# Great Modern Recordings of Parsifal!



## DiesIraeCX (Jul 21, 2014)

Lately, I've been obsessed with Wagner (and Debussy). I love the Knappertsbusch _Parsifal_ (pictured below), in addition to this, I'm looking for a modern stereo recording of Parsifal with great sound. By modern, I don't strictly mean within the past twenty years, as long as it's stereo with great sound (think of the Fricsay Beethoven Ninth from 1958, which boasts great sound), so modern can mean 60s, 70s, 80s, etc..

I'll take recommendations for CD and DVD/Blu-ray! Thanks! :tiphat:


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## Chordalrock (Jan 21, 2014)

If you like a youthful sounding Parsifal (appropriate for the role), you should listen to Goodall's studio recording from 1985. I'm not an expert on the opera, but that recording seems pretty good overall. It's one of the more obscure ones, but I doubt deservedly. And no coughing like in, say, Thielemann's recording from 2006 (studio recordings of operas like this seem to be basically non-existent from the last fifteen years or so).


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## anmhe (Feb 10, 2015)

I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I really love the Gergiev recording. Its only great weak spot, to me, is the flower maiden scene (my favorite version of that is in the Armin Jordan recording).

What makes me like the Gergiev recording so much has to be René Pape's performance. He's stern, but peaceful and compassionate. I just am not a big fan of singers overacting with their voice in this role, and Pape nails the part perfectly.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Traditional-










Modern, but respectful-










Both excellent sound, conducting, singing.


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

DiesIraeCX said:


> I'll take recommendations for CD and DVD/Blu-ray! Thanks!












*For CD stereo* *versions* the 62 Knap Bayreuth you mention above followed by 80 Kubelik (high priced)

*For DVD* *video* I like the Kupfer production mainly for Waltraud Meier's bewitching Kundry, also the new MET production with Kaufmann has to be on the short list....... excellent blu ray picture and sound quality


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Some quick CD assessments from a _Parsifal_ devotee: The '62 live Bayreuth Knappertsbusch has probably not been surpassed or equaled as an all-round performance in good sound - I've always felt that the participants come across not as performing but as living the work, so deeply committed, spontaneous, and organic does it feel - but several studio versions offer fine performances and sound. The Kubelik mentioned by DarkAngel is quite beautiful, and this and the Kna would be my choices too. I think the Goodall is a bit sluggish, but not as static as either recording by Levine, which feel like watching paint dry. Some love the Karajan for its orchestral beauty and its fine Gurnemanz and Amfortas, but both the Kundry and the Parsifal are vocally sub-par and spoil it for me. The Barenboim is very good on the whole, rather in the Knappertsbusch mold, though less transcendental. Boulez's '70 Bayreuth is lively but superficial. Solti's has a fine cast and is beautifully recorded, but opinions divide on his conducting. I haven't heard the Gergiev, the Jordan, or the Thielemann.


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

My top recommendation is the same Barenboim/Kupfer DVD Darkangel linked to:


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

I love the 62 Knap for live, the Solti for studio. Beautifully recorded and great singing.
Solti is great here.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

DarkAngel said:


> [
> 
> , also the new MET production with Kaufmann has to be on the short list....... excellent blu ray picture and sound quality


Good acting and wonderful singing also ,


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

DarkAngel said:


> *For CD stereo* *versions* the 62 Knap Bayreuth you mention above followed by 80 Kubelik (high priced)
> 
> *For DVD* *video* I like the Kupfer production mainly for Waltraud Meier's bewitching Kundry, also the new MET production with Kaufmann has to be on the short list....... excellent blu ray picture and sound quality


You like the Kubelik DA?


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Pugg said:


> Good acting and wonderful singing also ,


Blood covered floors, Parsifal in bed? no thanks :tiphat:


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## anmhe (Feb 10, 2015)

Big fan of the MET Bluray, too. Kaufman was great, but René Pape was amazing.

I thought the blood pool worked. It was a divisive choice, but it was effective. Of course I have always been a big fan of such theatrics in rock music.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Itullian said:


> Blood covered floors, Parsifal in bed? no thanks :tiphat:


I heard the broadcast performance and found it beautiful and moving. I was grateful not to be watching Kaufmann wading through strawberry jam or singing about Good Friday flowers on the surface of Mars.


