Tristan und Isolde discography

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This is an audio and video discography of Tristan und Isolde, an opera by Richard Wagner which was first performed on 10 June 1865 in Munich.

Recording history[]

Tristan und Isolde has a long recorded history. In the years before World War II, Kirsten Flagstad and Lauritz Melchior were considered to be the prime interpreters of the lead roles, and mono recordings exist of this pair in a number of live performances led by conductors such as Thomas Beecham, Fritz Reiner, Artur Bodanzky and Erich Leinsdorf. Flagstad recorded the part commercially only near the end of her career in 1952, under Wilhelm Furtwängler for EMI, producing a set which is considered a classic recording.[1] Following the war, the performances at Bayreuth with Martha Mödl and Ramon Vinay under Herbert von Karajan (1952) were highly regarded, and these performances are now available as a live recording. In the 1960s, the soprano Birgit Nilsson was considered the major Isolde interpreter, and she was often partnered with the Tristan of Wolfgang Windgassen. Their performance at Bayreuth in 1966 under the baton of Karl Böhm was captured by Deutsche Grammophon—a performance often hailed as one of the best Tristan recordings.[2] Some collectors prefer the pairing of Nilsson with the Canadian tenor Jon Vickers, available in "unofficial" recordings from performances in Vienna or Orange.

There are several DVD productions of the opera including Götz Friedrich's production at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin featuring the seasoned Wagnerians René Kollo and Dame Gwyneth Jones in the title roles. Deutsche Grammophon released a DVD of a Metropolitan Opera performance featuring Jane Eaglen and Ben Heppner, conducted by James Levine, in a production staged by Jürgen Rose, and a DVD of the 1995 Bayreuth Festival production with conductor Daniel Barenboim and featuring Waltraud Meier as Isolde and Siegfried Jerusalem as Tristan, staged by Heiner Mueller.

Audio recordings[]

