This is a historic document of some importance in the recorded history of this piece which now stretches back, in some of the Koch/Vienna State Opera archive issues, to the 1940s that offer us, among other pleasures, Hilde Konetzni’s lovely Empress. Here enshrined for posterity are arguably the most telling exponents of the roles of Barak and his wife. Those who saw and heard Borkh in the first Covent Garden performances of the piece back in the 1960s will never forget her utter commitment to the part of the Dyer’s Wife and those memories are here confirmed in her intense, highly individual portrayal, which probably remains unsurpassed. Barak suited Fischer-Dieskau’s vocal and dramatic gifts very precisely: he fills phrase after phrase with sympathetic tone and a Lieder artist’s attention to words. Together this pair make the opening of Act 3 a deeply moving experience – but Schoeffler’s Barak on Bohm’s Decca version is on a par with Fischer-Dieskau’s.
The performance as a whole is not so satisfying. A live recording made at the opening of Munich’s rebuilt Nationaltheater in 1963, it had Keilberth, the house’s music director of the day, appropriately enough, in the pit giving a sound but not especially inspired reading and one that sanctioned disfiguring excisions, going beyond those customary in the theatre and found on Bohm’s set. Then there’s the balance of the recording, which is unfavourable to the orchestra so that much of the detail of the effervescent score is obscured.
As for the cast, the Baraks apart, it is of variable quality. Bjoner is a more-than-reliable Empress, but not one in the class of the gleaming, young Rysanek (Bohm) or that of Studer (Sawallisch), steadier, or Varady (Solti), more interesting. As her Emperor, Thomas sings as strongly as any of his rivals but somehow leaves an anonymous impression. Modl’s experienced and characterful Nurse is troubled by an incipient wobble: she’s not quite a match for Hongen (Bohm) or Schwarz (Sawallisch), but she and Hotter, no less, as the Spirit-Messenger, get the work off to a resonant start. There’s estimable work from other Munich stalwarts in smaller roles; note the very young Fassbaender as Third Servant.
The booklet includes interesting photos of the artists in the Munich production. As a whole, at mid price, potential buyers will be better served by the Bohm (available via PolyGram’s import music service). If you want the score complete the two full-price sets offer intriguing alternatives with the sane, authoritative Sawallisch pitted against the more impulsive Solti. Once one has totted up the pros and cons – the margin between the two is very small.'