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

The Kubelik isn't just the best recording in modern sound, but my favorite recording full stop. It has my absolute favorite Gurnemanz in Kurt Moll--I consider the Gurnemanz casting the most important to fully bring out the beauty of Wagner's melodic composition in this opera. I tend to like James King a lot more than a lot of others I think; I like that he's not quite as emotive as Vickers, but is more heroic and stirring than Jess Thomas or Domingo. King undersings the first act deliberately when playing the callow youth and convincingly grows into the weary hero of the third act. It's convincing and well thought out performance, one of my favorites in the title role. Minton is a fine if slightly undercast Kundry and Weikl is a convincing and expressive Amfortas, albeit one not on the same level of vocal beauty as Van Dam. 

But most of all, the Kubelik is exceptional because of the performance in the pit. Kubelik leads a performance with a stillness and a rapt intensity that is the hallmark of a truly great Parsifal performance. His recording is even more magical than Knappertsbusch or Karajan.

The Knappertsbusch is also very special. Irene Dalis is one of my favorite Kundrys, Jess Thomas delivers a sweet-voiced take on the role. Hotter was already towards the tail end of his career at this point and you can hear some wobble and vocal unsteadiness, and the tessitura seems to lie too low for him--he's a little muddy and vague on the lower notes and it interrupts the listener's sense of the melodic line. Many others love the London performance as Amfortas but I find it a little hammy and unlovely.

The Karajan is also very beautifully conducted, and also has Moll repeating as Gurnemanz. He's better in Kubelik though, being less vivid and expressive here. The Karajan has one of the most beautifully sung Amfortas's in Van Dam, but a Parsifal and a Kundry who are overtaxed in the role--Vejzovic in particular is pretty screechy at times. So, a mixed bag, but still very worth listening to. The Karajan also has the best Parsifal bells.

The Gatti/Met production is very well sung, although I was actually expecting a little more from Kaufmann and especially Pape than I heard on the recording. Peter Mattei as Amfortas is truly outstanding--I was by far the most impressed with his performance. The conducting was frankly dull, and prevents this otherwise very well executed performance from being in the top ranks, and I thought the postapocalyptic setting was ok but a little drab visually.

The Solti has some very good singing but Solti gets the opera all wrong--this is possibly the opera that Solti temperamentally is least suited for. The Boulez seems drained of mystery and beauty. The Thielemann is well conducted but it's let down by a pretty poor Gurnemanz. The Levine/Bayreuth drags. Two recordings I have some affection for but wouldn't really recommend as top choices are the Armin Jordan and the Herbert Kegel--the Jordan is the recording used in the Syberberg film, and it's quite well sung and conducted and played, especially Robert Lloyd as Gurnemanz. The Kegel is an exceptionally fleet but still very beautiful take on the opera, and has one of Kollo's best performances I've heard. I also just got the Barenboim recently so I need to let that one sink in a few more times, but my initial impressions are very good.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Another vote for Barenboim, very sublime, and secondarily Karajan (including the bells effect, mentioned above )


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

howlingfantods said:


> The Kubelik isn't just the best recording in modern sound, but my favorite recording full stop. It has my absolute favorite Gurnemanz in Kurt Moll--I consider the Gurnemanz casting the most important to fully bring out the beauty of Wagner's melodic composition in this opera. I tend to like James King a lot more than a lot of others I think; I like that he's not quite as emotive as Vickers, but is more heroic and stirring than Jess Thomas or Domingo. King undersings the first act deliberately when playing the callow youth and convincingly grows into the weary hero of the third act. It's convincing and well thought out performance, one of my favorites in the title role. Minton is a fine if slightly undercast Kundry and Weikl is a convincing and expressive Amfortas, albeit one not on the same level of vocal beauty as Van Dam.
> 
> But most of all, the Kubelik is exceptional because of the performance in the pit. Kubelik leads a performance with a stillness and a rapt intensity that is the hallmark of a truly great Parsifal performance. His recording is even more magical than Knappertsbusch or Karajan.
> 
> ...


