|
|
|
|
|
Audiophile Audition, January 27, 2014 |
Steven Ritter |
|
Kaufmann WAGNER = Scenes and arias |
|
|
The
world’s leading tenor? Could be.
I am referring everyone who reads
these new DGG Blu-ray Pure Audio reviews to my review of the Kleiber
Beethoven Symphonies 5 & 7 reissue for comments and details on this series
in general.
This is the first of these Blu-rays on the Decca label
that I have encountered, yet though the album is only less than a year old,
it is still 24-bit/96 kHz two-channel stereo. I don’t think it was issued on
SACD, so even more a chance was missed to present this rather spectacular
recording in state-of-the-art surround sound. The sound here is a definite
improvement over an already very fine CD release, so points are scored
there, though again I am not sure the extra money is worth it to all but the
most confirmed audiophiles. I would probably shell out for this one, but
it’s a close call!
Jonas Kaufmann is the answer to many Wagnerian
prayers which have been uttered over the last ten years or so. This fifth
solo album focuses on some of the greatest Wagnerian moments, and even
offers us the wonderful Wesendonck-Lieder, rarely performed by any but a
female voice. Kaufmann handles it deliriously, reveling in every Felix
Mottl-orchestrated moment, showing a different dimension to his Bayreuth
persona besides crooning from the stage over an orchestra as powerful as a
locomotive. But he does that too and maybe better than anyone alive today.
His voice is infused with expressive power, and it seems vocal power as
well, though in a recording that is always difficult to ascertain since so
much can be manipulated. But what we do get is very convincing indeed.
Kaufmann’s earlier recording this past year was all-Verdi, showing an
amazing versatility, though that one is not nearly as well-guided as what
Donald Runnicles, a confirmed Wagnerian, gives us here. The orchestra is
radiant, the conducting brilliant, and the singing almost without peer. What
else do you need?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|