Furtwangler

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Furtwangler's legendary Salzburg performance (including unforgettable "Lenore No. 3 Overture) with an all-star cast including:
Kirsten Flagstad (Leonore)
Julius Patzak (Florestan)
Paul Schoeffler (Don Pizarro)
Josef Greinal (Rocco)
Elizabeth Schwarzkopf (marzelline)
Chorus of the Vienna State Opera and the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Wilhelm Furtwangler, Salzburg, August 5th, 1950 ADD Remastered with care from the classic broadcast with 8 page booklet

Tracks:

Ov - Vienna State Opr Orch/Wilhelm Furtwangler
Act One: Jetzt, Schatzchen, Jetzt Sind Wir Allein
Act One: Der Arme Jaquino...O War Ich Schon Mit Dir Vereint
Act One: Ist Fidelio...Mir Ist So Wunderbar
Act One: Hore, Fidelio...Man Braucht Auch
Act One: Gut, Sohnchen, Gut, Hab' Immer Mut
Act One: March - Vienna State Opr Orch/Wilhelm Furtwangler
Act One: Depeschen?...Ha! Welch Ein Augenblick!
Act One: Jetzt, Alter, Jetzt Hat Es Eile!
Act One: Abscheulicher! Wo Eilst Du Hin?
Act One: Vater Rocco...O Welche Lust!
Act One: Nun Sprecht, Wie Ging's?

Tracks:

Act One: Wir Mussen Gleich Zu Werke Schreiten
Act One: Ach! Vater, Eilt!
Act Two: Intro - Vienna State Opr Orch/Wilhelm Furtwangler
Act Two: Gott! Welch Dunkel Hier!
Act Two: Wie Kalt Ist...Nur Hurtig Fort
Act Two: Er Erwacht!
Act Two: Euch Werde Lohn in Besser'n Welten
Act Two: Ist Alles Bereit?...Er Sterbe! Doch Er Soll Erst Wissen
Act Two: Vater Rocco! Vater Rocco!
Act Two: O Namenlose Freude!
Act Two: Entr'acte - Vienna State Opr Orch/Wilhelm Furtwangler
Act Two: Heil Sei Dem Tag, Heil Sei Der Stunde
Act Two: Du Schlossest Auf Des Edlen Grab

Customer Reviews:

Standout performance!.......2006-11-29

Fidelio represented for the most of conductors but specially for Wilhelm Furtwangler, the reaffirmation of the mean values of the humankind , a call to decency in total synchronization with the imperative principles of the Enlightenment, the heroic struggle and mercurial fierceness that nestles under the untamed spirit of the human being. Of course this was an obvious statement in those oppressive years, signed by the opprobrium of the Russian iron's fist as well as the Nazi regime Conductors like Toscanini and Bruno Walter flagged this work in Salzburg and New York respectively as the triumph of the man's will against any other kind of Totalitarian Regime.

This memorable and historical version has several elements that make it absolutely a must-have; the cast, Orchestra, Director and historical moment in which it was performed.

Since I got in LP format twenty years ago until its fortunate release on CD format, this is one of those absolutely necessary recordings to listen and enjoy over and over, because it conjugates grandness and noblesse.

Great Fidelio in the Romantic tradition.......2004-10-23

Source: Live 1950 performance at Salzburg. This famous performance has circulated for years in pirated form. Here it appears in respectable publication--or at least as respectable as Od'O gets.

Sound: OK for its time and place. For you delicate souls who must hear DDD clarity or suffer the vapors, walk away right now. This is not for you. For those of you interested in art, be warned that Flagstad's voice simply overwhelms the capacity of the recording system from time to time. Accept that and move on.

Documentation: Not up to Od'O abysmal standards. No libretto. Nothing on cast members, conductor, orchestra or circumstances of the recording. Track list omits timings and fails even to identify the singers. Disc 2, track 11, as shown above in the Amazon track listing, appears as "Entr'acte." So it is, and then some, for in accordance with the practice of the day, Furtwaengler gives a barn burning performance of the Leonore Overture No. 3.

This is Furtwaengler's Fidelio, which is to say that it is a great Fidelio. This is the ultimate Romantic take on the opera, utterly at variance with the dry and spare style of performance that is now, alas, fashionable. Listen here to one of the greatest of the great conductors in full command of every nuance of the score.