Nice comments, even if we differ a little on the cast of the '62 Bayreuth Knappertsbusch. A few thoughts:

I agree that Moll's Gurnemanz for Kubelik and Karajan is beautiful, almost ideal really, but I don't much share your reservations about Hotter, whom I find eloquent and humane in every syllable, his aging voice even adding a suggestion of frailty and thus a poignancy to his portrayal. Only in the Good Friday Spell do I wish for more smoothness, but on the whole no one makes me love this character as he does. I feel that the part was a fitting capstone to his career.

I know what you mean about London - he was vocally mellower on the '51 Bayreuth recording - but what you hear as hamminess is probably what I hear as intensity: he has an incisive way with words, the syllables cutting like knives, making both the character's royal status and his excruciating pain palpable. It's true that some others (e.g. Van Dam) are more introverted and subtle (Fischer-Dieskau too much so on the Solti set - but that's partly a matter of having the wrong sort of voice to begin with).

I'm glad to see someone else praising Irene Dalis; she was a superb artist who made very few recordings, and she is my favorite Kundry bar none, even equaling Christa Ludwig, I think. Besides understanding the role thoroughly and singing it masterfully, she has a timbre that mixes sensuality and earthiness: Kundry's seductiveness is not a purely sexual allure, but a temptation to a psychic regression, a return to mother love, and Dalis's rich timbre conveys that maternal aspect which many voices can't. Her Kundry most resembles Martha Modl's, but is more beautifully sung.

No one has mentioned the Klingsors, but for me Gustav Neidlinger's is second only to Hermann Uhde's marvelously unhinged portrayal from the early '50s.

Beyond the excellence of its individual performances, the '62 Kna endears itself to me as a living event, with no whiff of the recording studio about it. I'm really there in Montsalvat, living the drama from the inside, and I feel that everyone who participated onstage and in the pit that evening felt the same. It was a great moment at Bayreuth, and although it isn't the only recording of the opera I want, it's one of the few that are indispensable.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Any one with Waltraud Meier as Kundry. She is arguably the greatest Kundry since sound recording began.

N.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

As I listen rather than watch this opera, DVD is out for me.
The two best modern recordings are by Karajan and Baremboim. Both are fabulously played but both have weaknesses in casting. Karajan may depend on how you view Vejzovic as Kundry. 
For me Kna is far too slow and drags the whole thing out but I know others find it amazing. But the recording is now getting pretty old.


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## Faustian (Feb 8, 2015)

The Kubelik is also my favorite outside of the '62 Knap.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

DavidA said:


> As I listen rather than watch this opera, DVD is out for me.
> The two best modern recordings are by Karajan and Baremboim. Both are fabulously played but both have weaknesses in casting. Karajan may depend on how you view Vejzovic as Kundry.
> For me Kna is far too slow and drags the whole thing out but I know others find it amazing. But the recording is now getting pretty old.


I think you're referring to the '51 Knappertsbusch, which is indeed slow. The '62 isn't the least bit draggy, and has very good sound.


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

DavidA said:


> As I listen rather than watch this opera, DVD is out for me.
> The two best modern recordings are by Karajan and Baremboim. Both are fabulously played but both have weaknesses in casting. Karajan may depend on how you view Vejzovic as Kundry.
> For me Kna is far too slow and drags the whole thing out but I know others find it amazing. But the recording is now getting pretty old.


The Kna is 5-10 minutes faster than both Barenboim and Karajan, but ok.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

It's interesting to look at the timings of Kna's Parsifals over the course of his long career. In general, the older he got the faster his tempos became. Somehow he always managed to continue to do justice to the work's spiritual depths while increasing its dramatic momentum. The wisdom of age.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

howlingfantods said:


> The Kna is 5-10 minutes faster than both Barenboim and Karajan, but ok.


I only know his 1951 version which takes forever. Perhaps he speeded up with age by 1962! But the recording cannot be classified as 'modern'!


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> Nice comments, even if we differ a little on the cast of the '62 Bayreuth Knappertsbusch. A few thoughts:
> 
> I agree that Moll's Gurnemanz for Kubelik and Karajan is beautiful, almost ideal really, but I don't much share your reservations about Hotter, whom I find eloquent and humane in every syllable, his aging voice even adding a suggestion of frailty and thus a poignancy to his portrayal. Only in the Good Friday Spell do I wish for more smoothness, but on the whole no one makes me love this character as he does. I feel that the part was a fitting capstone to his career.
> 
> ...


