Wagner - Lohengrin (remastered)

A smashing traditional production of Wagner’s romance. Peter Hoffman is a virile radiant lead with the astoundingly ageless Leonie Rysanek, herself a great Elsa, now a vibrant Ortrude - Levine leads a vigorous account of the score

"Lohengrin" is indeed a great, beautiful work. I believe it was the great Wagnerian Ernest Newman who wrote that it is such a finely crafted web of beautiful music that one could regret Wagner's developing in a different direction and never recapturing this style. But, regardless of its long and continuing popularity, it is a very difficult opera to perform. Wagner provides cruel and unusual challenges for both singers and conductor. The conductor's problem is that virtually the entire opera is written in 4/4 meter; if he doesn't find the singing line of the music and carry it through, it can sound stolid and monotonous. All the leading roles have their particular challenges, as well. Elsa is often sung by a dramatic soprano because she must carry over the big ensembles. But the part is written for a full-bodied lyric soprano, who will be more comfortable with the long legato lines and some very delicate passages. Ortrud is a dramatic soprano role. Because of its demands on the lower register it is often sung by mezzo-sopranos, but it needs powerful, ringing high notes as well. Lohengrin is a cruelly difficult role in vocal terms. The music sits right around the passaggio for pages at a time, rising to an occasional high A, but no higher. This is very fatiguing for a singer, especially one with the heavy instrument we usually hear in Wagner. As with Elsa, the role responds better to a large lyric voice, but few tenors of that breed attempt it. Telramund is the highest of Wagner's baritone roles, climbing into Verdi baritone territory, and is very difficult for the usually Wagnerian singer. Even the "normal" bass role of King Heinrich has an unusually high tessitura.I watched this production when it was televised back in the eighties and though little of it. Watching it now, I like it much better. To start with, I like the production very much. It is traditional without fussing over detail. The medieval setting is suggested by the beautiful costumes. There are enough scenic elements to give the proper idea, and the audience is given credit for enough imagination to fill in the blanks. Best of all, the staging never distracts from the music. I only wish the designer had thought of a credible way to represent the Swan; it's disconcerting when people discuss and react to something that isn't there.James Levine conducts extremely well. His "Lohengrin" has a more consistent and well thought out concept than his rather up-and-down "Ring". He finds the elusive singing line and has enough flexibility to avoid Wagner's 4/4 trap. The orchestra plays splendidly.The singing must be described as good-not-great.The pleasant surprise in the cast is the Elsa of Eva Marton. I'm familiar with her filmed performances in "Elektra" and "Die Frau ohne Schatten". Though recorded only a few years later, they show much evidence of vocal decline. But here she is in excellent shape. She is, of course, a dramatic soprano, but she handles the quieter passages convincingly. The Act II scene with Ortrud is very beautiful. She uses her acting skills to enliven an often pallid character.Leonie Rysanek was 60 at the time and in amazingly good voice. Her age shows mainly in some imprecise intonation. But mostly she sings well and creates a memorable character. Some reviewers have complained about her overacting; but when one acts in a house as large as the Met, the gestures must be big - they are not geared for close-ups. I wish she had recorded the role earlier in her career, when she could have given Varnay and Ludwig a run for their money.Peter Hofmann was not really a heldentenor, though he sang Siegmund and even Tristan. His more lyrical voice is well suited to this role. He sounds decidedly weary at the end of Act II, after that long stretch of sustained ensemble singing; happily, he recovers for Act III, which is quite stunning throughout.Leif Roar is a fine actor and really conveys Telramund's inner conflicts - an honorable man led terribly astray. But the role is too high for him; he manages his Act II aria only by a lot of shouting. A far cry from Fischer-Dieskau and Uhde, who really sing the music.John Macurdy was a longtime Met stalwart who still sounds terrific here. Anthony Raffell is a disappointment as the Herald; this part requires a stentorian voice, not a wobbly one, especially since the four trumpets that accompany his pronouncements are truly stentorian.This is the only "Lohengrin" video I've seen. The well-regarded Vienna production under Abbado, with Domingo and Studer, is out of print, and the others available look like standard "eurotrash" stagings. The long-time champion among audio recordings is the 1963 EMI set, wonderfully conducted by Rudolf Kempe, and with a fabulous cast - Elisabeth Grümmer, Christa Ludwig, Jess Thomas, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, and Gottlob Frick. Not far behind is the 1953 Bayreuth recording, with Eleanor Steber, Astrid Varnay, Wolfgang Windgassen, Hermann Uhde, and Josef Greindl. Too bad it's conducted by the unexciting Josef Keilberth.I would certainly recommend this "Lohengrin" for the many good things in it.

