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The Magic Flute with Beecham conducting.

 

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Boris Godunov, Covent Garden 1958 with Boris Christoff and Regina Resnik. Boris was Boris!

 

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Das Rheingold, Bayreuth 1956. When not spending time going back and forth on this forum!!

 

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I've tried it again and again not my cup of tea
The cast is good , just can't get used to it.

One of my favourites. I have a recording of the premiere at ROH in 1953. But Britten is not for everyone I agree.

 

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Die Walkure, Bayreuth 1956.

 

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Siegfried, Bayreuth 1956. Good, but some suspect singing. Pitch problems for Paul Kuen in Act 1 and the same for Gustav Neidlinger in Act 2.

 

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What was it they used to say of Del Monaco - not so much bel canto as can belto!

 

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Personally I can think of several alternatives to both, though I admit the Mehta Turandot does have great credentials and is probably the all-round best. Still I wouldn't want to be without Nilsson/Corelli and Moffo live under Stokowski, nor another live performance from San Francisco with Caballe and Pavarotti. Karajan's Ricciarelli is a let down, but its orchestrally splendid and Callas provides the most psychologically complex characterisation of the heroine, even if it was recorded a little too late for comfort.

When it comes to La Boheme, again the Karajan has a lot to recommend it, not least Pavarotti's splendid Rodolfo and Freni's lovely Mimi, though I think she's even better represented on the Schippers set with Gedda. I couldn't be without the Beecham with De Los Angeles, possibly the most charming and lovable of all Mimis, and Bjoerling, nor would I want to be without Callas, who yet again, delves more deeply into Mimi's character than most, and Di Stefano in one of his best roles. Admittedly Votto's conducting inclines to the prosaic.

Still, not as clear cut as you would think. There are a lot of excellent recordings of these operas out there.

I have a fantastic live Boheme from Rome in 1969 with Pavarotti, Freni and Bruscantini conducted by Thomas Schippers. All the singers are in fantastic voice but Pavarotti is in a class of his own. Probably one of the best Rodolfos I have ever heard and that includes Bjorling.

 

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Siegfried. Bayreuth 1951, Karajan.

 

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Karajan's superb recording of Fidelio, better, IMO, than the famous Klemperer, with a fabulous cast.

I had forgotten about this. Thanks for the reminder. I have other Fidelios but inexplicably, not this one. Now remedied and it is winging its way to me from Amazon marketplace for about £6.50 including postage!

 

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Karajan's superb recording of Fidelio, better, IMO, than the famous Klemperer, with a fabulous cast.

Interestingly enough there are eight reviews on Amazon.co.uk none of which are actually of this recording although this is the version that they are all under. Typical Amazon and they never do anything about it when you report it.

 

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Well, take my word for it. It's a terrific recording. I personally like it more than the Klemperer.

I just got it today from Amazon marketplace. Looking forward to hearing it. I have a live one from Vienna 1970 with James King, Gwyneth Jones and Walter Berry conducted by Bernstein. It's interesting as you would expect from Mr. Bernstein.

 

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Not quite on topic but I find myself listening to more and more live recordings rather than studio versions. There just seems, to me that is, to be an extra frisson in a live performance that is very often lacking in studio performances with multiple takes and edits and so forth. I'm not saying all the time but more often than not I will seek out a live performance to listen to rather than studio. There are exceptions to this, but aren't there always?!

 

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A chance to reacquaint myself with this classic of the gramophone.

Yes. This is a little gem.

 

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Meistersinger. Solti and the Chicago Symphony. It's alright but, and I know this is probably heresy, it seems to me that Solti's conducting is a bit pedestrian and lacks his usual drive. Quite well sung apart from van Dam as Sachs who sounds raspy. There are many other much better Meistersingers available so I doubt I shall return to this in the foreseeable future.

 

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One of my favorite Meisters.

But compared to say Kubelik, Karajan, Knappertsbusch and Solti's Vienna set not quite up there. I was a bit harsh on van Dam. Not so much raspy as lacking real Sachsian heart. Just a bit vanilla. But others will hear it otherwise and that's cool.

Have you noticed too that our signatures are not showing?

 

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I see the signatures.
Check your settings.

I'm not sure what I should be looking for in settings. I'm not aware of changing anything recently other than changing my own signature. Help!!

Found it. For some reason the show signature box was unchecked. I definitely didn't do it as I only found it a minute or so ago. Ah well, no harm, no foul.

 

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The 1955 Vienna conducted by Fritz Reiner is worth a listen. I agree about the Bohm. There is also a great live one from Salzburg 1974 conducted by Karajan with Ridderbusch as Sachs, who should have been singing it on the Dresden Karajan, but for, I think, political reasons, Adam got the job.

 

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Yes, if only. ..............................

If only what Itullian? If only he had sung it on the studio Karajan instead of Adam, is that what you mean? Forgive my denseness. It is very late here but not where you are.

 

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Just spotted two more Meistersingers on Amazon, neither of which I have. Milan 1955 conducted by Hans Rosbaud with most of the Bayreuth 1951 cast and one from Berlin 1955 conducted by Konwitschny.