It's definitely a very beautiful and essential recording. It was my first Parsifal and it'll always have a special place in my heart. I actually still prefer Act 2 of the Kna to the Kubelik. Act 2 of the Kna is outrageously wonderful, from the luxury casting of the heavenly Gundula Janowitz as the first flower maiden, the sinister Neidlinger, the seductive Irene Dalis, and Jess Thomas doing admirable work as Parsifal gaining consciousness.


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

DavidA said:


> I only know his 1951 version which takes forever. Perhaps he speeded up with age by 1962! But the recording cannot be classified as 'modern'!


Yes he did. The 1962 is around 4'10, where the 1951 was around 4'33. The '62 is in stereo, in pretty good sound and I'd call it "modern". The 1951 is definitely a little overrated--Kna was notoriously lazy about musical preparation, and my theory is it took him about a decade to figure out how he wanted to conduct this thing 

So in general, when folks refer to the Kna, they mean the 62--it's the one in stereo, released widely on a major label, classic in the repertory and always in print and always one of the top picks.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

howlingfantods said:


> Yes he did. The 1962 is around 4'10, where the 1951 was around 4'33. The '62 is in stereo, in pretty good sound and I'd call it "modern". The 1951 is definitely a little overrated--Kna was notoriously lazy about musical preparation, and my theory is it took him about a decade to figure out how he wanted to conduct this thing
> 
> So in general, when folks refer to the Kna, they mean the 62--it's the one in stereo, released widely on a major label, classic in the repertory and always in print and always one of the top picks.


Yes some of Culshaw's stories about Kna, including one where he recorded a haydn symphony without rehearsal and half the orchestra missed the repeat. When Culshaw told him he'd have to do a retake he merely said, "Ah, who will notice?"


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

DavidA said:


> As I listen rather than watch this opera, *DVD is out for me.*The two best modern recordings are by Karajan and Baremboim. Both are fabulously played but both have weaknesses in casting. Karajan may depend on how you view Vejzovic as Kundry.
> For me Kna is far too slow and drags the whole thing out but I know others find it amazing. But the recording is now getting pretty old.


Why? The Stein is wonderful. Try it.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Itullian said:


> Why? The Stein is wonderful. Try it.


I have seen it. It's the Wolfgang Wagner production I believe?


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

DavidA said:


> I have seen it. It's the Wolfgang Wagner production I believe?


Yes....................


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

Knappertsbusch 1962






Knappertsbusch 1951






Karajan 1980


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

I


howlingfantods said:


> The Kegel is an exceptionally fleet but still very beautiful take on the opera, and has one of Kollo's best performances I've heard.


I totally agree about the Kegel. It is a little gem and deserves a wider audience. Kollo on form is a pleasure to listen to and I think the quicker pace of this interpretation really suits him.


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## DiesIraeCX (Jul 21, 2014)

I must be missing something in Karajan's highly acclaimed _Parsifal_, I listened to some key parts and did not hear anything other than the notes, nothing deeper, nothing revelatory; I did hear orchestral beauty, though. I know this is the same criticism often thrown at Karajan, and I hate to repeat it because I'm usually a Karajan supporter (mostly for his 1950s - 1960s Beethoven, and Bruckner). Anyway, everything the 1962 Knappertsbusch recording reveals, the Karajan seems to just glide over. I really wanted to like it. On to Kubelik if I'm ever able to get my hands on a recording, it's so expensive!


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

Itullian said:


> Parsifal in bed? no thanks


The bed adds an extra dash of authenticity - it's about the Nights of the Grail, after all


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## gardibolt (May 22, 2015)

I just got the Kubelik set and am looking forward to listening to it; Kubelik's long-suppressed Meistersinger (also on Arts Archive) is excellent so expectations are high.


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## Granate (Jun 25, 2016)

Amazing sales in Qobuz: 24bit/96 downloads of Zweden and Janowski and 24/48 for Elder. 13€ for Zweden, 18€ for Janowski, 15€ for Elder. I downloaded Zweden.


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## VitellioScarpia (Aug 27, 2017)

Granate said:


> Amazing sales in Qobuz: 24bit/96 downloads of Zweden and Janowski and 24/48 for Elder. 13€ for Zweden, 18€ for Janowski, 15€ for Elder. I downloaded Zweden.


Which recording did you like best overall of these three. I am partial to the Kubelik.


