Sir Georg Solti (1912-1997), one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, was a testament to the elegance and impeccable tastefulness of Central European music-making. Born in Budapest in 1912, he studied with Béla Bartók, Ernö von Dohnányi, Zoltán Kodály and Leo Weiner. In 1937, Toscanini chose him to be his assistant at the Salzburg Festival. After the war, Solti was appointed Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera. Further stations in his career were the Frankfurt Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the London Philharmonic. His remarkable partnership with the Chicago Symphony began in 1954; he was named Music Director in 1969 and held this post for a phenomenal 22 years. He is credited with greatly extending and enhancing the orchestra’s worldwide reputation. Solti died in September 1997, just before his 85th birthday. This recording with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was made in 1976 at the Orchestra Hall in Chicago.
Das Rheingold
World of the gods – world of the earthly elements: Herbert von Karajan has succeeded in forcefully underscoring the contrast between the world of the gods and the earthly realm. The ‘Rhinegold’ already bears within it a foreboding of the ‘Götterdämmerung’. In the Prelude, man – the hero – does not yet appear; what checks the power of the gods are the earthly elements: fire, water and earth. Wotan only appears to be victorious when he enters Valhalla with his fellow gods. The actual victor is Loge. Based on a production from the Salzburg Easter Festival, Georges Wakhevitch has produced stage settings and transformations that support Karajan’s concept with every possible means. The depths of the Rhine are dynamic and full of natural motion, but the inside of the earth – Nibelheim – with its corridors and vaults which lead to Alberich’s realm, also has something organically proliferating about it. With his singers – foremost among them Peter Schreier – Karajan has an ensemble that fully conforms to his intentions. Thomas Stewart is a nobly singing Wotan. Next to him is the grandiose Brigitte Fassbaender als Fricka, a profoundly embittered figure.
Die Walküre
On the occasion of its 50th anniversary, the Salzburg Easter Festival presents a “Re-creation” of Die Walküre: of Herbert von Karajan’s musico-theatrical vision of the 19th century masterwork, with which the legendary Maestro opened the very first Easter Festival in 1967. The top-ranking ensemble of singers performs in the faithfully reconstructed scenery of the original production with impressive video backdrops inspired by the original glass paintings. Christian Thielemann, who has been assistant of Karajan in his beginnings, counts among the world’s foremost Wagner conductors, “… there is an absolute polish to this performance that is exceptional” writes the Financial Times about the conductor and orchestra. The critics are full of praise for this “musically ravishing Walküre” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) and its “excellent ensemble of soloists”. As Sieglinde, Anja Harteros is “enchanting and elegant”, Peter Seiffert “amazingly presents a steady and expressive Siegmund”, Christa Mayer “shows off as irresistible, throroughbred Fricka” and Anja Kampe is celebrated as “outstanding Brünnhilde” (Süddeutsche Zeitung). “Musically it was superb.” (The Spectator)
Der Ring des Nibelungen
“Velvety sound of unmatched beauty” (The Guardian)
“Musically, this ‘Ring’ blew away everything that had gone before – and we are talking about a performance history of more than one hundred years.” (Die Welt)
“Christian Thielemann creates a sound paradise.” (Süddeutsche Zeitung)
“Tcherniakov, as usual, manages details on a level rarely seen in opera.” (The New York Times)
“A dream cast of voices” (Le Monde)
“Wagner at his best.” (BR Klassik)
“Spectacular und breath-takingly precise, that’s how Thielemann illuminates the Wagner score.” (NZZ)
“Michael Volle’s Wotan […] is an event, […] Rolando Villazón plays a fabulous Loge.” (FAZ)
Götterdämmerung
Wagner’s immense imagination reveals itself in the composer’s 16-hour Ring cycle, being able to fully captivate worldwide audiences since its complete performance in 1876 in Bayreuth. Christian Thielemann’s conducting of “Velvety sound of unmatched beauty” (The Guardian) leads an extremely sophisticated production, with Tcherniakov’s stage that meets the highest technical standards, evolved in ever new, impressive spaces. Götterdämmerung is the concluding chapter of Wagner’s monumental four-part opus, which he conceived in the light of the revolution of 1848/49 and completed in 1874 after numerous attempts and a long interruption. In many ways, the thematic and musical threads are intertwined in a highly artistic and complex manner. “Tcherniakov, as usual, manages details on a
level rarely seen in opera.” (The New York Times)
Das Rheingold
