In his forward to the set, Solti says that he determined to record this work again after hearing a broadcast of Pogner’s Act 1 monologue, so beautiful did he find it. It’s therefore entirely appropriate that Pape’s account of that heartwarming solo should be so eloquent; indeed, until and unless one goes back to listen to Moll on Solti’s earlier set (Decca, 7/87 – nla), one might think it was the best performance of the part on disc. So rewarding is Pape’s line and, even more important, his feeling for the text that he must one day give us his Sachs. Unlike Moll, Pape is a high bass and the role would certainly be in his range.
Sachs is taken here by van Dam, a singer we know we can rely on for firm, expressive tone and a natural feeling for a role’s phraseology. He fulfils expectations with a reading that is finely moulded from start to finish. But, even before comparisons are made with eminent predecessors, you notice that the tone is now grey, sometimes unyielding at the top; nor is there that hard-to-describe but essential feeling of inwardness which one hears from the noblest interpreters, among them Norman Bailey on Solti’s earlier version.
In a sense van Dam fits in not only with the whole tenor of this reading, but modern interpretation of Wagner, maybe opera as a whole, which seems to prefer solid, full tone over all other virtues. Mattila’s Eva exemplifies that approach: her voice is rich, evenly textured and her line is usually faultless, but the eager youthfulness, and silver glint in the voice that distinguishes almost all the Evas on the sets listed above, is never there. Compare her, as I have done, in the Act 2 Eva/Sachs duet, in Eva’s joyous outburst “O Sachs, mein Freund” in Act 3 and the succeeding Quintet with, say, Grummer (Kempe), Donath (Karajan) or even the underrated Bode in Solti’s 1975 set and you will immediately be aware that Eva needs something more than impeccable singing. It may also have something to do with longer experience of a part on stage.
Happily, Heppner seems to have benefited from his longer experience of his role since his previous reading of Walther (Sawallisch). Possibly the context of a live performance or growing confidence in the role has persuaded him to cast aside inhibitions; whatever the reason you will find only Konya (Kubelik) matching him in vocal ease and interpretative ardour elsewhere, at least among stereo versions. Throughout this is a portrayal to savour, full of interpretative ardour.
There’s now a tradition of English baritones singing Beckmesser on stage and on disc. Following in the steps of Evans (Karajan) and Hemsley (Kubelik), Opie is rather different, preferring by and large to sing the role straight. Both at the ENO and Bayreuth, Opie presented the town clerk as a more potent threat than usual to Walther’s claims to Eva’s hand. You sense a man who really means something in the city of Nuremberg, not merely a caricature. Occasionally Opie oversings, a possible disadvantage of a live recording, but he is ever a presence. This version is very strong in its bass-baritones, for Dohmen gives us a richly sung and characterized Kothner, the only drawback being that all the voices sound rather alike so that it’s sometimes hard to differentiate one from another.
Lippert is an agile, lively, idiomatic David, but not as pleasing in voice as van der Walt (Sawallisch), let alone Unger (Kempe and Kubelik) or Schreier (Karajan). His Magdalene is the impeccable Vermillion, youthful and bright-eyed.
And so to the veteran maestro himself. His previous recording was made in Vienna with all the advantages of the traditions obtaining there. In Chicago, the orchestral playing, it hardly need be said, is technically perfect and the score is executed with loving care (all the detail beautifully caught by the engineers, led by the experienced James Lock), but turn to Solti’s previous recording, or to the Sawallisch/Bavarian Opera set, better still to Karajan in Dresden, Kubelik in Munich or Kempe in Berlin, and I don’t think it’s fanciful to hear a more intimate, relaxed and lyrical approach. Comparison between Solti and Kempe at the start of that Act 2 duet for Eva and Sachs is enough to make my point, not least because Grummer and Ferdinand Frantz play off each other so ideally as they must have done in the opera house. The Chicago chorus make an impressive sound in the set-pieces but lack the idiomatic touch found in German performances for the lighter moments.
Sawallisch, more highly praised by others than by me, is the most recent competitor. I find an easier, more natural flow there, also a rather airier recording, and the cast just has the edge over the new one, most particularly in the Eva of Studer, whom I think I undervalued first time round. It is certainly a set to live with, even if it doesn’t reach the soul quite in the way of Kubelik and Karajan. For many, a great Sachs tips the balance: Kubelik’s Stewart and Karajan’s Adam come closest to the ideal of Schoeffler for Knappertsbusch (10/94) and Abendroth (12/94).
The Decca set is lavishly presented with a slip around the box announcing a numbered edition, a black jewel-case (just too large, I regret to say, to fit on most shelves) and a separate gold envelope for each CD. Their contents house the distilled essence of Solti’s long experience in Wagner and a performance with very many merits, none of them quite sufficient to wean me away from such classic versions as the Kempe (a true bargain at mid price if you don’t mind mono sound), Karajan and Kubelik. '