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

This has been my go-to lately:










Waltraud Meier in her prime (if not before) and Goodall can be counted on for his luxuriously leisurely pace, wringing the most out of every note. Great sound.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

VitellioScarpia said:


> Which recording did you like best overall of these three. I am partial to the Kubelik.


If you have the Kubelik, you really don't need any of the three above. Great sound, mostly terrible singing.


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

If you have the Kubelik, I kinda think the only other one you really absolutely need is the Karajan, to listen to those awesome bells and to hear the exceptionally beautiful Amfortas from Jose Van Dam, the only weak spots on the Kubelik.


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## Granate (Jun 25, 2016)

VitellioScarpia said:


> Which recording did you like best overall of these three. I am partial to the Kubelik.


I'm talking about recordings of the 21st century AND available in 24/96 audio range.
I have listened and enjoyed a lot the Zweden Parsifal, but also have a very strong love for the Pappano Live recording in Covent Garden.

And I don't have a positive opinion about the Kubelík. Price is prohibitive and would rather turn to Karajan for a very similar cast... or just ignore both of them.


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

Granate said:


> And I don't have a positive opinion about the Kubelík. Price is prohibitive and would rather turn to Karajan for a *very similar cast*... or just ignore both of them.


that's an odd characterization--the only cast member shared between the two is Kurt Moll as Gurnemanz. The cast for Kubelik which includes excellent performances for the title character and for Kundry is very different from the cast for Karajan that has one of the worst pairs of Kundry and Parsifals on disc.

The weakness of these two is why I wouldn't recommend the Karajan as the primary or first recording of Parsifal to own, but I do think it's a brilliant companion to the Kubelik for the reasons I mentioned. But if you really can't spring the price for the Kubelik, I'd recommend the 1962 Kna as the next best all arounder and primary recording.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Is this one any good? Performance is from 2005.* Back Cover Image.*


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Granate said:


> I'm talking about recordings of the 21st century AND available in 24/96 audio range.


Why?

If you want modern sound, Levine and Thielemann both sound fine and are both significantly better cast. So is the slightly older Barenboim on Teldec.


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## VitellioScarpia (Aug 27, 2017)

howlingfantods said:


> that's an odd characterization--the only cast member shared between the two is Kurt Moll as Gurnemanz. The cast for Kubelik which includes excellent performances for the title character and for Kundry is very different from the cast for Karajan that has one of the worst pairs of Kundry and Parsifals on disc.
> 
> The weakness of these two is why I wouldn't recommend the Karajan as the primary or first recording of Parsifal to own, but I do think it's a brilliant companion to the Kubelik for the reasons I mentioned. But if you really can't spring the price for the Kubelik, I'd recommend the 1962 Kna as the next best all arounder and primary recording.


How do you like the Solti/Decca recording? I have been tempted by it...


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

VitellioScarpia said:


> How do you like the Solti/Decca recording? I have been tempted by it...


It's ok. I love Ludwig's performance of Kundry--my favorite on record. Frick is very good, one of the better Gurnemanz performances, it's extremely impressive once you do the math and realize he was around 66 at the time, he sounds better than most basses do at 40. Amfortas is one of the few Wagnerian roles that DFD could pull off successfully--he's excellent in the 1956 Bayreuth recording, and here, he's a little audibly past his peak but still pretty good. This is pretty early in Kollo's career and he sounds fresh voiced, it's an ok performance--like Jess Thomas, I think he's too light and lyrical to be a convincing hero in act 3, but Kollo's voice isn't as pretty as Thomas'.

The big problem for me is the man in the pit. Solti's tendency to be episodic, overly emphatic and bombastic can be ok in some opera but his approach is really damaging for Parsifal. Even more than Wagner's other operas, Parsifal demands a steady flow and adept transition and forward movement, and this Parsifal sounds like it's got ADD. Solti's recording has only a little of the magic that you hear in Kubelik, Karajan, Knappertsbusch, Barenboim, Jordan, etc.

