Richard Wagner: Tannh?user
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Performer: Eberhard W?chterPerformer: Gerd Nienstedt
Performer: Josef Greindl
Composer: Richard Wagner
Conductor: Wolfgang Sawallisch
Orchestra: Bayreuther Festspiele Orchester & Chorus
Performer: Anja Silja
Performer: Else-Margrete Gardelli
Performer: Franz Crass
Performer: Georg Paskuda
Performer: Gerhard Stolze
Performer: Grace Bumbry
Performer: Wolfgang Windgassen
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 1993-01-19
Music Label: Polygram Records
Music reviews of Richard Wagner: Tannh?user
Music Review: Critic No. 2 here
Rating: 3 Stars
Well, here I am, only the second reviewer of this recording, and already in disagreement with the first one. I don't think this is the "supreme" Tannh?user, although it is by no means bad. The fact that it competes well proves, rather than its intrinsic merit, that the competition isn't all that much - the truly great Tannh?user has yet to be recorded. Perhaps that is so for most, even all, of Wagner's work, because each recording has many qualities and many faults (see my review of Konwitschny's Dresden version of this opera). That does not mean you shouldn't hear this version, perhaps even own it, especially if you know in advance that you will keep exploring until you acquire something that pleases you better. You will surely like it - as I do - but with reservations.
The recording does have some of that electricity the "critic No. 1" has mentioned, endemic to live recordings (good ones, anyway) that one can grow to depend on so much that even superior but unatmospheric studio recordings become unsatisfactory. However, it is also extremely dry and boxed in sonically, to the point that from the very first bars you wonder whether this is a version you hadn't been aware of - one in which Sawallisch, for some reason, decided to eliminate a few instruments. This is by no means a majestic rendition, nor is majesty often expected from the "sunken" Bayreuth orchestra; by contrast, the pilgrims' choir is majestic indeed, and profoundly moving; they, lucky them, are not in the pit but up on the stage. This is how Wagner wanted it, convinced that his tales were to be prominent and his music mere support to them, which brings up another discussion: does the author always know best?
More important perhaps, is the fact that almost none of the voices are stellar here, although they are all more than adequate. I say "almost," because Windgassen, in the title role, is the exception. He isn't perfect; he sounds as weary in the beginning and during his wild-and-woolly behavior in the singers' hall as he does in the end, when he is ready to give up and die. Nevertheless, the voice is beautiful, technically without reproach, and, in the final scenes, gutwrenching.
No such luck with the others. Grace Bumbry is a shrieky, quarrelsome Venus who disturbs rather than seduces, a nagging wife instead of a lascivious goddess of love. Anja Silja, as Elisabeth, is, like Windgassen, a superb "vocal actress" (one can visualize her on stage) but her voice is too small, with a rapid vibrato, and ultimately just undistinguished. Greindl, Waechter, and Stolze, as the Landgrave, Wolfram, and Walther, respectively, are all subpar, singers with voices that sound past their prime (whether they were or not) and variously either shaky or downright wobbly.
The whole works well because, as the critic No. 1 pointed out, there is a sense of a well-rehearsed and fully involved group of artists who worked together like a Swiss watch; Sawallisch is a masterful conductor, one of the best. So, should you compare this recording to many others, you will find, to your surprise, that although you may object to the same things as I've outlined here, it stands its ground against many more refined studio efforts. But should you pursue this recording madly because it's out of print and therefore quickly acquiring a mythical aura, and, if you find it, should you pay some exorbitant price for it as a collector's item: I would say firmly, no!
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