Die Walküre: Winterstürme - Du bist der Lenz

[Lampodoria]

Einfach hinreißend und bezaubernd !

Peter Hofmann bleibt unvergessen.

[gaemp]

what a back-throated voice,...

[windstorm1000]

TERRIBLE SETS. TERRIBLE COSTUMES & DIRECTION. This is a NOT a legendary production. Wolfgang W. got suckered that he had to make the Ring contemporary. This pro. has nothing to do with the ancient mystery of Wagner's score. Avant g. Chereau & Boulez, his lackey, are asses. They came to Bay. to reinvent the wheel. What the f-- does a victorian house/factory have to do with W.'s masterpiece? Luckily, even B & C can't ruin Wagner's music though they certainly test the viewer's enjoyment.

[Leoboy729]

Rest in peace, Peter Hofmann (1944-2010).

[mary75mm]

Peter, I will never forget you! and you will forever remain one of the greatest tenors of all time thanks for everything you gave us and continue and give us!

[Sigfrid711]

Super! God bless Wagner!!!

[Catoperatheater]

To SinoSene - ethnicity does matter or why would every production of Porgy and Bess only have black leads? Altmeyer and Hoffman represent exactly what Wagner must have had in mind when he wrote his operas.

[wenarto]

REST IN PEACE

[hundingwelser]

so schnell wird es keinen mehr geben wie ihn...den einzigartigen Peter Hofmann.

[mariusfelix]

R.I.P. Peter Hofmann :-(

[lastofdmelocchians]

I've NEVER seen a couple so perfect 4 these roles EVER!!! Both had beautiful voices, gr8 acting ability & boy were they both gr8 on the eyes:) Seems like a 1 in a lifetime cast! Awesome that 'twas recorde "live!!"

[sismischen]

Mein Liebelingssiegmund in meiner Lieblingsinszenierung! Herrlich :-)

[ezev8logos]

Tremenda voz, muy buen cantante hofmann!.

Soy yo o la música suena muy debil, la versión de Levine suena mucho mas poderosa, pero bueno Levine es el mejor director de opera no tiene comparación.

[SuperHenrion]

moi je n'y connais rien, mais je suis une inconditionnelle de Wagner et de Peter Hofmann

[65attila]

saagua1953

Ah yes. So, two black roles. No roles for heavyset or fat people either, I presume. No Traubel, or Nelchior or Voigt of course. Meanwhile it is fine to stage Tristan in cell like rooms with metal furniture, etc., etc. Fact is the singing is about all that counts in opera. Better stay home and listen to a CD if you can't tolerate staging anomalies.

================

Great comment - common sense and guts. If people want to see a play - an Opera House is not the right place,

[Chrysothemis]

Fine, but what's the point of staging operas at all if it doesn't top just listening to CDs at home?

Sorry, but looks DO matter. Ditto acting ability. Bayreuth was blessed beyond belief to have Jones, McIntyre, Altmeyer, Hofmann and Schwarz for this production.

[PianoMusic37]

@65attila Actually it IS the right place. If you want to see a cantata, oratorio, concerto, nocturne, etc... only THEN is the opera house the wrong place.

Opera is the highest form of musical theatre. It is what it is, because the performers sing AND act. Without the acting, there is merely a choir and soloists. Much more than singing counts. In many cases opera has singing, acting, AND dancing. I pity the person who misses that, because they stayed at home with a CD.

[65attila]

I will stay home and listen with my -4- Live performance sof Trustan und Isolde on CD with Flgstad and Melchior rather than see some great viisual ala "Star Wars" but with singers NOT able to do justice to the music..

[Maddy4Me]

The gold standard of Siegmunds. He is simply brilliant, and whenever I hear a Siegmund I instantly compare him to Hofmann. No one compares favourably to him yet.

[winehousedrunk]

The Boulez version was the best Ring ever, and Karajan's Parsifal was the best ever, both with Peter Hofmann, who was the best Siegmund and the best Parsifal ever, and therefore a hero of mine, and a legend.