For stereo recordings, I'd rank them in this order--Kubelik, Kna 1962 are the best all arounders--Kubelik in studio sound, Kna in decent stereo sound but it's live and there's stage and audience noise. Next would be Armin jordan and Barenboim--good but not quite as good, a little less magic and slightly worse casts. After that would be the Levine, Karajan, Solti, Goodall, Thielemann, and Kegel--some redeeming qualities but serious flaws as well.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Ludwig appears as Kundry in Act 2 of Karajan's live performance which is electrifying but sadly the sound is not great. Ludwig here is unbeatable.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

DavidA said:


> View attachment 135537
> 
> 
> Ludwig appears as Kundry in Act 2 of Karajan's live performance which is electrifying but sadly the sound is not great.


Neither is the rest of the cast...


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## Granate (Jun 25, 2016)

howlingfantods said:


> that's an odd characterization--the only cast member shared between the two is Kurt Moll as Gurnemanz.


And that's quite enough for me. Isn't he the character who sings the most lines in the opera?

And forgive my tone. Coronavirus has completely switched off my Opera mood.

Please stick to the topic. We talk about Modern recordings...


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Granate said:


> Please stick to the topic. We talk about Modern recordings...


How do you define "modern"? For me, modern is any recording made after I started collecting around 1970.


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## VitellioScarpia (Aug 27, 2017)

howlingfantods said:


> For stereo recordings, I'd rank them in this order--Kubelik, Kna 1962 are the best all arounders--Kubelik in studio sound, Kna in decent stereo sound but it's live and there's stage and audience noise. Next would be Armin jordan and Barenboim--good but not quite as good, a little less magic and slightly worse casts. After that would be the Levine, Karajan, Solti, Goodall, Thielemann, and Kegel--some redeeming qualities but serious flaws as well.


Levine has three official recordings that I know about: 





















Which one have you considered in your ordering above?


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

VitellioScarpia said:


> Which one have you considered in your ordering above?


The second. The Bayreuth recording is pretty terrible, and I haven't watched the video--although, thanks for the reminder, i've been meaning to pick that one up.

oh, i see the full thing is on youtube. I'll take a look. On paper, it's pretty promising, but it doesn't look better on paper than the kubelik, and i personally think Levine is a wildly overrated wagnerian.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

wkasimer said:


> Neither is the rest of the cast...


It is pretty good actually. Hotter at his best. And Berry surprised me as Kinglor.


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## annaw (May 4, 2019)

howlingfantods said:


> The second. The Bayreuth recording is pretty terrible, and I haven't watched the video--although, thanks for the reminder, i've been meaning to pick that one up.


How is Domingo's Parsifal? I haven't got around to listen to his Wagner yet... I have watched bits of the Met production and that seemed to be a very nice traditional staging. I have to find time to watch the whole thing.


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## VitellioScarpia (Aug 27, 2017)

Thanks. I have the second one also. I put it behind the Kubelik. I watched the DVD a long time ago and I was actually bored and the vocalism overall lower than the second one. I should give it a whirl again since it has been probably some 20 years since I last watched/listened to it. Time flies... :angel:


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## VitellioScarpia (Aug 27, 2017)

annaw said:


> How is Domingo's Parsifal? I haven't got around to listen to his Wagner yet... I have watched bits of the Met production and that seemed to be very nice traditional staging. I have to find time to watch the whole thing.


His German is not very good and sometimes I am not sure that he quite internalized some of the words he is singing -- it is probably just me but there you go. If you like a more Italianate and vibrant sound to the tenor role, then you will enjoy Domingo. I liked him better as Parsifal than Tristan.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

VitellioScarpia said:


> His German is not very good and sometimes I am not sure that he quite internalized some of the words he is singing -- it is probably just me but there you go. If you like a more Italianate and vibrant sound to the tenor role, then you will enjoy Domingo. I liked him better as Parsifal than Tristan.


Perhaps because he actually sang Parsifal on stage. He only sang Tristan in the studio recording.


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

annaw said:


> How is Domingo's Parsifal? I haven't got around to listen to his Wagner yet... I have watched bits of the Met production and that seemed to be a very nice traditional staging. I have to find time to watch the whole thing.


It's pretty good. Not as good as his Lohengrin or Erik or Tannhauser--I think he's better suited to Wagner's early romantic operas.


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## Granate (Jun 25, 2016)

wkasimer said:


> How do you define "modern"? For me, modern is any recording made after I started collecting around 1970.


Am I so young? My parents hadn't even met! I talk about anything that could be recorded digitally but also in something similar to 24/48 or 24/96 bit technology.


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