A very pleasant surprise
Having for years been perfectly satisfied with the famous Klemperer EMI studio recording and not feeling especially tempted to try the mono Testament set (also with Klemperer at the helm) recently released, I was particularly pleased to discover how satisfying this performance is. It's not perfect; Sciutti is a little tremulous in her aria and the great Birgit sometimes sounds a bit detached -and occasionally a little under the note in the middle section of her voice - but she really delivers in her big moments and Sciutti perks up both to blend and to contrast nicely with Nilsson in the ensembles. Nilsson also scales her voice down attractively when the emotion demands it; it's not all sand-blasting by any means. Bohme's rotund bass is almost as good as Frick's and he also has a lovely speaking voice - I can never understand it when actors are used for the dialogue; their voices almost never match the singers'. That's not the case here, as the singers speak their own dialogue and very well too. McCracken is really very affecting as Florestan; he has all the notes and sounds utterly distraught - close to madness as the result of his dreadful plight, heroic and unhinged. Krause is a little jolly-sounding as Pizarro but vocalises very attractively; minor parts are well taken by some fairly major voices. Maazel's direction isn't very subtle but it's certainly dramatic and both the orchestra and the chorus are terrific. I think that opera buffs like me who have been listening for years to - and sometimes through - ropey old mono recordings full of hiss and distortion need to remember that for many newer collectors the quality of sound is very important when one is getting to know a central work like "Fidelio", and certainly this 1964 set will not disappoint in its clarity, space and dynamics; it has been beautifully re-mastered. The artificial echo effect devised for the dungeon scene was controversial but I think it works and it is certainly consistent with the overall emphasis upon a dramatic, pacy, theatrical atmosphere. And when all is said and done, the two principals are really involved and involving. I don't say that this set is preferable to the EMI with the incomparable Ludwig and Vickers but it's a credible option.

'Fidelio' at stiff attention--is Don Pizarro conducting?
I can't quite see ranking Maazel's stainless-steel Fidelio anywhere near the top. He gives us a brusque, often crude outline of Beethoven's noble intentions. This is one opera where the character of the composer must be taken into account--Beethoven was a heroic humanist and an ardent romantic. He composed Fidelio intending Leonore to be a secular saint, Florestan a political marty-idealist, and Don Pizarro the eseence of ancien regime evil. The overall arc of the plot is an ascent from gloomy oppression to rapturous freedom.

I listen for those qualities in any performance and find them in abudance under Furtwangler, Klemperer (both live on testament and studio on EMI), Karajan, and Bernstein. None are perfectly sung, but here we have the steely Nilsson miscast unless you want raw vocal power, a stalwart Florestan in McCracken who's only interest is in reaching the back row with his lungs, and a Don Pizarro who tries to be thunderous without sounding remotely evil. Where's the pity and compassion, the idealism and the joy?

Against those deficits, we have strong playing from the Vienna Phil., but they are following Maazel's crude dieciton, so that basically comes to naught. I'm happy to hear Nilsson once, just for the visceral thrill, but for repeated listening this set falls far short.

Turbocharged "Fidelio"
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Source: Studio recording made at Sofiensaal, Vienna, March 1964.

Sound: Very good 1960s analogue stereo, digitally remastered in 1996. This recording was made at the height of the period when opera producers believed they must provide three dimensional sound. Voices move hither and yon on the stage and a controversial (but relatively light) reverberation was used in the dungeon scene for "realism."

Cast: Leonore / Fidelio - Birgit Nilsson; Florestan - James McCracken; Don Pizarro - Tom Krause; Papa Rocco - Kurt Boehme; Marzelline - Graziella Sciutti; Jaquino - Donald Grobe; Don Fernando - Hermann Prey; First Prisoner - Kurt Equiluz; Second Prisoner - Guenther Adam. Conductor: Lorin Maazel with the Konsertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor and the Wiener Philharmoniker.

Format: Disk 1 - Overture, track 1; Act I, tracks 2-15; 71:25. Disk 2 - Act II, tracks 1-10; 47:12.

