Wagner: Lohengrin (Opus Arte)

[jgesselberty]

There are ways to stage Wagner that are fresh and new, but don't resort to what amounts to characature. If directors paid as much attention to Wagner's detailed stage directions as they do to the music, what glorious productions we would have. Unfortunately we get glorious music, sung well, by actors in zoot suits that are better suited for viewing on X-box.

[dziady1]

izart - perhaps that is all Wagner

could get ...according to Shaw

the German singers barked at

each other or yelled and were

shocked when the great Polish

tenor DeReszke "sang" the roles.

Imagine you could sing Wagner.

[profgv]

What is it about someone's opinion that makes you angry and hostel?

[profgv]

Poor Wagner.

It's time to castrate directors.

[quequitoAR]

I concur with izar1234. If you like ancient music (with undeveloped voices), move to that repertoir and leave the great operas to great voices. As for Vogt, he would be superb in Mozart roles. This is not for him, and the orchestra had to strain to not overpass him in this role.

[danvilavache]

Where is Lohengrin? I just heard a bird who tried to sing opera. Do you remember the past? We had James King and other impressive voices. This is something new. Something strange.

[izar1234]

Well, neither Wagner NOR Mascagni wrote for men who sound like they're still in high school. I heard both Heppner and Vogt last year in the run of Lohengrin at the Met. No contest. Heppner sounds like an operatic tenor and Vogt sounds like a chamber choir boy. If you prefer that for Lohengrin, well, to each his own.

[rumpwrestler]

@izar1234 I remember that Lohengrin broadcast a few years ago with Heppner...and he was a disaster, couldn't even get the high notes in Act I. He had to step in and hoped to sing Parsifal, but now he's a total vocal wreck and only sings stuff in places like Dallas. Konya was a great lohengrin....and I heard all of them at Bayreuth.

[JuanDiegooooo]

Strange singing... Sounds like Lohengrin without balls !

[KungFu17]

a man singing to a swan doesn't need balls

[edgardodiravenswood]

Well, just for your information and in case you don't recognize it, it's called beautiful and good singing. Not heard very often, specially in this repertoire.

[izar1234]

Well, call it beautiful singing if you wish, though a boy soprano can be beautiful singing as well. Regardless, it's certainly not the type of voice that Wagner wrote Lohengrin for, since we know the gent in question. He also wrote Riezni and Tannhauser for the same singer, so do you think this is what he had in mind?

[edgardodiravenswood]

That is all very relative. Mascagni wrote Turiddu for a MUCH lighter kind of tenor than one would expect now... so what?

[Caskader]

Waltraud, yaaay!!