[.ca] Strauss: Salome

From Amazon.co.uk:
This 1972 production of Salome, starring the wonderful Leonie Rysanek in the title role and set in a Klimtian fin-de-siècle dream world, had the local and international critics clamouring for superlatives, and it is not hard to hear why. Quite apart from the vocal splendours of Rysanek in full-throated majesty, and the powerful support from Hopf and Hoffman, the orchestral playing has to be heard to be believed. Karl Böhm turns the Vienna Philharmonic into another character in the drama, so flexible and responsive is the ensemble to every nuance of the drama. This double CD set is part of a series of remastered historical live recordings called "Wiener Staatsoper Live", and comparing this disc with the earlier live recordings in the series (Rosenkavalier, 1955) the sound quality seems to be of a far higher standard. Quibbles? Jochanaan's pronouncements from the well have been done a little more mysteriously (and with a bit more reverb!), and Rysanek plays Salome as an imperious mature force, rather than the mercurial 16-year-old she is supposed to be That aside, this is a remarkable document of a great performance. --Warwick Thompson

Thrilling performance at the Vienna State Opera:
"~This is a live recording of a performance given on 22 December 1972 at the Vienna State Opera. According to reports, the production was a feast to the eye and from the evidence of this set, its musical merits are also considerable. succeeds in delineating the psychological effect that the fateful meeting with Jokanaan has had in Salome's mind. It is an all-rounded, intelligent as well as intense portrayal. Rysanek's distinctive voice doesn't always come across that well in recordings and this set is no exception. Her voice can sometimes sound not very incisive and there's an audible register break between the middle and lower registers, which is particularly evident when she sings a downward phrase. As heard here, the"~ voice doesn't possess the power to ride triumphantly over the orchestra and there can also be some slight intonation problem from time to time. Nevertheless, her vocal performance improves considerably after the Dance and she is able to give a vocally and dramatically shattering final scene."~ Jokanaan although he seems to be just below his vocal best as the voice is sometimes caught afflicted with a wobble. There cannot be a more positive Narraboth in Waldemar Kmentt and Rohangiz Yachmi is an excellent Page. Indeed, all members of the supporting cast are consistantly fine and even the Jews and Nazarenes made a splendid team. musical texture light and transparent and highlights the sensuousness and the great beauties of this keleidoscopic score. However, when the drama requires, his reading can be urgent and propulsive, as in the orchestral passage after the meeting of Salome and Jokanaan. The Dance is both mesmerising and rapturous. And such is the meticulous balance of the orchestral parts that, despite the fact that this is a live recording, many orchestral details, which are often buried even in studio"~ recordings, can be heard with clarity. The performance of the Vienna Philharmonic is beyond reproach.

Bohm is the Bomb!:
Sorry. I couldn't resist the contemporary colloquialism (If it is, indeed, still contemporary). Originally broadcast on Austrian Radio, Karl Bohm conducted this live performance of Richard Strauss' infamous opera with the Wiener Staatsoper (quite literally just a few days after the birth of this reviewer). Even in studio recordings, the sensual and savage music of "Salome" has bewitched me. Salome's magic becomes greatly enhanced in this live performance, as fervent as the passions leading to her downward spiral and sexual apotheosis in the final aria. As in his Deutsche Grammophon recordings of "Tristan und Isolde" at Bayreuth and (unfortunately abridged) "Elektra" at Dresden, Bohm brings singers and orchestra to a white-hot incandescence many times throughout this performance. Even when he assumes brisk tempi, Bohm evokes an aura of overwhelming, tingling beauty. As Salome, Rysanek does not indulge in caricatured Wagnerian barking, though her voice sounds nice and full throughout. However, she and the orchestra are not always together, and for some strange reason she omits the quasi-orgasmic "Ah's" that bridge the acerbic and sweetly sensual portions of Salome's final aria. But then, this is a live performance, and a real Salome throbbing with sexual desire would probably not sound note-perfect. Despite some flaws, this performance has much more energy and excitement than Bohm's 1970 Deutsche Grammophon recording with the Hamburgischer Staatsoper (whoever they are), although Gwyneth Jones sounds appropriate in the title role. In contrast, the performance on this set is more reminiscent of the 1974 film where Bohm conducted the Wiener Philharmoniker, with Teresa Stratas proving herself as one of the best Salomes ever. RCA has packaged this performance on two reasonable-priced CD's, accompanied by liner notes describing the plot and the story behind this criticlly-acclaimed performance. Although this recording documents an excellent performance at a reasonable price and has the potential of attracting newcomers to the opera, it does not include the libretto(!). One suspects that RCA marketed this recording (as well as others in this same mid-priced live performance series) to listeners already knowledgeable about the opera, or for that class of opera geeks who seek performances for so-called "historical value." No wonder many people shy away from opera and miss out on much wonderful music.

Bohm is peerless!:
Bohm is the real star of this recording (which is from a clear sounding stereo tape of a notable 1972 production). He combines dramatic weight and urgency with elegance and nuance of phrasing, and elicits an orchestral sound which is both sensuous and transparent in texture. Solti to me sounds distinctly foursquare and heavy-handed by comparison (although a remastering using current oversampling and noise reduction techniques would probably help ameliorate those limitations). Moreover, I find Rysanek's interpretation very effective in conveying Salome's imperious willfullness and monomaniacal obsession (even though, admittedly, others have sung the role more flawlessly in strictly vocal terms), and Waechter's Jochanaan sings with real conviction. My only complaint musically is that the Herod sounds undercharacterized compared to Stoltz on the Solti recording; however, this is true for all others that I have heard in this role. It is regrettable that RCA did not see fit to include a libretto, but the virtues of this recording make scrounging around for one a worthwhile endeavor...