Text: Spoken dialogue has been cropped to the bare minimum required to join the musical numbers and, frankly, I consider it to be no great loss.

Documentation: No libretto. Short summary of the plot by act. Track listing identifies parts being sung and provides timings.

"Fidelio" is Beethoven's only opera. It has never enjoyed unalloyed success and yet, now in its 201st year, it remains more firmly in the standard repertory than many highly acclaimed works.

Beethoven was a man of the concert stage, not of the theater. His opera has never been entirely happy as a theater piece. He labored long and hard over "Fidelio" because he found the plot, Leonore's boundless devotion to hapless Florestan, to be personally uplifting. Beethoven was a larger than life individual and his main characters are even more so, becoming scarcely human personifications. Leonore is intrepid faithfulness, Florestan is virtue enchained, Don Pizarro is ferocious malignancy and Don Fernando is princely benevolence. On the other hand, Papa Rocco, his daughter Marzelline and that poor chump Jaquino are lay figures out of domestic comedy. The prisoners are refugees from darkest Brechtian drama.

I have seen a number of full productions of "Fidelio" and I have seen it done in concert form. On the whole, I think it works better as an oratorio than as an opera. This is partly attributable to the disparities among the characters but even more to the rhythms of the piece. In the truly operatic operas, the music serves the drama and there is always a feeling of forward motion. This is as true of Mozart as it is of Verdi, Wagner or Strauss. In "Fidelio," the drama forever serves the music: characters remain firmly in physical and emotional place while they navigate Beethoven's magnificent musical ideas. (To my mind, the only approximation of this extraordinary stasis is the big ensemble in the middle of the last act of "Die Meistersinger.")

I know of no recorded "Fidelio" that is faultless, but this one is better than most. This is a "Fidelio" that puts the pedal to the metal. Conductor, cast, chorus and orchestra are at full power. They make no slightest gesture to please those who yearn desperately for tinkly, lightweight Beethoven on period instruments. No, indeed.

The star of the piece is the late and much missed Birgit Nilsson. She is in full hyper-soprano mode here, in a place accessible only to one other, Kirsten Flagstad. Brilliant as Christa Ludwig is on the competing, nearly contemporary Klemperer recording, I always feel that she is just the slightest bit underpowered as Leonore. (I am also astonished to discover that an earlier Amazon reviewer saw fit to admonish Nilsson for being able to sing the part of Leonore too easily. Good heavens, what next?)

In listening to this recording for the first time in a number of years, I was surprised to discover just how good James McCracken is as Florestan. Many years ago, I saw him as Canio in "Pagliacci" and as Don Jose in "Carmen." He was fine, but in those heady days, many of us--myself not least--took him for granted, just as we did Mario del Monaco. Both tenors, we thought, were too ready to go over the top. Well, today, there are all too few tenors who can even see the top, let alone go over it. The good, grey Gramophone Magazine once said, "McCracken is melodrama incarnate." Well, yes--and a good thing it is, too. As Florestan he can roar out as an equal partner to Nilsson, herself. When, bound in his dungeon, he has a vision of the Angel Leonore, he sounds practically unhinged--and I love it! His only peer as Florestan is Jon Vickers and McCracken's all-out melodrama is a salutary reply to the slightly saccharine touch provided by Vickers.

Tom Krause is good as Don Pizarro, slightly more baritonal and lyrical than Berry on the Klemperer recording but of about equal quality. Neither of them matches the sheer viciousness that was Gustav Neidlinger's stock in trade.

Kurt Boehme is a peer of Klemperer's Frick. Ideally, I want a little more warmth in the character than either offers.

Graziella Sciutti is not especially impressive in her big solo, "O waer' ich schon mit dir vereint," but she blossoms in the magnificent ensembles. Her voice blends particularly well with Nilsson's.

In the throwaway role of Jaquino, Donald Grobe is all right, but his voice is a little too thick and muscular. He sounds like a budding Lohengrin rather than a gormless, lovesick porter. If anyone had asked my guidance, I'd have moved the lighter voiced Kurt Equiluz from First Prisoner to Jaquino and made Grobe the First Prisoner. The other throwaway part is that of Don Fernando. Prey represents luxury casting, but even he can do nothing with that colorless man.

