Wagner: Lohengrin
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DVD details
Brand: Universal StudiosComposer: Richard Wagner
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); German (Subtitled); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Original Language); Spanish (Original Language)
Format: Classical, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 214 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-04-08
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Deutsche Grammophon
DVD Reviews of Wagner: Lohengrin
DVD Review: EXCELLENT WAGNER ON DVD
Summary: 5 Stars
I have found very few Wagner recordings in any format that compare with this Lohengrin. If we just want the sound, there is the live 1966 Tristan with Boehm, Nilsson and Windgassen. Gotterdammerung with Solti, Nilsson and Windgassen is another top pick. Leinsdorf's Walkure, remastered on CD, Is still great. Wagner without Flagstad, Nilsson or Windgassen is not the same, the singers who came after them rarely sing with the same power and security. On the other hand modern acting in opera is better, except when there is needless added action.
That said, I feel modern singers deserve a break, due to an increase of noise in the world. In 1960 powerful stereos, leaf blowers, hair dryers, microwave ovens, airconditioners, and lawn tractors were rare. Refrigerators only had one motor running part time, of course defrost was manual. I could go on. The exposure to all this noise diminishes our perception of and ability to hear soft music. Hearing tests only go up to 6000 or 8000 Hertz so much of the ear damage inflicted is not documented. I am in the early stages of trying to document our decline in hearing. To take a long view, noise has been increasing for 300 years, IMO. Singers could sing with many more vocal colors in the past than they can now, simply by being able to sing softer.
As a listener ages, hearing declines due to noise and other health factors, It is no wonder that we think so highly of the singers of our past. We heard them with young ears in a less noisy world.
BACK TO THE REVIEW
Studer as Elsa is stunning. She is secure in technique and on pitch. Her ability to register the emotions of Elsa puts her ahead of prior singers. Frey as Lohengrin is a bit stiff and light voiced, but this is only a small negative. Tenor voices are the weak link when it comes to power singing. All the remaining men are superb. Schneider conducts so well that I am tempted to put him above Furtwaengler, and certainly above Solti by a mile. The chorus is stunning, particularly the men.
Schnaut as Ortrud is where people will divide. She is mean enough, making for a great contrast with Studer's gentle Elsa. Unfortunately she goes off pitch. I gave two of these DVDs to friends and got one strong vote for Schnaut and one strong vote against. Before they cast their votes I had felt conflicted, and still do. If you like Klose as Fricka in both the Furtwaenger and Bruno Seidler- Winkler Walkures you might like Schnaut. If you like Flagstad's Rheingold Fricka, you probably will hate her.
The staging is magical and fits the mystical setting of the opera. I don't think Lohengrin can be updated sucessfully, it is fixed in the King Arthur days. The lighting is superb and tracks the mood of the music perfectly. This is a great escape back to the year 1000. The sound is excellent in LPCM mode, barring slight occasional compression. Bare in mind that this was recorded live in 1990 so the 5.1 is synthetic. Dynamic range is very wide, so only superb speakers and phones will reveal all the power and detail in the sound. Don't let the age of this recording concern you. In my opinion, Bayreuth was ahead in getting the sound right.
Description of Wagner: Lohengrin
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