[ALT]

19 November 1998, Bern, Switzerland, Casino Großes Saal, Berner Symphonie-Orchester, Dmitrij Kitajenko

Tristan - Wolfgang Müller-Lorenz
Isolde - Cheryl Studer

Act I Prelude - 00:05
Act II Liebesduett "O sink' hernieder, Nacht der Liebe" - 14:07
Act III Prelude - 21:17
Isolde's Liebestod "Mild und leise wie er lächelt" - 26:58

A pity they didn’t start the Liebesnacht with "Isolde! Geliebte!” and then on to "Lausch, Geliebter!" Aber so war es eben. But the Liebesnacht and Liebestod are so gorgeously sung and not just that but also with that elusive inner glow.

Studer sang three complete performances of Isolde in concert in March 2004 in Münster, Germany [Cheryl Studer, Isolde; Wolfgang Schmidt, Tristan; Jan-Hendrik Rootering, König Marke; Heike Grötzinger, Brangäne; Stefan Adam, Kurwenal; Chor der Städtischen Bühnen Münster; Symphonieorchester der Stadt Münster; Will Humburg, Dirigent]. Would that someone taped at least one! She had also sung another series of Isoldes, also in concert, a year or two earlier somewhere in Germany or France (but can’t recall exactly where).

 

[Woodduck]

Kitajenko matches Bernstein for the slowest prelude I've ever heard. Bernstein at least allows himself a little urgency as the piece builds, and draws from his string players a greater intensity throughout. I think the piece can say what it says in a bit less time, but Bernstein comes closer than Kitajenko to justifying 14+ minutes. See what you think:

There must be thousands of singers who'd love to pit themselves against the superhuman demands of the roles of Tristan and Isolde. Most have the good sense not to. Excerpts in a concert situation at least allow singers of modest endowment to select the bits they can handle credibly, but I don't think even that much has been achieved here. Who is, or was, Wolfgang Müller-Lorenz? Handsome dude, but quite a mediocre singer. Studer was a superb singer, but both past her best and out of her fach here. Musical sensitivity can't make up for a simple lack of vocal amplitude in the mounting phrases of the Liebestod; you can hear the stress in the rapid flutter in her vibrato on high notes (which to her credit didn't become a wobble as with so many singers who overextend themselves). Kitajenko does his best to accommodate her by tamping down the orchestra - at the expense of the music's intended effect - but she's still out of gas by the end and can't support the final phrase, "Hochste Lust." Maybe she wasn't feeling well that evening.

Another soprano who took on the role of Isolde with a voice not made for it was Margaret Price. Price, though, did it only for a recording, and was still in her vocal prime. The result wasn't quite the "real thing," but was lovely in its own way. Studer did so many things well, one would have hoped she'd have been content with her achievements and known where to draw the line.

 

[Mostart]

Another fight over something that does not warrant one. I’d very happy, extremely happy, to hear an Isolde today who sounded this good. I do not think I am alone.

 

[Woodduck]

Another fight over something that does not warrant one. I’d very happy, extremely happy, to hear an Isolde today who sounded this good. I do not think I am alone.

This is not a fight. Not unless someone wants to make it one. We are expressing disparate views. It's what people do on internet forums, as well as in the lobby after concerts.

You're undoubtedly right that many people would be happy to hear an Isolde as good as Ms. Studer. Others would leave the hall dispirited over the scarcity of good dramatic sopranos (which Studer is not) and the sad state of Wagner singing.

The appropriate Wagner parts for Studer's voice were Eva, Elsa and Elisabeth, and possibly Sieglinde and Senta, although those were a bit of a stretch, as we can hear. Again, that is a view. You may not share it.

 

[ALT]

Your assessment, such as it is one, is not based in reality. Studer is not at all out of her fach here and if indeed she ended her “Hochste Lust” south of the note, so be it and no big deal. One less than optimal note does not an entire piece ruin. “Maybe she wasn’t feeling well that evening?”, you asked. The one not feeling well that evening was soprano Sabine Hass, for whom Studer subbed in on short notice, as the former had fallen ill. Tragically, Hass passed away three months later from her ailment. I believe, too, that Hass was married to Müller-Lorenz. “Who was Wolfgang Müller-Lorenz?”, you asked too. http://www.historicaltenors.net/german/mullerlorenz.html
To be sure, no one will mistake him for Melchior just as no one will mistake Studer for Leider (and have you not heard Leider’s poorly sung Liebestod, taped live at the Met?). Still, Studer’s beautiful and glowing singing here deserves much better appreciation and respect than what you are leading others to believe. And about the Tristan, believe me, we have all heard infinitely worse than M-L’s, as heard here. What was written in the link above may not be the most flattering but it also signals qualities about his singing that should not be ignored for convenience’s sake.

 

[ALT]

Another fight over something that does not warrant one. I’d very happy, extremely happy, to hear an Isolde today who sounded this good. I do not think I am alone.

I will go one further and say an Isolde sounding half as good. You know Wagnerian singing is in the dumps when they insist that Nina Stemme or Catherine Foster or Andreas Schager are standard bearers.

 

[ALT]

The Frida Leider Met Liebestod. She ends her “Hochste Lust” just fine but rough going getting there.

 

[Woodduck]

The Frida Leider Met Liebestod. She ends her “Hochste Lust” just fine but rough going getting there.

