Seven years is the term the Dutchman takes to touch land; seven years is the time it has taken DG to issue this set. No doubt the appearance in between of the Decca set from the same PolyGram stable delayed its issue. As it happens, among modern versions, it is that excellent performance, so authoritatively conducted by Dohnanyi, that is the most serious rival to the new one. He and Sinopoli give different, perfectly valid readings. Dohnanyi’s is the more surely paced, the most consistent overall, but Sinopoli gives the piece a dramatic thrust and frisson, within rhythmic pulses that drive it along with an irresistible force of nature, less stable than Dohnanyi’s approach but on its own entirely convincing, especially when the score is played and sung so vigorously by his Berlin forces – try the start of Act 3 – and recorded with almost as much care over balance and detail as Decca offered his rival.
The new set is graced by one exceptionally convincing interpretation, that of Studer as Senta, a role she sang last summer at Bayreuth. Throughout she catches the vulnerability, desperation and visionary elation of the character, nowhere more so than at the passage beginning “Fuhlst du das Schmerz”, in which she tries to convey to poor Erik an idea of a world he cannot comprehend. Studer sings with just about as much feeling as Behrens for Dohnanyi, and her tone and line are steadier. As her Erik, Domingo adds yet another part to his amazing roster of roles on disc. Predictably he sings it with sovereign tone, but his German, though correct, fails to carry conviction in terms of verbal accent. Protschke for Decca comes nearer to the part’s requirements.Weikl has experience of the Dutchman on stage, not least at Bayreuth, and everything he does is musical and orderly but his voice lacks the weight, the bass element and often the haunted quality essential for the role and achieved by the best interpreters on CD, notably Hale for Dohnanyi and Adam for Klemperer, not to forget classic readings of Uhde and Hotter variously available. Yet by any but these ideal standards Weikl’s is a satisfying performance. Sotin’s voice sounds a shade tired as Daland and his reading of the role is on the dull side, certainly, when you compare him with Talvela for Klemperer. Seiffert, Erik on the admirable Naxos set, is classy casting for the Steersman though oddly he is more successful in the larger part, the Steersman calling for a lighter, more plaintive tone.
In spite of my reservations, the sum is greater than the parts, the set carrying the blast of the winds and the whiff of the sea into one’s listening room. I was never bored as I was recently when listening to the Levine. Among modern sets I would still opt for the Dohnanyi by a small margin and Klemperer stands there as a resolute, romantic classic. At mid price the well-cast Dorati also stands the test of time, and Steinberg will do nicely enough for those needing a bargain set.'