Der fliegende Holländer

Andris Nelsons
Chor des Bayerische Rundfunks, WDR Rundfunkchor, NDR Chor, Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest
Date/Location
26 Mai 2013
Concertgebouw Amsterdam
Recording Type
  live   studio
  live compilation   live and studio
Cast
Daland Kwanchul Youn
Senta Anja Kampe
Erik Christopher Ventris
Mary Jane Henschel
Der Steuermann Dalands Russel Thomas
Der Holländer Terje Stensvold
Gallery
Reviews
Voix des Arts

Few composers have been as successful at creating and perpetuating the impression of having emerged fully mature, Athena-like, from artistic infancy as Richard Wagner. To the observer acquainted with the scores that remain in the repertories of the world’s opera houses, it must indeed seem that the Wagner of Tristan und Isolde, Der Ring des Nibelungen, and Parsifal was at work even at the dawn of the composer’s career. Admittedly, unlike the works of almost all other composers but Monteverdi and Mozart [Puccini’s La fanciulla del West and complete Il trittico still are not performed as often as they deserve to be], all of Wagner’s mature operas remain in almost continuous circulation, but his early operas, those apt to be unknown to casual Wagnerians (and not without the composer’s tacit approval), only sporadically show the obvious handiwork of the genius of the Green Hill. Die Feen, Das Liebesverbot, and Rienzi, all enjoyable works when appropriately performed, might justifiably be said to lack nothing needed to be typical grand operas except Auber’s, Halévy’s, or Meyerbeer’s signatures on their manuscripts. At its first performance in 1843, then, Der fliegende Holländer must have seemed incredibly radical even to those in the Dresden audience acquainted with the young Wagner’s style. In Der fliegende Holländer, Wagner embraced the ephemeral emotions of larger-than-life mythic characters that would guide the course of his creative development throughout his career, and his pioneering—but not altogether original, as is often suggested—use of leitmotivs took a major step towards Der Ring des Nibelungen. Celebration of the bicentennial of Wagner’s birth was the occasion for the concert performances in Amsterdam’s storied Concertgebouw that produced this recording on the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra’s house label, and a celebration it is: presented in clear, spacious sound with finer balance than has been achieved in many studio recordings, RCO Live’s performance of Der fliegende Holländer exults in the profuse musical and dramatic capacities of Wagner’s score. The quality that makes this performance of Der fliegende Holländer especially interesting, however, is its pragmatism. Rather than being a stilted, tumefied obeisance to a musical leviathan, this performance takes Der fliegende Holländer on its own terms, treating it as a living, sentient work, not a frigid artifact that must be admired only from a distance.

In presiding over this or any performance of Der fliegende Holländer, Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons faces the enormous weight of history. In addition to a legacy shaped by notable performances and recordings guided by virtually every conductor with an affinity for Wagner repertory, Der fliegende Holländer has the provenance of having been conducted at its Dresden première by Wagner himself, a circumstance repeated only in the first performance of Tannhäuser two years later. In this performance, Maestro Nelsons exhibits a thorough grasp of the young Wagner’s idiom, marshaling the musical forces at his disposal with clear-sighted focus on the opera’s lofty climaxes, but the most impactful element of his approach to the score is the way in which he grants meticulous attention to small details without distorting the overall structure of the opera. There is more bel canto in Der fliegende Holländer—indeed, in all of Wagner’s mature operas—than many Wagnerians are willing to admit, and Maestro Nelsons does not hesitate to caress phrases with Italianate warmth. He is fortunate to have in the players of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra an ensemble of musicians whose versatility enables them to bring stylistic pertinence to virtually any repertory. Employing the three-act construction with the Norwegian setting rather than the composer’s original concept with the drama playing out in Scotland in a single act, this performance finds the RCO on representatively excellent form. From the first chords of the Ouvertüre, crucial brass and woodwind lines are delivered with near-perfect intonation, and the string playing is as sinewy as the music requires without being ponderous. The same might be said of the performance as a whole: muscle is never lacking when it is needed, but passages that benefit from delicacy receive it.