Year cast:
(Tristan, Isolde, Brangäne, King Marke, Kurwenal) 		Conductor,
Opera House and Orchestra 		Label[3]
1928 Gunnar Graarud,
Nanny Larsen-Todsen,
Anny Helm,
Ivar Andresen,
Rudolf Bockelmann 		Karl Elmendorff,
Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, Bayreuth Festival Chorus
(abridged) 		Naxos Historical,[4]
Cat: 8.110200-02
1935 Lauritz Melchior,
Kirsten Flagstad,
Karin Branzell,
Ludwig Hofmann,
Friedrich Schorr 		Artur Bodanzky,
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera Chorus 		Immortal Performances,
Cat: IPCD 1078–3
1936 Lauritz Melchior,
Kirsten Flagstad,
Sabine Kalter,
Emanuel List,
Herbert Janssen 		Fritz Reiner,
Royal Opera House Covent Garden Orchestra, Royal Opera House Covent Garden Chorus (Live recording and the sound is good considering the age of the recording) 		VAI Audio:
VAIA 1004-3,
Naxos «Historical,
Cat: 8.110068.70
1937 Lauritz Melchior,
Kirsten Flagstad,
Kerstin Thorborg,
Ludwig Hofmann,
Julius Huehn 		Artur Bodanzky,
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera Chorus 		Immortal Performances,
Cat: IPCD 1040–3
1937 Lauritz Melchior,
Kirsten Flagstad,
Margarete Klose,
Sven Nilsson,
Herbert Janssen 		Thomas Beecham,
Royal Opera House Covent Garden Orchestra, Royal Opera House Covent Garden Chorus,
(Only part of the EMI recording is conducted by Beecham; the rest is conducted by Reiner) 		EMI Classics,
Cat: 64037
1943 Lauritz Melchior,
Helen Traubel,
Kerstin Thorborg,
Alexander Kipnis,
Julius Huehn 		Erich Leinsdorf,
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera Chorus 		Naxos Historical,
Cat: 8.110010-2
1943 Max Lorenz,
Paula Buchner,
Margarete Klose,
Ludwig Hofmann,
Jaro Prohaska 		Robert Heger,
Berlin State Opera Orchestra and Chorus 		Preiser,
Cat: 90243
1948 Set Svanholm,
Kirsten Flagstad,
Viorica Ursuleac,
Ludwig Weber,
Hans Hotter 		Erich Kleiber,
Buenos Aires Opera 		Myto,
Cat: H031
1950 Gunther Treptow,
Helena Braun,
Margarete Klose,
Ferdinand Frantz,
Paul Schöffler 		Hans Knappertsbusch,
Bavarian State Opera Orchestra 		Orfeo,
Cat: C355 943 D
1951 Max Lorenz,
Gertrude Grob-Prandl,
Elsa Cavelti,
Sven Nilsson,
Sigurd Björling 		Victor de Sabata,
Orchestra of La Scala Milan 		Archipel,
Cat: ARPCD 0027[5]
1952 Ramón Vinay,
Martha Mödl,
Ira Malaniuk,
Ludwig Weber,
Hans Hotter 		Herbert von Karajan,
Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, Bayreuth Festival Chorus
(Recording of a performance at the Bayreuth Festival) 		Arkadia,
Cat: CDHP 528.4 and other labels[6]
1952 Ludwig Suthaus,
Kirsten Flagstad (with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf providing some top notes in the Act II Love Duet),[7]
Blanche Thebom,
Josef Greindl,
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau 		Wilhelm Furtwängler,
Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Opera House Covent Garden Chorus 		EMI Classics
Naxos Historical
Cat: 8.110321-24
1955 Set Svanholm,
Astrid Varnay,
Blanche Thebom,
Jerome Hines,
Josef Metternich 		Rudolf Kempe,
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera Chorus 		Walhall,
Cat: WLCD0135
1958 Wolfgang Windgassen,
Birgit Nilsson,
Grace Hoffman,
Josef Greindl,
Erik Saedén 		Wolfgang Sawallisch,
Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, Bayreuth Festival Chorus
(Recording of a performance at the Bayreuth Festival) 		Orfeo,
Cat: 951 183 D
1959 Wolfgang Windgassen,
Birgit Nilsson,
Hilde Rössel-Majdan,
Hans Hotter,
Gustav Neidlinger 		Herbert von Karajan,
Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro alla Scala 		Golden Melodram,
Cat: GM 1.0080
1961 Fritz Uhl,
Birgit Nilsson,
Regina Resnik,
Arnold van Mill,
Tom Krause 		Georg Solti,
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Singverein 		Decca,
Cat: 470814
1966 Wolfgang Windgassen,
Birgit Nilsson,
Christa Ludwig,
Martti Talvela,
Eberhard Wächter 		Karl Böhm,
Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, Bayreuth Festival Chorus
(Recording of a performance at the Bayreuth Festival, August) 		Deutsche Grammophon,
Cat: 449772
1971 Jon Vickers,
Birgit Nilsson,
Grace Hoffman,
Franz Crass,
Norman Mittelman 		Horst Stein,
Buenos Aires Teatro Colón Orchestra 		VAI,
Cat: VAIA 1178-3
1971-72 Jon Vickers,
Helga Dernesch,
Christa Ludwig,
Karl Ridderbusch,
Walter Berry 		Herbert von Karajan,
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Berlin Deutsche Oper Chorus 		EMI Classics,
Cat: 69319
1976 Spas Wenkoff,
Caterina Ligendza,
Yvonne Minton,
Karl Ridderbusch,
Donald McIntyre 		Carlos Kleiber,
Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, Bayreuth Festival Chorus
(Recording of a performance at the Bayreuth Festival) 		Opera Depot,
Cat: OD 10262-3
1980-81 John Mitchinson,
Linda Esther Gray,
Anne Wilkens,
Gwynne Howell,
Phillip Joll 		Reginald Goodall,
Chorus and Orchestra of Welsh National Opera 		Decca,
Cat: 443682
1981 Alberto Remedios,
Linda Esther Gray,
Felicity Palmer,
John Tomlinson,
Norman Bailey 		Reginald Goodall,
Chorus and Orchestra of English National Opera,
Performance in English 		Oriel Music Society,
OMS 181
1981 Peter Hofmann,
Hildegard Behrens,
Yvonne Minton,
Hans Sotin,
Bernd Weikl 		Leonard Bernstein,
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Chorus 		Philips,
Cat: 2PH5410-447
1980/82 René Kollo,
Margaret Price,
Brigitte Fassbaender,
Kurt Moll,
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau 		Carlos Kleiber,
Leipzig Radio Chorus, Dresden Staatskapelle 		Deutsche Grammophon,
Cat: 403202
1995 Siegfried Jerusalem,
Waltraud Meier,
Marjana Lipovšek,
Matti Salminen,
Falk Struckmann 		Daniel Barenboim,
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Berlin State Opera Chorus 		Teldec,
Cat: 94568
2003 Thomas Moser,
Deborah Voigt,
Petra Lang,
Robert Holl,
 Christian Thielemann,
Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Vienna State Opera Chorus (Live) 		Deutsche Grammophon,
Cat: 474 974
2004 Plácido Domingo,
Nina Stemme,
Mihoko Fujimura,
René Pape,
Olaf Bär 		Antonio Pappano,
Royal Opera House Covent Garden Orchestra, Royal Opera House Covent Garden Chorus 		EMI Classics,
Cat: 5.58006