[nadaniente115a]

The best is a question of personal preference... :-) Kna is said to be the best at several occasions on Parsifal in Bayreuth... So....

[58wotan]

bravo, Altmeier, así se actúa, mirando al partenaire, sin mirar hacia el público, como lo prescribía Wagner

[Maddy4Me]

Norman and Lakes may not have matched in appearance, I have no problem with that, my problem with Norman/Lakes is that it just sounded pretty crap.

[jackal59]

This seems a little lifeless to me, but my point of comparison is the 1956 Bayreuth recording where Knappertsbusch and Windgassen have what amounts to an aural battle over tempo for the last quarter of the act while Gre Brouwenstijn soldiers on. There's nothing like wondering if they're all going to end the act at the same moment to add a bit of excitement! (It's really a great performance, and cheap as anything on the reissue.)

[vidiegoquam]

Thanks for the recommendation!

[wolfgangtheophilus]

isisclassic, si, alrededor de 1976, Hildegard Berehns, por ejemplo

[toranu]

walkure rocks

[SatanAteMySocks]

It's hard to believe that this production was such a shock for the people back in the seventies, isn't it?

[BernardProfitendieu]

why was that?

[isisclassic]

no hay mas cantantes wagnerianas? :O

[giloubreizh]

cet extrait me fait monter la sève...

[nickmalinowski04]

One of the most beautiful moments in the whole of the Ring cycle...

[bluelightwarning]

Peter Hofmann had such a compelling quality of voice - uncomparable to any of his contempories. The strength and power of his voice was incredible. And a man you didn´t have to disguise to pass as German hero... he also looked the part.

[alecs1976]

@bluelightwarning

only to bad that he didn't have the technique to go with this great material!

[bayreuth79]

This is one of the few productions of Walkure I have sent which doesn't have ridiculous sets and fat singers disclaiming rooted to the spot, barely acting at all. It is also the only production I have seen in which the Siegmund and Sieglinde have physical credibility. That is rare! The worst was Domingo and Norman at the Met. Both fat, middle-aged, and immobile. Hardly a young pare! I prefer imagination to that.

[SVENSKSOPRAN]

I wonder, does anybody know Peter Hofmann's vocal lineage? Please let me know!

[Baccalaureus79]

Das ist mal wirklich ein guter Siegmund, viel, VIEL besser als Domingo. Was eine schlanke Tonführung, perfekte Phrasierung, wunderschöne Höhe und - nicht zuletzt - er paßt einfach auch mal phänotypisch in die Rolle.

[hedgechair]

This performance turned me on to Wagner in 1982. (BBC tv) Sieglinde here like Waltraut Meier, and I tremble to say, Hoffman equal to Domingo and Vickers. Sorry , not born in time for Varnay and Melchior, but never varnish my aural memory with nostalgia.

[emnhts]

You might be right, and I don't think this is rubbish...

[brunotaddeo]

another legendary peformance: melchior and astrid varnay. it was her operatic debut, in december 1941 at the age of 23. lehmann a few hours before the performance had to cancel because of illness. the entire performance is electrifying.. will we ever see singers of such calibre again... just compare this rubbish with those great performances !

i suppose the training these singers had is gone completely now, perhaps that is the problem, but maybe it's something in the water.

[DemisLian]

Oh, how I agree with you about that live 1941 matiné from the Met! For me, the greatest "live" Walkure recording ever was from the previous year -March 30, 1940- again the Met but on tour at Boston: Schorr, Lawrence, Melchior, Lehmann! Perfection! But your recording has the greatest Hunding in history: Alexander Kipnis.

[brunotaddeo]

check out suthuaus and rysanek in furtwangler's 1954 recording of die walkure ... £5 from amazon. now that is  great singing ! great conducting and great vienna philharmonic ! i actually saw these two do it at bayreuth and they certainly can't measure up to the greats that's for sure ! this performance is dreadful and the acting... mechanical dolls !!!

[Turiyayuro]

Thanks so much for putting this up!