This 1986 Met 'Lohengrin' proves why a beautiful sound is not everything.I purchased the earlier 1982 Bayreauth production (which also features Hofmann and Leir Roar) and after watching both DVD's - the difference was an eye opener. In the earlier Bayreauth production, Peter Hofmann's voice is far more beautiful, his upper notes not as strained as they are 4 years later at the Met. Also, his Bayreauth costumes are far more beautiful and more fitting than the Met ones with their 'Grand ole Opry' rhinesteone gloves and silver boots (ugh!). In addition, the voices of the women (Karan Armstrong and Elizabeth Connell) in the earlier Bayreauth production are less forced, more smooth, more note perfect than the voices of the women (Eva Marton and Leonie Rysanek) in the Met performance which sound strained, almost screeching and even at times off-key.Yet the Met production is awesome, stupendous! -- while the Bayreauth production almost makes you yawn. The Met production has power, feeling, it has grandeur - from the first moment you are swept up in it, you believe in the characters, you feel their rage, greed, weakness and grandeur. No matter how many times you watch the Met DVD, you still get the goose bumps, the tingle, the joy of experiencing 'Lohengrin' as it was meant to be felt. Hofmann's 'Lohengrin' in the Met is more regal, more pained, more magnificent in his desolation at the end by Elsa's betrayal. And in the Met production Hofmann's piety burns through more powerfully than in the Bayreauth. Marton's 'Elsa' is stunning - she hits her notes with power but it is her acting that blew me away. Indeed, her most powerful performance comes when she doesn't even sing a note but instead stands motionless on stage sobbing in grief and shame from the consequences of her betrayal of Lohengrin. It breaks your heart. In contrast, Karan Armstrong's 'Elsa' was irritating because I never connected enough to care what happened to her - as a result, frankly, my dear, I didn't give a damn when she died at the end. It was just a soprano hitting the floor. Leif Roar's 'Telramund' was the only person who wasn't different in either production - in both, he gave equal passion and fury - he was magnificent. But finally, it is Leonie Rysanek who proves the vital necessity of emotional power. Rysanek's 'Ortrud' reveals why Leonie was a legend - not just because she hit the notes but because she infused them with such power of emotion that it knocked you off your seat. You felt her rage, her arrogance, her power, her ruthlessness, etc. In comparison, Elizabeth Connell's 'Ortrud' is merely beautiful music. She sings the notes perfectly - but nothing else. You can see Connell make the face of an angry woman but if you close your eyes, you do not hear that anger - and you should because that is what operatic singing is all about.The filming of both productions is also vastly different. The Met production is wonderful - it films precisely those parts of the stage which you need to see, which explain, which reveal the more powerful and necessary movement on stage at that moment. You are never lost, you know exactly what is going on, etc. In contrast, the film director of the Bayreauth production irritated the hell out of me by constantly doing closeups instead of showing the entire scene. Since I couldn't see what happening on stage, how on earth could I understand what the characters were reacting to? As a result, I was totally confused as to what was going on - it was maddening and robbed me of enjoyment. Finally, the design of the Bayreauth set was offsetting in many ways - for instance, when Hofmann stood at the back of the stage in front of a giant revolving disc, you almost had to hold on to your chair because the revolving disc made you dizzy to look at it. Yuck.Still, in the end, it was the emotion of the voices that revealed to me how incredibly important emotion is. Yes, beautiful voices are pleasant - but in the end, if they are only beautiful and nothing more, they leave you empty. The Met was not empty in any sense of the word. The Met production was glorious, emotional, thrilling, etc. It proved that sound NEEDS fury in order to signify something.

With the only previous Wagner I had seen being Hollander {which, I still liked better} I decided to give "Mature" Wagner a shot with Lohengrin. I enjoyed this opera a great deal, though I could not watch it all in a single sitting. I watched the first two acts one day and the third the next. Some may scoff, but I think this is the way to go. I am not even sure that Wagner himself would think it was such a terrible idea...after all, be broke up the Ring, no?I found the characters believable, and for once, the fact that a singer looked too "old" for the part (exactly how much older is Elsa than Gottfried?!) didn't bother me. Actually, I sort of liked her as a little past peak, made her virginal-fantasy desperation more sincere, as far as I was concerned.I think I understand the complexity of Wagner now too...his music really does not lend itself to "highlight" albums of solo arias. As opposed to Verdi or Puccini though, I am not sure that I would enjoy listening to Wagner on CD without first having seen the opera to have associational memories with. Because it really is more continuous melody, I think it would lose a lot when not accompanied by staging and acting. From what I have read, that is probably what Wagner too would think. For him it certainly was not "all about the music".Like other reviewers I was put off by Lohengin's cheesy costume (especially the silver platform boots and the big 70's hair), with that though, I found this to be an enjoyable version to watch. Next up, Tritsan.

This Met production is in the traditional grand opera style which they do so well in New York. It suits Wagner's opera well, unlike some of the recent "Konzept" stagings beloved in Germany. The cast is excellent (with one glaring exception), especially Eve Marton as Elsa who gives an outstanding dramatic portrayal and a good vocal one too even though her soprano is heavier than is traditional in this role. The big problem is Leonie Rysanek as Ortrud. She looks good and acts well. She has had a long, distinguished career at the Met but her vocal resources were way past their best when this performance was recorded, and as Ortrud she sounds strained and insecure. Nevertheless the grandeur of the staging and the music overall make this a great experience.

enjoyable recording

A wonderful production from the Met

itsbeen a long time coming it don't get better than this. The met is miles ahead on these wagner operas.if in doubt get to see the met cinema events.

It was a wonderful experience everything went smooth and I received my package at the expected time.It will not be the last time I will use this opportunity.