The choristers of the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, NDR Chor [both directed by Martin Wright], and WDR Rundfunkchor Köln [led by David Marlow] sing sonorously whether portraying Senta’s friends, the hearty Norwegian sailors, or the Holländer’s eerie crew. In their seagoing duties, Wagner gave the chorus quite a lot of exclamations of ‘Hojoje,’ ‘Johohoe,’ and the like, and it is to the choristers’ credit that these do not sound as silly in this performance as they often do. The tenors are troubled by the tessitura, which often suspends them in the passaggio with frequent top Fs and Gs, but they cope without embarrassing themselves. In the Norwegian sailors’ ‘Mit Gewitter und Sturm aus fernem Meer,’ the gentlemen sound appropriately weary of the sea, and the ladies’ singing of the Spinning Chorus, ‘Summ’ und brumm’, du gutes Rädchen,’ is charmingly chatty. Then, however, they respond to Senta’s ballad with bracing immediacy in ‘Ach, wo weilt sie, die dir Gottes Engel einst könnte zeigen?’ The Norwegian sailors’ drinking song, ‘Steuermann! Laß die Wacht,’ is raucous, and the choruses’ voicing of the Holländer’s crew’s ‘Johohoe! Johohoe! Hoe! Hoe! Hoe!’ is chilling. There is audible diligence in every line sung by the choristers; a commitment not just to producing pleasing sounds but, equally importantly, to believably enacting their parts in the drama, as well.

The presence of American mezzo-soprano Jane Henschel as Mary is the very definition of luxury casting. A true artist can make the smallest of parts significant, and Ms. Henschel makes more of Mary than almost any other recorded exponent of the rôle. Her interactions with Senta and the girls in the first minutes of Act Two are playfully scolding but genuinely concerned, and she creates a character who seems to live vicariously through Senta. Her singing of ‘Du böses Kind, wenn du nicht spinnst’ is both vivid and secure, traits that few singers have brought to Mary’s music on records. Moreover, Ms. Henschel’s timbre is always attractive, and she heightens the apprehension generated by the drama by sounding like an unnerved confidante rather than a superannuated duenna.

Having rising American tenor Russell Thomas on hand as the Steuermann is also an example of the care with which these concert performances of Der fliegende Holländer were prepared. In his song, ‘Mit Gewitter und Sturm aus fernem Meer mein Mädel, bin dir nah,’ Mr. Thomas sings splendidly, rising to the top B♭ with ringing freedom. Aside from a few lapses in pitch, which were likely results of the difficulty of placing tones against the din of Wagner’s orchestra in full cry, his performance is striking. Like Ms. Henschel, Mr. Thomas sets a new, exalted standard in a rôle that has endured much poor singing on stage and on records.

With extensive experience in a wide repertory under his belt, Korean bass Kwangchul Youn has grown into a cogent Wagnerian. As Daland in this performance, he starts uncertainly but quickly gains confidence as the performance progresses. In ‘Kein Zweifel! Sieben Meilen fort trieb uns der Sturm vom sichren Port,’ the repeated Cs, Ds, and E♭s at the top of the staff tax him, but the voice has appealing gravitas. In the duet with the Holländer, Mr. Youn evinces paternal affection for Senta in ‘Wie? Hör ich recht? Mein Tochter sein Weib?’ The subsequent scene with Senta, ‘Mein Kind, du siehst mich auf der Schwelle,’ inspires him to singing of pointed intensity, and he gives a firm, well-phrased account of his aria, ‘Mögst du, mein Kind, den fremden Mann willkommen heißen,’ handling it as a moment in the drama rather than a concerted number. Mr. Youn voices ‘Verzeiht! Mein Volk hält draußen sich nicht mehr’ in the trio with Senta and the Holländer with feeling, and he imparts a sense of understanding that his daughter is lost to him even before the opera’s final scene.

The amalgamation of heft and finesse in Wagner’s music for Erik, Senta’s rejected suitor, complicates casting the rôle. The traditional tendencies have been either to give the part to a Heldentenor whose brute strength bruises the music or to cast a lighter, more lyric voice that cannot compete with the power of the orchestra. British tenor Christopher Ventris possesses a voice of logical proportions for Erik, and he sings the part capably without completely conquering the music’s difficulties. His delivery of ‘Bleib’, Senta! Bleib’ nur einen Augenblick!’ is ardent, and his ‘Senta! Laß dir vertrau’n’ conveys the sting of unrequited love. Mr. Ventris gives Erik’s cavatina, ‘Willst jenes Tags du nicht dich mehr entsinnen,’ a zealous reading, negotiating the turns and top B♭ with impressive composure. His top notes are generally solid, but the timbre sometimes takes on an unpleasant stridency. He is ultimately a skillful but not an ideal Erik, but this is a part in which honorable efforts are particularly commendable.