Three members of the cast are certainly as good as any who ever recorded Fidelio, and possibly better. Flagstad is her incomparable self. Elizabeth Schwarzkopf and Anton Dermota are simply unbeatable as Marzelline and Jaquino, the secondary soprano and tenor.

The other three main principals are more problematic. Julius Patzak is Florestan, the much-abused hero who does not appear until Act II. Patzak was a renowned lieder singer whose operatic career began with Tamino and Don Ottavio, soared to Rudolfo and Turiddu, triumphed in the operettas of Strauss and Lehar, and finished with Herod. His performance is intelligent, skillful and well thought-out. The only problem with Patzak in Fidelio is simply that he does not have enough voice. Florestan is not a man, he is Beethoven's symbol of suffering humanity. In the final scene of Act II, when Florestan sings the praises of Leonore before all the massed voices--"Retterin, Retterin des Gatten sein"--Patzak can't bring it off. He sounds more like Woody Allan than humanity liberated.

Paul Schoeffler, like all the rest of this cast, was a stalwart of the Vienna State Opera. I saw him do a terrific Hans Sachs in San Francisco during the sixties. A natural-born Don Alfonso for "Cosi fan tutte," he lacks the bite for that heart of darkness which is Don Pizarro. Josef Greindl, on the other hand, was opera's resident cave man. His huge, dark, mean-sounding voice is utterly at variance with the weak but vaguely benevolent Papa Rocco. When Schoeffler and Greindl sing together, as they often do, it sounds as though they have mixed up their parts.

The Vienna State Opera Orchestra and the chorus must have been magnificent in the pit and on the stage. The recording suggests this, but doesn't do them full service.

Five stars for Furtwaengler, Flagstad, Schwarzkopf and Dermota.

Legenday Performance.......2001-03-30

This 1950 Salzburg performance has been around for decades, but this is the cleanest recording I've heard. The performance is stunning. Flagstad was entering the final phase of her career, but the voice is magnificent: warm and wonderfully powerful. The rest of the cast is absolutely first rate, with Schwarzkopf an unmatchable Marzellina. Furtwangler is at his legendary finest. Nothing but a plot summary accompanies the discs, not even the fact that one of the Lenore overtures is used to bridge the two scenes of Act II. Nevertheless, this would be a bargain at three times the price.

Average customer rating:

This Tops Every Other Fidelio...and Maybe Every Other Opera Performance!

Beethoven: Fidelio (Complete)

Manufacturer: Opus Kura
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Bruckner: Symphony No. 5
Schubert: Symphony No. 9 "The Great"; Brahms: Haydn Variations

ASIN: B0007TKHG6
Release Date: 2005-03-29

Customer Reviews:

This Tops Every Other Fidelio...and Maybe Every Other Opera Performance!.......2006-02-26

I once rated the live Klemperer "Fidelio" on Testament as the best recording of the work, surpassing his EMI studio performance. Well, here is the only one that can surpass it! Although the Klemperer scores with Hotter as Pizarro and Dobson and Morisson as Jaquino and Marzelline, the corresponding cast members in the Furtwangler (Schoeffler, Dermota and Schwarzkopf) are very close in quality and I would be happy with either set of characters. Both Frick (Klemperer) and Greindl (Furtwangler) are equally great in portraying a Rocco with warmth, humor, a basically decent man caught in a web woven by his despotic superior. But when it comes to Florestan, although Vickers (Klemperer) has the vocal advantage, he sometimes sweetens the music by crooning and thereby sentimentalizes the role; Patzak (Furtwangler) never resorts to this and remains a stoically heroic figure throughout; his aria "In des Leben Fruhlingstagen" simpy has to be the most moving ever, reaching an unprescedented level of ecstacy in the concluding passages. Jurinac (Klemperer) is a lovely, feminine, yet dramatic Leonore, a light-voiced dramatic soprano. BUT, THERE IS FLAGSTAD! (Furtwangler). Although past her prime, she gives her most committed performance as Leonore, which she herself regarded as her favorite role, and it really sounds it! I have never heard any soprano sing this role with the kind of intensity and warmth that Flagstad brings to it; this is her greatest performance.
BUT ABOVE ALL, THERE IS FURTWANGLER!
Comparing the two conductors, one reader stated that if Klemperer was granite, then Furtwangler was fire. Klemperer gives what is probably his most intense opera performance in his set, but as another readrer said, if there was one conductor who could surpass Klemperer in Beethoven, it was Furtwangler. For most of Act 1, both conductors are on a par with each other. But Act 2 belongs to Furtwangler: He fashions an absolutely incendiary performance, particularly in the dramatic encounter "Er sterbe!", in the most thrilling and emotionally exhausting "Leonore No. 3", and perhaps above all, the stormy concluding choral symphony, "Wer ein holdes Weib errungen."
Opus Kura has done it again with the best-sounding transfer; the EMI is thin and lifeless-sounding. One caveat: All issues play a semitone low; I wonder if this is a fault of the master tape, and yet the timbre of the voices sounds natural; I wonder if Furtwangler pitched the performance lower so as to avoid undue strain on Flagstad? Does anyone know about the practice of altering pitch for given performances?
But, outside of this, this is the "Fidelio" for eternity. It is performances like this that convince one that far from being a magnificent failure, this is the greatest opera ever written. If you love Beethoven, get this recording and prepare for the emotional assault of all time (well, Furtwangler's other Beethoven renditions will do this also).