“Michael Volle’s Wotan […] is an event, […] Rolando Villazón plays a fabulous Loge.” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) A myth, a heroic epic, a family saga – perhaps all of these together – make up Richard Wagner’s Ring tetralogy. This epic production of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden sees a remarkable collaboration between Christian Thielemann, one of the most distinguished Wagner conductors of our time, and Dmitri Tcherniakov, one of the great, internationally celebrated opera directors of our time. The result is “A glittering feast of voices, sounds, ideas and precise direction of characters. Wagner at his best.” (BR Klassik) The Rheingold gives the background to the events that drive the main dramas of the whole Ring cycle. “In this Rheingold, Thielemann mastered the art of nuance and varied interpretation like no other, and without having to bank on exaggeration.” (Bachtrack.com). “Funny and aching, ironic and horrifying” (The New York Times)
Die Walküre
Raising the curtain on a work of superlatives: the Staatsoper Unter den Linden represents the ultimate challenge for any opera house, Wagner’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen”. Christian Thielemann conducts the Ring tetralogy, and Dmitri Tcherniakov, highly praised for his psychologically sophisticated productions, led the playful all-star ensemble coherently through the panorama of characters, situations and events that unfolded like a universe and consistently interpreted the sheer vastness and the manifold twists and turns of the Ring cosmos. With the “Walküre” score, composed in the mid-1850s, Wagner reached new heights with his music, giving the orchestra remarkable communicative powers, layers of meaning were thus developed and incorporated into the work. “Enchanting magic of sound” (Die Zeit) / “Spectacular und breath-takingly precise, that’s how Thielemann illuminates the Wagner score.” (Neue Zürcher Zeitung) / “Velvety sound of unmatched beauty” (The Guardian)
Siegfried
Raising the curtain on a work of superlatives: the Staatsoper Unter den Linden represents the ultimate challenge for any opera house, Wagner’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen”. Christian Thielemann conducts the Ring tetralogy, and Dmitri Tcherniakov, highly praised for his psychologically sophisticated productions, led the playful all-star ensemble coherently through the panorama of characters, situations and events that unfolded like a universe and consistently interpreted the sheer vastness and the manifold twists and turns of the Ring cosmos. “Musically, this ‘Ring’ blew away everything that had gone before – and we are talking about a performance history of more than one hundred years.” (Die Welt) In the third part of his Ring tetralogy, Wagner incorporates fairy-tale motifs into his epic mythological story. The well-known tale of “The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn Fear” is echoed in “Siegfried” as well as episodes from the medieval “Nibelungenlied”. “Andreas Schager – a heroic tenor like the world is looking for.” (Berliner Morgenpost)
Christian Thielemann – Wiener Philharmoniker at Salzburg Festival
Christian Thielemann is a compelling advocate for German music, and his Salzburg Festival 2020 programme with the Wiener Philharmoniker is smack-dab at the heart of his favoured repertoire. For his long-awaited return to the Summer Festival, he opens with Wagner’s Wesendock Songs, considered musical sketches for the opera Tristan und Isolde, with terrific Latvian mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca as soloist. The centerpiece is Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4, the Romantic. Storms of applause. “Together with an orchestra that breathes with her, Elina Garanca proved that she currently represents the non plus ultra in the mezzosoprano category. Grandiose the fusion of intensity and noble sound” Der Standard “An event with goose bumps“ Kurier PROGRAM Wagner: Five Poems for female voice and piano “Wesendonck Lieder”; Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 “Romantic”
Tristan und Isolde
Semperoper Dresden presents an historic performance of Tristan and Isolde, directed by Marco Arturo Marelli and conducted by world-leading conductor Christian Thielemann. The sound he obtains from the Wagnerian score “fills the room with elegiac longing, drawing listeners into the emotional depths of the famous lovers.” (Opera Online) Klaus Florian Vogt, in his debut as Tristan, is “fully present and convincing with natural phrasing and clear diction” (Opernmagazin), while Camilla Nylund as Isolde “convinced with her still incredibly lyrical, light soprano” (Sächsische Zeitung). At the zenith of his career, Christian Thielemann manages to set a new standard with his permeation of this difficult score and leads the Staatskapelle Dresden to new heights of artistic expression. “It would be most wonderful if this Tristan never ended.” (Opernmagazin). “Brilliant performances that bring you to your knees”. (Sächsische Zeitung)