German soprano Anja Kampe is one of the world’s preeminent Sieglindes in Die Walküre and, as she proved at Glyndebourne, an unconventional but unusually sensual Isolde. With the exceptions of Marjorie Lawrence, Kirsten Flagstad, Astrid Varnay, and Dame Gwyneth Jones, who also excelled as Brünnhilde, Senta has most often been best served by Sieglinde voices. Ms. Kampe is thus as natural a fit for the part as might be found today. Still, the voice that is not challenged by Senta’s music has not yet been heard, and Ms. Kampe faces some of the most murderous vocal lines in opera. In Senta’s ballad, ‘Johohoe! Traft ihr das Schiff im Meere an,’ she manages the difficult intervals imposingly, and she brings great warmth to the section marked più lento by Wagner, ‘Doch, daß der arme Mann noch Erlösung fände auf Erden,’ Her singing sizzles with the fire demanded by the composer in the allegro con fuoco, ‘Ich sei’s, die dich durch ihre Treu’ erlöse!’ The exposed top A in Senta’s duet with Erik, ‘Er sucht much auf,’ soars, and she rises to the top As and Bs in the duet with the Holländer with abandon. The opera’s final scene is a formidable test for a soprano, and it is one that Ms. Kampe passes with voice and dramatic instincts to spare. With her poetic phrasing of ‘Wohl kenn’ ich Weibes heil’ge Pflichten,’ the top B launched heroically, she lends her Senta the aura of romanticized tragedy. The radiance of her ‘Von mächt’gem Zauber überwunden reißt mich’s zu seiner Rettung fort’ is complemented by the potency of her ‘Preis’ deinen Engel und sein Gebot! Hier steh’ ich, treu dir bis zum Tod!’ The final top A and B♭ are hurled out defiantly: this Senta does not accept her destiny: she seizes it. Vocally, Ms. Kampe sings Senta with far fewer compromises than many sopranos have found necessary, but it is the histrionic sovereignty of her interpretation that lingers in the memory.

Sixty-nine years old at the time of the concert performances that yielded this recording, Norwegian baritone Terje Stensvold is a stern, commanding Holländer. There are instances in which loosening of the singer’s vibrato and approximations of pitch are evident, but Mr. Stensvold gives a more durable performance than many singers half his age might manage. He energetically constructs an imaginative account of ‘Die Frist ist um,’ traversing the aria’s wide range with enthusiasm. The top F in ‘Wie oft in Meeres tiefsten Schlund stürtz’ ich voll Sehnsucht mich hinab’ is a trial, but the zeal of his delivery of ‘Durch Sturm und bösen Wind verschlagen’ is rousing. Mr. Stensvold imparts suggestions of burgeoning tenderness in the duet with Senta, ‘Wie aus der Ferne längst vergang’ner Zeiten spricht dieses Mädchens Bild zu mir.’ His vehement utterance of ‘Verloren! Acht! verloren! Ewig verlor’nes Heil!’ and ‘Erfahre das Geschick, von dem ich dich bewahr’!’ is grandiose, and his ‘Du kennst mich nicht’ explodes with frustration and disappointment. Mr. Stensvold portrays a pessimistic Holländer who clings to hope of redemption despite his distrust of humanity. The voice is not always projected without effort, but it meets the requirements of the music with authority.

171 years after the opera’s first performance, it is easy both to overestimate the extent to which Der fliegende Holländer ushered in Richard Wagner’s artistic maturity as if by magic and to underestimate the quality of the score when considering it alongside the epic music dramas of the last fifteen years of the composer’s career. There is validity to the assertion that Der fliegende Holländer is a good introduction to Wagner’s singular gifts for those listeners for whom the later, considerably longer works are hard going, but Der fliegende Holländer is not—and should not be—‘light Wagner.’ RCO Live’s recording brings together an excellent cast, impeccably-prepared choruses, a responsive conductor, and one of the world’s great orchestras in a performance of searching zeal. This is a Der fliegende Holländer recommendable to novice Wagnerians, but it should also be heard by those curmudgeonly aficionados who argue that all truly momentous Wagner singers are dead and buried.

Guardian

Recorded at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw over two nights in May 2013, this tempestuous performance would be worth having for chorus (the NDR Chor and WDR Rundfunkchor Köln) and orchestra alone, but it has strong soloists too: Terje Stensvold, warm and only too chillingly persuasive in the title role; Anja Kampe an urgent, obsessed Senta; Kwangchul Youn as her father, Daland; and Christopher Ventris as the spurned Erik. Jane Henschel’s Mary and Russell Thomas as the Steersman contribute excellent cameos. The Royal Concertgebouw’s low brass and timpani shine, but all is secure under the experienced baton of Andris Nelsons, fast becoming the Wagner conductor of choice. There’s no shortage of great recordings out there, but if the excitement and risk of live performance appeals, this is a must.

Audiophile Audition

I am a little surprised that this wasn’t released in SACD—anything by Wagner, especially with this orchestra, deserves the full treatment, and if this is really the first Wagner opera recording by the Concertgebouw—which I believe it is—then all the more to fill up the balloons and celebrate. But it was not to be, so we are left with a recording that sounds very good but doesn’t approach state of the art, even for two-channel. This doesn’t mean it’s bad—it’s actually very good—yet I kept envisioning what it might have been. The piece is “live” but also a concert recording, which eliminates many of the normal distractions—or atmosphere if you like to hear operatic stage noises—and generally speaking the entire production is presented in a clean and audible excellence.

