Wagner (1813-1883) - Parsifal: R.kempe / Royal Opera House Libel Lammers Frick Wachter O.kraus - Import 4 CD

Credits:

Falla

Description:

Long-awaited release on the TESTAMENT label, following "The Ring"! Kempe & Covent Garden's Wagner recording of the complete Ring was released on the Testament label in 1959, the year before Kempe made his first appearance at Bayreuth in 1960, and was highly acclaimed. The world premiere of "Parsifal," which Kempe conducted at Covent Garden in 1959, the same year as his previous work, "The Ring," is now being released. This is a live recording of an overwhelmingly masterful performance that reveals the true value of "Parsifal," a highly acclaimed Wagner opera, conducted by Kempe, who was trusted by London audiences, singers, and orchestra members. Please enjoy the truly high standard of the singers and orchestral ensemble under Kempe's unadorned conducting.The first production of Wagner's last opera, "Parsifal," was staged at Covent Garden after World War II under the direction of music director Karl Rankl, with Kirsten Flagstadt as Kundry, Ludwig Weber as Grunemannz, and other prominent singers, not all of whom were suitable for the roles. The production was revived in 1951 in the same setting in which it was first performed in 1914. It is worth remembering that although a 1928 recording of the third act by the great "Parsifal" conductor Karl Mook survives, the complete work was never recorded in its entirety in the late 1940s. Nevertheless, "Parsifal" remained highly acclaimed, in contrast to other Wagner works, which are often described as overblown, fanatical, and especially slow. In 1952, DECCA released a wonderful 1951 recording of Hans Knappertsbusch conducting at the resumed Bayreuth Festival after the war, the successor to Munch, who was the leading Parsifal conductor. (Knappertsbusch conducted at Bayreuth 55 times between 1951 and 1964, the year before his death.(The 1951 recording is wonderfully impressive, partly because the DECCA recording team has perfectly captured the overwhelming acoustic splendor of the Bayreuth Festival Theatre. ...Omission...In the 1950s, the new Bayreuth style of staging was becoming prevalent in Covent Garden's productions of Wagner, and this production of "Parsifal" was considerably more radical than those of the past. Reviews were divided, with most saying that the stage director Walter had tried to avoid the naturalism of the production and found no satisfactory alternative, and that he had tried to chase two hares and got none. like the piers of Hungerford Bridge." and other writers cited a wide range of metaphors as well. Musical reviews were mixed, but generally favorable. This was Kempe's first "Parsifal," which he reprised in 1960 and 1966. Universal Music/IMS

Tracklisting:

1.Parsifal: Vorspiel
2.Parsifal: Act 1. He! Ho! Waldhuter ihr
3.Parsifal: Act 1. Seht dort, die wilde Reiterin
4.Parsifal: Act 1. Recht so! Habt Dank! Ein wenig Rast
5.Parsifal: Act 1. He, du da! Was liegst du dort wie ein wildes Tier?
6.Parsifal: Act 1. O wunden-wundervoller heiliger Speer!
7.Parsifal: Act 1. So kanntest du Klingsor?
8.Parsifal: Act 1. Titurel, der fromme Held
9.Parsifal: Act 1. Drum blieb es dem, nach dem ihr fragt
10.Parsifal: Act 1. Vor allem nun: der Speer kehr' uns zuruck!
11.Parsifal: Act 1. Weh! Weh!... Hoho!... Auf!
12.Parsifal: Act 1. Du konntest morden, hier, im heil'gen Walde
13.Parsifal: Act 1. Wo bist du her?
14.Parsifal: Act 1. Den Vaterlosen gebar die Mutter
15.Parsifal: Act 1. So recht! So nach des Grales Gnade
16.Parsifal: Act 2. Gelobter Held! Entflieh dem Wahn!
17.Parsifal: Act 2. Grausamer! Fuhlst du im Herzen nur and'rer Schmerzen
18.Parsifal: Act 2. Ich sah Ihn
19.Parsifal: Act 2. Auf Ewigkeit warst du verdammt
20.Parsifal: Act 2. Erlosung, Frevlerin, biet ich auch dir
21.Parsifal: Act 2. Vergeh, unseliges Weib!
22.Parsifal: Act 2. Mit diesem Zeichen bann' ich deinen Zauber

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