The chorus is fabulous in what must surely be part of their core repertory.

Maazel's conducting is excellent, if you are inclined toward a rather melodramatic reading of the score, especially of the overture.

Five stars.

For Birgit Nilsson fans
If you like Birgit Nilsson, look at my review below for Erich Kleiber's 1956 performance with Birgit Nilsson under the label Koch Schwann. That is Birgit Nilsson's best recorded Leonore and if you follow Birgit Nilsson's history like I do, you should acquire that set. This set is good - but just know that there is a better birgit Nilsson performance out there.

REVIEW:

I always by lesser known labels with trepidation because I can never know what kind of sound quality I will get. However, so far my experience with Koch Schwann is that they provide superb sound quality. This is the second Koch Scwhann set that I bought. Yes, this performance is in mono, but it is superb mono - the best possible with lots of space around the music. I think Koch Schwann has access to the original masters because these transfers are superb. Everything is crystal clear. The mono sound quality is definitely full-price quality.

Having put the question of sound quality to rest, what about the performance. Well, this is Birgit Nilsson's first recorded Leonore, and in my opinion, it is certainly her best. It is definitely better than her Maazel performance. Here she seems more involved than in the Maazel performance. Perhaps it is because she was not that famous in 1956 (her Met triumph was 1959) so it is possible that she worked harder at her characterization here and there is a palpable difference. In Maazel, she seems to lack interest in doing the part well - perhaps she was then famous and very busy doing too many roles and that affected her. Yes, I would definitely recommend this Birgit Nilsson set in mono and at full-price above the Maazel Decca set in stereo and at mid-price. Firstly, the sound quality here is superb - you needn't worry about the mono - it is superb mono. Part of the reason is that this was done specially as a radio broadcast and not from staged performances so the producers made sure that the singers are clearly heard and the orchestra well- balanced. Secondly, Kleiber's conducting is definitely superior to Maazel. Maazel (25 years old, thereabouts) was very young when he conducted the Decca set with Nilsson and his inexperience shows. On the other hand, Erich Kleiber (father of Carlos Kleiber) was a legend - witness his legendary Figaro with Decca in 1955. Unfortunately, he passed away shortly after doing this broadcast.

There is another performance Birgit Nilsson as Leonore - the Rome 1970 version with Leonard Bernstein. That version is terrific but for one thing, the sound quality there is not as good. And although Birgit Nilsson with Bernstein was better than with Maazel, she is still the best down here. Yes, this is Birgit Nilsson's best Leonore. All the rest of the singers are in top form.

Walk in the Park
The problem with Birgit Nilsson singing Leonore is that this normally very taxing role of Leonore is simply too easy for her!! After singing, Isolde, Brunnhilde, Salome and Elektra, Leonore is a 'piece of cake' for her as far as the vocal side goes. Sometimes, she sings it with such frightening ease that I wonder if she is rescuing her husband or taking a stroll in the park!! The end of the dungeon quartet is an example. She sings the top notes without any strain. I that some 'strain' should be in the voice for better characterization. One part of the Abscheulicher aria (the chromatic part leading to the high B in the middle of the aria) is one section that Birgit has never been able to handle (at least on records). That's because she always runs out of breath and has to 'quicken' her pace. Some flaws, but i still enjoyed her assumption. There's a CD from Gala - a Fidelio she sang with Bernstein in Rome in 1970 where she is much better and into the role - unfortunately, the sound quality is not as good. but Birgit Nilsson fans would want it and Fidelio fans would want it.

Recommended: YES!! Don't forget to savour Klemperer's Fidelio with the incomparable Christa Ludwig - the best Leonore on record - on EMI! That's my favorite version. And also Fricsay's Fidelio on DG with Leonie Rysanek as Fidelio - a stunning assumption, few better. Also, Jessye Norman's Leonore (if you can find it) in modern digital sound (DDD)