Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg

[Patrick]

標　　題：Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg (1)
發 表 人：pennimax(pennimax)
發表時間：2001/12/09 12:00:17


Frontnote: I hope I can write my final papers as enthusiastically as writing this aricle....


I must make clear that my following words are definitely in no compliance with "tranquil recollection" tradition.

When James Morris sang Hans Sachs in San Francisco Opera early in this year, one newspaper in San Jose gave him an unforgiving review--"...he still has a long way to go," which was followed by a defense in the New York Times. Now I believe such defense is justifiable. Yes, maybe his pronunciation is not as accurate as those native German; maybe his acting is not as lively as Donald McIntyre or Bernd Weikl, but without a doubt, the breadth, the sonority, and the expressiveness of his voice would compensate for those drawbacks that are believed to be overcome through time. His voice is flawless, and in the meantime, his rendition, unlike some technicians' lackluster and inhumane interpretation, is full of warmth. Now Morris is a reliable Sachs, and hopefully we can see a more mature acting in the future.

I had quite a good impression with Ben Heppner's Calaf, and from that I once inferred he had a potential to become a good heldentenor, though I never heard of his Walther before. However, When I saw his Tristan on the Met Telecast last year, I wondered if my supposition was right because it appeared that his Tristan was still far from being qualified as such a dramatic tenor as Jon Vickers. And now, I realize that I had a wrongly-focused concern with respect to his Walther, since it takes no heldentenor to sing Walther. Not abusing his voice throughout the whole opera, he cherished each "aria" opportunity instead and managed to portray on stage a talented but sensitive, unsophisticated young knight.

[Patrick]

標　　題：Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg (2)
發 表 人：pennimax(pennimax)
發表時間：2001/12/09 12:01:02

More surprises: It is hard to say if Karita Mattila has a great voice, but she was surely suitable for Eva on this occasion. Don't forget: Eva is a pampered and emotional kid. Some lyric sopranos fail in the expressiveness in voice, and some dramatic sopranos make Eva sound like a worldly lady. Though sometimes uneven in some high pitches, Mattila's voice had a good balance between understatement and overstatement mentioned above. I would especially mention "Selig, wie die Sonne..." in the Act III -- she initiated the quintet with daintiness, integrated well into the ensuing ensemble, and ended this episode with anticipation. Besides, her acting was far beyond my expectation. I'd really like to see or hear her Musetta if possible.

Other singers, like Rene Pape or Thomas Allen, are surely in their primes. And there's one man missing here. Who's the conductor?

It has been an interesting week since my views on two entities have turned "downside-up" --one is New York Philharmonics, and the other is James Levine. With Levine conducting, I felt some details that I've never noticed before. As a bel canto tradition in Met, little harshness occurred to my ears under his baton. Most of all, his meticulous handling did not hamper the fluency, which would be beneficial to such comedy as Meistersinger.

In sum, if I were asked to name one comparable recording I've heard, I would mention Kubelik's Meistersinger. Though there's a great difference between Janowitz and Mattila, I would say Levine and the Met did manage to reach a standard of delicacy that is close to Kubelik's benchmark recording.

And now I'm anxious--should I buy Solti's Meistersinger with similar cast or should I wait and see if the Met will issue the video of this performance?