Leider's Liebestod is hardly "rough going." I can't think of a performance more beautifully phrased; the long-breathed lines and delicious falling portamenti, unfurled over Bodanzky's patient tempo that accumulates power without haste and unleashes the full force of the orchestra at the climax, convey exactly the mounting ecstasy the music and drama require. Leider's vocal solidity and confidence after a long evening in the theater is impressive in itself. There is no comparison whatever with Studer's weak effort, or Kitajenko's tepid accompaniment that deflates where it should overwhelm.

Leider's Liebestod in this performance represents her much better than her studio recording, which is solidly sung but is rushed (possibly due to recording exigencies) and conveys little emotion. Like many singers, Leider is best heard live, and it's too bad we don't have a complete, good-sounding radio transcription of her Isolde with Melchior and Bodanzky, a superb Wagner conductor. The poor-sounding excerpts we have here are treasurable.

 

[Mostart]

I will go one further and say an Isolde sounding half as good. You know Wagnerian singing is in the dumps when they insist that Nina Stemme or Catherine Foster or Andreas Schager are standard bearers.

Make it a quarter as good. Wagnerian singing is def in da dumps. Hey, the tenor in the duet sounds like Melchior next to Jonas Kaufmann 😇 who is assuming heavier roles. But he croons it and that is no Tristan. But hey, no one will remember me and everyone will remember him so who am I to say. All the best.

 

[Mostart]

I located a different Liebestod from Studer from three years later that I thought of sharing. Not well taped but it is what it is. I loved it.

 

[Woodduck]

I located a different Liebestod from Studer from three years later that I thought of sharing. Not well taped but it is what it is. I loved it.

She seems in better voice in this one, though one can hear some stress at the climax and on the difficult final phrase (it's on pitch, at least). The conducting is better here too, with the conductor not afraid to make a proper climax. This appears to be a concert selection rather than a complete performance of the opera.

 

[Mostart]

She seems in better voice in this one, though one can hear some stress at the climax and on the difficult final phrase (it's on pitch, at least). The conducting is better here too, with the conductor not afraid to make a proper climax. This appears to be a concert selection rather than a complete performance of the opera.

She sings it differently from the other one. Where the other sounds almost lugubrious <?> this one sounds impetuous, angry even. Seeing that it was taped only weeks after the 9/11 tragedy that forever changed our world, I wonder if her singing reflects this.

 

[Woodduck]

She sings it differently from the other one. Where the other sounds almost lugubrious <?> this one sounds impetuous, angry even. Seeing that it was taped only weeks after the 9/11 tragedy that forever changed our world, I wonder if her singing reflects this.

I just think she was feeling better, vocally and maybe physically in general, and could put more energy into her singing. Having a better conducted accompaniment couldn't have hurt either. She really does sound vocally stressed or tired in the other performance. The voice simply gives out at the end.

 

[Mostart]

I just think she was feeling better, vocally and maybe physically in general, and could put more energy into her singing. Having a better conducted accompaniment couldn't have hurt either. She really does sound vocally stressed or tired in the other performance. The voice simply gives out at the end.

Don’t feel the same way. The voice sounded healthy enough to me in the first Liebestod and also in the duet. It may be more that in the first conductor and soprano sought out a <more pensive> interpretation. And it is not that the voice gave out but that the final note was under pitch by almost a full tone and sung too softly so it kind of vanished. Maybe that is what you mean by giving out. A voice giving out is something else to me.

 

[Woodduck]

Don’t feel the same way. The voice sounded healthy enough to me in the first Liebestod and also in the duet. It may be more that in the first conductor and soprano sought out a <more pensive> interpretation. And it is not that the voice gave out but that the final note was under pitch by almost a full tone and sung too softly so it kind of vanished. Maybe that is what you mean by giving out. A voice giving out is something else to me.

It isn't a question of how we feel. As a singer I pull rank here. Studer simply and obviously could not sustain the final phrase. I know what that feels like physically, and I know what it sounds like. Studer is a fine musician and would not sing a note so badly under pitch and beneath audibility for any reason except vocal trouble. I also recognize the signs of stress which she was exhibiting before that final phrase arrived. I've noticed on other occasions that when she pushes her voice too hard on high notes her vibrato becomes fluttery or tremulous. The conductor was holding back out of consideration for her, assuming he was not simply incompetent or drowsy. I have no idea why her voice was under stress that day, but it clearly was.

 

[Mostart]

It isn't a question of how we feel. As a singer I pull rank here. Studer simply and obviously could not sustain the final phrase. I know what that feels like physically, and I know what it sounds like. Studer is a fine musician and would not sing a note so badly under pitch and beneath audibility for any reason except vocal trouble. I also recognize the signs of stress which she was exhibiting before that final phrase arrived. I've noticed on other occasions that when she pushes her voice too hard on high notes her vibrato becomes fluttery or tremulous. The conductor was holding back out of consideration for her, assuming he was not simply incompetent or drowsy. I have no idea why her voice was under stress that day, but it clearly was.

I have replayed these selections about fifteen times and I do not hear what you hear. Voice and sound ring healthy and capable to me and communicate these Isolde moments as effectively as any. I do understand your quibbles about the conducting leading to the ending of the Liebestod which could have been drawn out more emphatically and loudly. But other than that and the final note going south I have no additional complaints. And the duet remains impressive.

 

[Woodduck]

I have replayed these selections about fifteen times and I do not hear what you hear. Voice and sound ring healthy and capable to me and communicate these Isolde moments as effectively as any. I do understand your quibbles about the conducting leading to the ending of the Liebestod which could have been drawn out more emphatically and loudly. But other than that and the final note going south I have no additional complaints. And the duet remains impressive.

Why do you suppose the final note "went south"? Did a mosquito fly into her mouth?