Thread: Fidelio CD recomendations?

Recommendations and perhaps a note about what attracts you to that album. Thank you in advance.

Welcome, ZombieBeethoven! I'm sort of the resident Fidelio fanatic at this forum (note the avatar), so I think I can give you some recommendations. I'll caveat this by mentioning that my preferences for voices in the two leading roles run toward the more lyrical rather than the "hochdramatische," and that preference, of course, affects my suggestions.

For a DVD:

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The 2004 Zürich Opera production under Harnoncourt is my favorite overall recording of this opera. The staging is fairly traditional (no Don Fernando turning up in the guise of The Joker, etc.). Camilla Nylund (Leonore) and Jonas Kaufmann (Florestan) are two of my top choices in their respective roles. Both sing Beethoven's difficult music with great tonal beauty and technical skill, are dramatically involved with their characters, and even look the part convincingly. Kaufmann is the best Florestan I've ever heard (and I've heard many!).

For CD recordings, here would be my top picks:
- Abbado; Stemme, Kaufmann, Struckmann, et. al.
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Kaufmann's Florestan is the primary reason for this choice, alomg with Abbado's superb conducting. Nina Stemme is a satisfactory Leonore, though not one of my favorites. A big warning with this recording, though: Tatiana Gurbaca has tampered with the dialogue to the point of butchery. Much is missing, especially in Act II.

- Masur; Altmeyer, Jerusalem, Nimsgern, et. al.
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This is a good, all-around cast, with Siegfried Jerusalem (Florestan) the best of the three leads. Jeannine Altmeyer is an appealingly feminine Leonore, and Siegmund Nimsgern is one of the better Pizarros around -- sings his music instead of snarling and shouting it. The dialogue has been judiciously edited, but remains largely intact.

- Klemperer; Jurinac, Vickers, et. al.
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This is not the Klemperer recording that is so often recommended, but the version with the cast that Klemperer preferred: the 1961 Royal Opera House production. Jon Vickers' Florestan has never been my cup of tea, but many people love him in this role. You may be one of them. Instead of Christa Ludwig, Sena Jurinac sings Leonore. Klemperer wanted her for the studio recording, but Walter Legge was insisting on Birgit Nilsson; they compromised by casting Ludwig. To my ears, Jurinac is absolutely the best in this role -- beautiful, warmly feminine sound, high degree of technical skill, and a moving actress.

- Knappertsbusch; Jurinac, Peerce, Neidlinger, et. al.
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If you aren't keen on Vickers, either, the Knappertsbusch can be a good alternative to Klemperer. But, again, a warning: "Kna"'s tempos are absolutely tortoise-paced.

- Fricsay; Rysanek, Haefliger, Fischer-Dieskau, et. al.
This recording has probably the best Pizarros on disk -- Fischer-Dieskau. Even though this role is often sung by a bass-baritone, F-D's true lyric baritone has the range and agility to cope with Beethoven's writing. And he is positively one of the most truly menacing Pizarros I've ever heard. Haefliger is a lyric Florestan, Rysanek rather a blowsy (to my ears) Leonore.

There several other recordings, including a few of the 1805 original version, that I could also recommend. (Though I suspect I've already provided way more information than you wanted!)

Here is the Fricsay recording:
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Thank you, MAuer. That was exactly the kind of advice that I wanted.

Here is another good, all-around recording:
- Halasz; Nielsen, Winbergh, Held, et. al.
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The late Inga Nielsen had a repertoire that extended from Mozart's Konstanze to Strauss's Salome and some of Wagner's heroines. The late Gösta Winbergh also began his career singing Mozart, and later "graduated" to the juvenile dramatic roles.

Klemperer or the inexcusibly underrated Karajan EMI with Vickers. more exciting and best executed than any.

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Ludwig van Beethoven - Fidelio, Colin Davis, London Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Chorus and Christine Brewer (LSO Live, 2007, Hybrid SACD/CD - DSD, Import)