The title role is problematic—though Terje Stensvold is an accomplished Wagnerian and knows this role very well, there are times when the raspy nature of the voice can’t be definitively ascribed to either acting or vocal insufficiency—I tend to think the latter. At any rate, this Dutchman sounds old and tired, as well we all might be if bound eternally to sail the rather lonely mystical seas, but I can’t be convinced that the young Senta (sung admirably by Anja Kempein in a role of tremendous difficulties) sees him as the man of her dreams. Nevertheless, each of these roles has never been completely mastered by any two singers on record, and for the most part the pairing is satisfactory, especially if you take into consideration the cast as a whole. Jane Henschel is superb as Mary while Russell Thomas brings considerable life to the part of the Helmsman.

It was the composer’s 1830 trip from Riga to London that inspired the work, though the main is taken from Heinrich Heine’s The Memoirs of Mister von Schnabelewopski. The hints of Wagner’s later style, complete with leitmotifs, are present throughout, and the rebel in him led him initially to perform the work continuously without intermission. Today the piece is normally presented in its three-act guise. In comparing this one to the recent Pentatone set it’s difficult to say which I prefer; this one definitely has the better Senta, but overall I like the shape that Janowski fashions better, though Nelsons is no one to sneer at. But all things being equal, the sound casts the defining vote, and this RCO Live can’t complete in that category, while the Concertgebouw has only a marginal advantage over the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin on Pentatone. It could have been different, but alas, it’s not. But this is a worthy issue among contemporary recordings, of which there are surprisingly few. Many will want to stick with Klemperer, understandably, for all-around excellence, but this is a fine backup.

Steven Ritter

MusicWeb-International.com

I found this a very surprising Dutchman, confounding my expectations at several turns. For one thing, with Andris Nelsons at the helm I had been expecting an interpretation so vigorous and fired-up that you’d be able to smell the sea salt. In fact what struck me most of all in his reading was its lyricism and poetry. Yes, the storm scenes are exciting but what really took off was the gentleness of Senta’s ballad and the great Act 2 duet between Senta and the Dutchman. Perhaps he had been tamed by the luscious strings of the Concertgebouw, who sound sensational here. Every semi-quaver is beautifully articulated and precisely enunciated, but there is a long-breathed grandeur to the sound that positively glows in the resonant acoustic. It makes you dream of how this band might sound if they were in the opera pit more regularly. Nelsons has plenty to say about the score, and he lingers on its very final chord very enticingly, but there wasn’t much about his reading that made me catch fire, for all the beauty of its sound. It’s capable but not revelatory.

Many of the singers surprised me too, but not always in a good way. I was expecting Kwangchul Youn to sing the socks off everyone else on stage, but in fact he comes across as somewhat unsteady at the start, and only settles into the role gradually — and even then, far from triumphantly. Christopher Ventris is a lyrical but unexciting Erik, whose remonstrations with Senta aren’t interesting, for all that he comes alive in the dream scene of the second act. Terje Stensvold, who I’ve come across previously only in passing, doesn’t have the titanic voice that the role requires. In fact, his great monologue in the first act doesn’t pass an awful lot of muster. For all the excitement that Nelsons generates on the podium, the turbulence of Wie oft in Meeres and the tenderness of Dich frage ich are beyond him. Jane Henschel sounds sadly spent as Mary.

Only Anja Kampe lived up to some of the high expectations I had of the set. She sound electric as Senta, from the gamut of emotions in the ballad, through to her fanatical devotion to the Dutchman’s cause. She also sings with more beauty than anyone else in the set, even though she is no Anja Silja in this role. Thanks primarily to her, the great duet of Act 2, Wie aus der Ferne is the highlight of the set, moving from inward reflection through to riveting excitement.

The other great assets of the set are the three choruses, who sound fantastic. The women are magical in the second act when they join in Senta’s ballad, and the men, in particular, have a rollicking time as they slice through the sea shanties with tremendous vigour.

I won’t be coming back to this CD before other favourites, though: Sinopoli’s now classic DG set is still the one for me, while Klemperer, Janowski and Sawallisch also present worthy alternatives; Minkowski, too, for novelty reasons. For those who are interested in such things, by the way, Nelsons performs a hybrid of versions: Act 1 has a concert ending, but Acts 2 and 3 are run together without a break. The booklet includes biographies plus full texts and translations.

Simon Thompson

Rating
(5/10)
User Rating
(3/5)
Media Type/Label
Premiere 9906
Technical Specifications
192 kbit/s CBR, 44.1 kHz, 186 MByte (MP3)
Remarks
Broadcast (Radio 4) of a concert performance