Average customer rating:

Fidelio

Manufacturer: Aura / Lyrica
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00006BNFN
Release Date: 2002-07-30

Tracks:

Overture Op.72B
No.1 Duett 'Jetz, Schatzchen, Jetz Sind Wir Allein'
'Der Arme Jaquino Dauert Mich Beinahe' No.2 - Arie 'O War' Ich Schon Mit Dir Vereint'
'Nun, Marzelline, Ist Fedelio Noch Nicht Zur Ckgekommen?' No.3 - Quartett ' Mir Ist So Wunderbar'
'Hore, Fidelio, Wenn Auch Ich Nicht WeiB' No.4 - Arie 'Hat Man Nicht Auch Gold Beineben'
'Ja, Ihr Habt Recht'
No.5 - Terzett 'Gut, Sohnchen, Gut Hab'immer Mut'
No.6 - Marsch Der Wachen
'Etwas Neues Vorgefallen?'
No.7 - Arie 'Ha! Welch Ein Augenblick!'
'Hauptmann! Besteigen Sie Sofort Mit Einem Tropeter...' No.8 - Duett 'Jetz, Alter, Jetz Hat Es Eile'
No.9 - Rezitativ & Arie 'Abscheulicher! Wo Eilst Du Hin?'
'Vater Rocco, Ich Bat Euch Oft, Die Armen Gefangenen'
No.10 - Finale I 'O Welche Lust'
No.10 - Finale I (Cont.) 'Nun Sprecht, Wie Gings?'

Tracks:

No.10 - Finale I (Cont.) 'Leb Wohl, Du Warmes Sonnenlicht'
No.11 - Introduktion & Arie 'Gott! Welch' Dunkel Hier!... In Des Lebens Fruhlingstagen'
No.12 - Melodramm & Duett 'Wie Kalt Es Ist...Nur Hurtig Fort, Nur Frisch Gegraben'
'Er Erwacht!'
No.13 - Terzett 'Euch Werde Lohn In Besser'n Welten...Alles Ist Bereit'
'Ist Alles Bereit?' No.14 - Quartett 'Es Sterbe!...Es Schlagt Der Rache Stunde'
'Meine Leonore, Was Hast Du Fur Mich Getan?' No.15 - Duett 'O Namenlose Freude'
Overture 'Leonore Nr.3', Op.72a
No.16 - Finale 'Heil Sei Dem Tag, Heil Sei Der Stunde'

Beethoven: Fidelio (complete Opera) (recorded Salzburg, 1950)

Average customer rating:

Beethoven: Fidelio (complete Opera) (recorded Salzburg, 1950)
Ludwig van Beethoven , Kirsten Flagstad , Elizabeth Schwarzkopf , Wilhelm Furtwangler , Julius Patzak , and Vienna State Opera Chorus & Philharmonic
Manufacturer: Arkadia: the 78's
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000056VBR
Release Date: 2001-01-23

Average customer rating:

Yes, a classic performance but with lots of deficits
A legendary performance
A disc that lovers of Fidelio cannot afford to miss.