I've seen a few Ring cycles and listened to many, and this is incomparably wonderful. True Musikdrama.

Levine's Met Ring with Jessye Norman was--*holds breath*-painful to witness. If there'd been a black Siegmund I think they would have been OK. Normans a darker soprano, but she has great control over her voice--but she's more diva-ish than I like for Sieglinde anyway.

No miscegenation here!

Thanks again! I'm going to hunt this down on DVD. . .

[eurypheus]

Altmeyer und Hofmann, auf dem Höhepunkt.

Unerreicht. Auch diese Inszenierung. Kein Musiktheater-Quatsch. Alles nur Ablenkung vom Wesentlichen: der Stimme, das Singen der langen Vokale. Ich glaube, es braucht wesentlich mehr als ein Talent, um so singen zu können...

Aber man muss in dieser Riege mindestens auch noch einen René Kollo als Tristan erwähnen. Ach, wir haben sie verloren, all mein Sehnen geht nur dahin...strengt Euch mal an, Ihr jungen Sänger...

[ratws]

Großer, verehrter Peter Hofmann, Du warst einer der überragendstenen Wagner-Tenöre aller Zeiten, es tut mir mir im Herzen leid, dass Du an M. Parkinson erkrankt bist. Lasst uns alle danken und helfen!

[OperaGhost1990]

I prefer Jessey Norman as Sigliende, but the guy is very good as siegmund.

[junehilde]

Jesse Norman as Sieglinde, get serious!! I saw Jesse and Gary Lakes as the siblings, and her regal person of color bearing, and his Viking appearance made the whole "twin" thing totally ridiculous. And trust me, I've seen many Rings and have had to suspend belief a number of times, but Jesse as Sieglinde is waaay beyond reason.

[btsg]

correct---way too heavy--even for wagner.

[jmahlon]

Take your racism and naturalism and shove it. People like you are ruining opera

[LFinDC]

Why not take your stupidity and lack of common sense and shove it. I suppose you would cast Brittney Spears as Bess in the Harlem Theater's production of Porgy and Bess?? While everyone else laughed her off the stage..

[jmahlon]

yeah thats a good analogy.  Racist.

[dunrob3]

junehilde's comment is right on. I also saw Norman/Lakes and it was just not credible (laughable actually). Nothing to do with race!

[SinoSene]

Well, I ask the question as to why you find it so difficult to look past her ethnicity? The Ring uses gods and godesses as emotional characters, why is that less ridiculous than accepting an Sieglinde with a different ethnic appearance than Siegmund? They are the son and daughter of Wotan, I think it just enriches the character composition. I have objections against Jessye in that role, but they don't concern her skin colour.

[luziederschrecken]

@SinoSene

The explanation is simple: Siemund and Siglinde are twins.

[SinoSene]

@luziederschrecken Oh, are they really?...I think you'll that piece of information the very reason for the discussion, but thank you for pointing that out. I think I'll just repeat myself a little here though, since my point was that I don't see why her ethnicity should be a problem at all. Yes, they are twins fathered by Wotan king of the gods, I mean aren't there other things in the story that ask for a suspension of disbelief? Pursuing your line of thought, is their age difference a problem?

[luziederschrecken]

@SinoSene Of course they shouldn't be of obviously different age either. After all they don't know each other. And their recognition is based on the fact that they are alike in a foreign, hostile environment.

[SinoSene]

@luziederschrecken Ah I see, well, I understand that your critique isn't so much a ethnicity thing, but concerns how naively realistic the production should be. That is a simple matter of a difference in taste, but also much more interesting! So, leaving appearances of the singers aside, I would have to disagree with you there. I don't think it is their verisimilitude or recognition of it that drive them together, but rather a love between man and woman, which turns out to be a monstrous love..

[SinoSene]

@SinoSene ...between brother and sister. On another level, on the level of the plot, what drives them together is what also tries to keep them apart: Sieglinde's husband, and Siegmund's enemy. Their kinship is revealed, at least I seem to remember it so, as more of a formal declamation of ancestry, a formality that seems to stand against the very real love, and physical attraction (consummated at the close of the act). The themes of unholy union against the holy natural order, and the ...

