagner or Silvio Varviso.) I'd venture as far as to say that Karl Boehm is one of the least appreciated "great" conductors, period. I had the good fortune to see him conduct Strauss' "Ariadne auf Naxos" in Vienna at the twilight of his long and illustrious career and well as having been to many Wolfgang Sawallisch-led performances at the Wiener Staatsoper in the early 70's. Many of the soloists featured on these live recordings from Bayreuth are or were famous for their Wagnerian singing and I was thrilled to get to hear them again.

Fortunately, all of these performances were recorded in excellent stereo, and the live audiences were quiet for the most part and the engineers have wisely excised audience applause. Some coughing is more noticable in some performances than in others reminding me of the old joke, "When people have a cough they don't stay home, they go to the opera!!"

And now Decca has re-issued all the "great" operas from Der Fliegende Hollander to Parzifal and if one is really desperate to have the "complete" operas, one can augment the collection to include "Das Liebesverbot", "Die Feen", and "Rienzi" still for a pittance when compared to buying the European-issued "Complete Wagner" series that includes those three early operas and at a much higher cost.

My only quibble is that one must do with plot synopses and not have the libretti included.

And all of this for only $56 bucks for 33 CDs?? Thank you, Decca and God bless you!! This is just too good to pass up for several reasons. Most current Ring cycles alone can cost over $100, so what are you waiting for??

Viel Vernuegen!!! July 17, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...