Video recordings[]

  • Conductor: Pierre Boulez. Soloists: Wolfgang Windgassen; Birgit Nilsson; Hans Hotter; Chorus and Orchestra of the Osaka Festival. Recorded [on black and white film], Osaka, 10 April 1967. Wieland Wagner directed the production.
  • Conductor: Karl Böhm. Soloists: Jon Vickers; Birgit Nilsson. New Philharmonia Chorus; ORTF Orchestra. Théâtre Antique, Orange, France, 7 July 1973. This is a highly valued video recording due to its excellent performance despite some technical problems (as of 2005-11-21). DVD: Hardy Classic Video HCD 40009 (2 DVDs) (2003) is a good print
  • Conductor: Daniel Barenboim, Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele, Staged and Directed by: Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, Soloists: René Kollo, Johanna Meier, Matti Salminen, Hermann Becht, Hanna Schwarz, Unitel 1983, Laserdisc Philips 070-509-1
  • Conductor: Jiří Kout, Orchestra & Chorus of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Staged and Directed by: Götz Friedrich, Soloists: René Kollo, Dame Gwyneth Jones, Robert Lloyd, Gerd Feldhoff, Hanna Schwarz. TDK 1993 DVD
  • Conductor: Zubin Mehta; Chorus of the Bayerische Staatsoper, Bayerisches Staatsorchester; Stage Director: Peter Konwitschny; Soloists: Jon Frederic West, Waltraud Meier, Kurt Moll, Bernd Weikl, Marjana Lipovšek. Opus Arte DVD 1998.
  • Conductor: Peter Schneider. Soloists: Robert Dean Smith, Iréne Theorin, Michelle Breedt, Robert Holl, Jukka Rasilainen; Bayreuth Festival Orchestra & Chorus. Staged and directed by Christoph Marthaler. 3-DVD set: Opus Arte, ASIN: B002QEXC6W 2009.

References[]

Notes
  1. ^ Holloway, Robin (1982) in "Opera on Record", Harper and Row ISBN 0-06-090910-2, page 367.
  2. ^ Blyth, Alan (1992), "Opera on CD" Kyle Cathie Ltd, ISBN 1-85626-056-9 page 65.
  3. ^ Recordings of Tristan und Isolde on Wagner Discography
  4. ^ Brown, p. 36
  5. ^ Brown, p. 13
  6. ^ Brown, p. 16
  7. ^ Naxos, Notes to Tristan und Isolde. Retrieved 11 December 2015
Sources
  • Brown, Jonathan (2000). Tristan und Isolde on record: a comprehensive discography of Wagner's music drama with a critical introduction to the recordings. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-31489-6.

External links[]

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