[SinoSene]

@SinoSene ...the sickening love creating the free hero, in the shape of Siegfried, the world of the gods needs, are by many connoiseurs more learned than I considered the great strengths of the cycle of operas. Ah, I've gone off on a rant...well, I hope it makes sense...it's a long time since I've thought about these things now. Anyhow, despite differences in tastes in produciton, there is at least enough material to marvel at to overcome such discordances. SS

[luziederschrecken]

@SinoSene But it's all in the lyrics. They don't just fall in love but they recognize each other as brother and sister and their similarity is essential for both. As they are both lonely and homeless (Sieglinde a slave and Siegmund an outcast) they are drawn to each other by much more than just sexual attraction.

One more thing about ethnicity: Of course they could both be of any ethnicity as long as they are the same.

[luziederschrecken]

@SinoSene Well, it's diffcult to argue one should leave apperances aside when the point that they recognise each other because of their similar appreance is in the lyrics of the opera. Wouldn't it be at least halfway ridiculous when they sing about how similar they look when in fact the singers look completely different?

[SinoSene]

@luziederschrecken Well, I've responded to a lot of this before so I won't repeat myself. But on a general level I would have to say that focusing too much on appearance would leave us just there, at the level of appearance. I think that it would be a shame not to look past it and listen to the expression of the emotion expressed by the characters. I would like to make one point, and that is that when I listen and watch these operas, at no point do I stop and marvel at the ...

[SinoSene]

@SinoSene ...physical similarities between these characters. It is their love for each other which breaks the natural order of marriage (or some such thing as Wotan's wife points out) that is the main driving force of the story. At least that's what I find fascinating and end up focusing on. And if they look different, well, that is in my eyes a minor point. It has been interesting discussing this with you! But as far as I'm concerned I think I'm going to leave it with this. Regards SS

[luziederschrecken]

@SinoSene In my oppinion they should neither be of different age nor very different looks. They are real twins and their similarity is the reason why they recognise each other as such.

[luziederschrecken]

@SinoSene Ehtnicity is not the problem. The twins just should be similar. If they were both African or both Asian I wouldn't have any objections. But in my view their similarity is an important part of the story, not just a minor detail.

[saagua1953]

Too bad you are such a racist and can't see beyond skin color. Lakes was fine and Norman superb as Sieglinde. If you can't stand to watch a black, the close you fuc8in eyes while you listen.

[junehilde]

As a person of color I find your comments odd. I have no problem with inter-racial lovers, siblins, etc. However, as twins?? Also the regal Jessye simply cannot portray a downtrodden hausfrau in any realistic way.

Vocally, she and Lakes were a wonderful match.

[saagua1953]

The singing is what is important. If you use inferior singers just to have things "look right" you betray what opera is all about. Blacks don't fit in easily anywhere in operas composed when blacks were not employed, so excluding them creates a problem. What black roles are there? Aida and?

[junehilde]

Actually Wagner would say that the singing and drama are of equal importance. And when they are looking at each other and talking about how they look alike it is too much of a stretch for me. I think people of color can sing just about any role.

But Jessye Norman is not at all believable as a downtroden hausfrau. Sorry Jessye.

[BlitzWotan]

Othello ;-)

[saagua1953]

Ah yes. So, two black roles. No roles for heavyset or fat people either, I presume. No Traubel, or Nelchior or Voigt of course. Meanwhile it is fine to stage Tristan in cell like rooms with metal furniture, etc., etc. Fact is the singing is about all that counts in opera. Better stay home and listen to a CD if you can't tolerate staging anomalies.

[BlitzWotan]

Klingsor - he can change color

[TheTristan1954]

Porgy and Bess, ...Monostatos in Zauberflöte,...

[hoelderlinshyperion]

My heart is melting :-)

[Alcisko]

I love Wagner,I love Hofmann and Chereau. Thanks Trisolde:)