Beethoven: Fidelio

Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Flagstad, Kirsten | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Ouverture Fidelio, op.72b - Antona Dermotta/Elisabeth Schwarzkopf/Antona Dermota
Act One: Nr.1 Duett: Jetzt, Schatzchen, jetzt sind wir allein - Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Act One: Der arme jaquino dauert mich beihahe/Nr.2 Arie: O war ich schon mit dir vereint - Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Act One: Nun, Marzelline, ist Fidelio noch nicht zuruckgekommen?/Nr.3 Quartett: Mir ist so wunderbar - Elisabeth Schwarzkopf/Josef Greindl/Kirsten Flagstad
Act One: Hore, Fidelio, wenn ich auch nicht wei../Nr.4 Arie: Hat man nicht auch Gold beineben - Josef Greindl
Act One: Ja Ihr habt recht - Josef Greindl/Kirsten Flagstad/Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Act One: Nr.5 Terzett: Gut Sohnchen, gut, hab immer Mut - Josef Greindl/Kirsten Flagstad/Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Act One: Nr.6 Marsch der Wachen - Vienna PO/Furtwangler
Act One: Etwas Neues vorgefallen? - Josef Greindl/Paul Schoffler
Act One: Nr.7 Arie: Ha Welch ein Augenblick! - Paul Schoffler/Vienna State Opr
Act One: Hauptmann! Besteigen sie sofort mit einem Trompeter.../Nr.8 Duett... - Josef Greindl/Paul Schoffler
Act One: Nr.9 Rezitativ & Arie: Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin? - Kirsten Flagstad
Act One: Vater Rocco, ich bat Euch oft, die armen Gefangenen... - Josef Greindl/Kirsten Flagstad/Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Act One: Nr.10 Finale: O welche Lust - Vienna State Opr
Act One: Nr.10 Finale: Nun sprecht, wie ging's ?-Ach Vater eilt!-Verwetener Alter, welche Rechte... - Josef Greindl/Kirsten Flagstad/Elisabeth Schwarzkopf/Paul Schoffler/Antona Dermota

Tracks:

Act One: Nr.10 Finale: leb wohl,l du warmes Sonnenlicht - Josef Greindl/Kirsten Flagstad/Elisabeth Schwarzkopf/Paul Schoffler/Vienna State Opr/Antona Dermota
Act Two: Nr.11 Introduktion & Aire: Gott! Welch Denkel hier!-In des Lebens Fruhlingstagen - Julius Patzak
Act Two: Nr.12 Melodram & Duett: Wie kalt es ist in diesem unterirdeschen Gewolbe!... - Josef GreindlKirsten Flagstad
Act Two: Er erwacht! - Josef Greindl/Kirsten Flagstad
Nr.13 Terzett: Euch werde Lohn in besser'n Welten/Alles ist bereit - Josef Greindl/Kirsten Flagstad
Act Two: Ist alles bereit?/Nr.14 Quartett: Er sterbe!-Vater Rocco! Vater Rocco!... - Josef Greindl/Kirsten Flagstad/Paul Schoffler/Antona Dermota
Meine Leonore, was hast du fur mich getan?/Nr.15 Duett: O namenlose Freude - Kirsten Flagstad
Act Two: Ouverture Leonore Nr.3, op.72a - Kirsten Flagstad
Act Two: Nr.16 Finale: Heil sei dem Tag, Heil sei der Stunde - Josef Greindl/Elisabeth Schwarzkopf/Paul Schoffler/Vienna State Opr/Antona Dermota

Customer Reviews:

Yes, a classic performance but with lots of deficits.......2005-09-05

I have only a handful of Furtwangler performances that I undervalue compared to other avid listeners. This is one, along with the EMI Die Walkure and the classic Abbey Road Tristan with a very matronly Flagstad. I want to like this Fidelio, but the overly broad pacing, the dull sonics, the aging, phlegmatic Flagstad as Leonore.

One reviewer above (who says that this recording catches Flagstad in her prime! Try fifteen years earlier) calls this live performance preferable to the studio recrding made under Furtwnagler the next year, with Martha Modl as Leonore and Windgassen as Florestan. I don't know. I've lived iwth both since the Sixties and never return to either. I return over and over to the Klemperer and the Karajan, both on EMI. (They should call themselves the Fidelio label given their four classic versions.) If you want this live one, buy it super cheap on an off-label now that the copyright has expired.

A legendary performance.......2001-05-29

This performance is a legendary event: a practically ideal cast, including Flagstad in her prime, and one of the greatest Beethoven conductors of the last century with the VPO. I used to have it on scratchy lps, for which I paid well over the odds in a 2nd hand shop where the owner knew what he was selling. The opportunity to have this performance in cleaned-up sound in CD format is one that no-one who likes Beethoven, or Flagstad, or Furtwangler should turn up.

This is a great, compelling, organic and symphonic (though it includes spoken dialogue) performance of _Fidelio_. It may not be your first _Fidelio_; the absence of stereo, and some very minor drawbacks in sound quality do tell against it. For a first _Fidelio_ I might recommend the classic but in good-stereo Klemperor, or the more recent Haitinck set, graced with Jessye Norman and superb sound and musicianship all round. But this is one of the greatest performances (as opposed to recordings), and once you're in the market for another, historical _Fidelio_, this is the must-have.

Note: there are two Furtwangler recordings of _Fidelio_ with Flagstad, and much the same cast, one live and one studio; my remarks above apply to the live recording in particular, but are equally true of the studio recording. A year later, Furtwanger recorded _Fidelio_ again, with Martha Mödl unsatisfactory as Leonora - too fruity and with at times a horrible wobble. However, that recording features Wolfgang Windgassen's first recording in a major role, as Florestan. His "Gott, welch Dunkel hier!" makes that set worth buying; suffering and courage, the heroism of weakness, have never been more movingly conveyed. Julius Patzak is very good as Florestran in the recordings with Flagstad, but Windgassen is something else again. Pity Furtwanger never got the two singers together in the one recording.

In sum all the Furtwanger _Fidelio_ recordings are recommended, but especially the sets with Flagstad. Explore and enjoy.

Cheers!

Laon

A disc that lovers of Fidelio cannot afford to miss........1998-12-20

Although she made her name in Wagner Kirsten Flagstad always insisted that Fidelio was her favourite opera.Her voice and artistry was still good and her performance has got to be one of the most unforgetable moments on record. Equally memorable is the Florestan of Julius Patzak.If for no other reason this recording is worth hearing just for that. Worth hearing is the Marzelline of Elizabeth Schwarzkopf. The recording is of a live performance given at the Salzburg festival of 1950 and although the original tapes of the broadcast were destroyed the performance comes of a tape which was owned by Madame Furtwangler. Furtwangler conducts a brilliant performance and although the recording is old it has remarkable presence making you feel that you are in the theatre. A point of interest is that Furtwangler conducts the Leonore overture No.3 which seems to fit in well with his performance although it is customery these days not to perform it. Altogether this is a great artistic experience thatI can't recommend highly enough.

Jim Troy.

Beethoven: Fidelio Patzak / Flagstad / Furtwangler
Average customer rating:
Beethoven: Fidelio Patzak / Flagstad / Furtwangler

Manufacturer: Regis Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music
General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000AOGNF
Release Date: 2003-07-09

Album Description

Furtwangler's legendary Salzburg performance (including unforgettable "Lenore No. 3 Overture) with an all-star cast including:
Kirsten Flagstad (Leonore)
Julius Patzak (Florestan)
Paul Schoeffler (Don Pizarro)
Josef Greinal (Rocco)
Elizabeth Schwarzkopf (marzelline)
Chorus of the Vienna State Opera and the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Wilhelm Furtwangler, Salzburg, August 5th, 1950 ADD Remastered with care from the classic broadcast with 8 page booklet

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Beethoven: Fidelio

Manufacturer: Aura Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000066I5C
Release Date: 2002-01-01

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Beethoven: Fidelio

Manufacturer: Verona
ProductGroup: Classical
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000M48JYI

Product Description

Opera in 2 Acts.~~~CD1)~~Overture + First Act~~CD2)~~Overture + Second Act.

Beethoven - Fidelio / Furtwängler [Salzburger Festspiele 1950]

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Get the Opus Kura

Beethoven - Fidelio / Furtwängler [Salzburger Festspiele 1950]
Ludwig van Beethoven , Wilhelm Furtwängler , and Julius Patzak, Josef Greindl, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf Kirsten Flagstad
Manufacturer: EMI Records [All429]
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00004X0QC
Release Date: 2001-03-06

Customer Reviews:

Get the Opus Kura.......2006-05-28

This issue of the great Furtwangler Fidelio has woefully anemic sound and is outrageously overpriced. Avoid this and get the full-sounding Opus Kura set.

Music Review:

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