Salome

ABOUT THE ALBUM: Richard Strauss, Salome, Recorded At The Sofiensaal, Vienna, October, 1961, Released On LP, 1962 By Decca Record Company Limited, London, England, Released As A Remastered 2-CD Set, Decca Limited. Picture: Promotional Photo of Birgit Nilsson as Salome. CAST: birgit Nilsson, soprano (Salome) Eberhard Wachter, baritone (Jochanaan), Gerhard Stolze, baritone, (Herod Tetrach) Grace Hoffmann, mezzo soprano (Herodias, wife of Herod) Josephine Veasey, mezzo soprano (Herodias' page) Aron Gestner (Narraboth) Kurt Equiluz (Jewish Councelor), Max Proebstl (Jewish Counselor) Nigel Douglas (page) Theodor Kirschbichler (Jewish Councelor) Zenon Kosnowski (Jewish councelor) Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor Georg Solti. SOLTI'S SALOME What's not to like about Birgit Nilsson's classic recording of Salome ? Everyone who has heard this recording, originally issued as an LP in 1962 by Decca and re-released as a CD sing its praises. It is not only the strongest Salome in terms of musicality, but also in terms of dramatic impact, theatricality and masterful singing by the entire cast. This was a recording made very early in Birgit Nilsson's career, not long after her triumphant Metropolitan Opera debut as Isolde in Wagner's Tristan in 1959. Her legacy on record followed immediately and her conductor of choice was Sir Georg Solti conducting her favorite orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic, one of the world's finest. The studio recordings made at the Sofiensaal in Vienna, Austria became legendary and the Birgit Nilsson/Georg Solti partnership produced masterpieces after masterpiece (Tristan und Isolde and the first studio Wagner Ring Des Nibelungen). Richard Strauss' score to Salome was innovative and modern, with a plethora of themes and motifs, dissonant chords, dramatic fortissimis and eerie pianissimis. Besides all the powerful punches it packs, there are melodies full of sweet lyricism and beauty, with a passionate and exotic flair. The score calls for a vast orchestra, even larger than Wagner orchestras, and a superior conductor like Georg Solti, brought out all the driven intensity and sensational, overwhelming melodrama that is inherent in Salome. Not only that, he brings about the monstrosity, brutality and insanity so evident in the music for King Herod and Salome's final scenes. Dramatic touches abound early on, such as the scene in which Herod is holding court and fears there is a powerful wind howling and threatening to ruin him. The orchestra really becomes a strong wind!! The Vienna Philharmonic knew this score. Strauss' music is Austrian/Viennese, and though the more thunderous moments are the real attractive force in this recording, the orchestra under Solti's baton produces ornate melodies that capture the strange beauty and lilting, dance-like melodies that surround certain moments, like the Dance of the Seven Veils and prior to that Salome's scenes with Jochanaan that capture her blossoming sexuality and first pangs of love. Subsequent recordings were made to top this one, and although many critics rave about Van Karajan's late 70's Salzburg Festival recording with Hildegard Behrens, few conductors could truly deliver the goods like Solti. Here, none of his slow pacing is found. It is a dramatic and fast-moving Salome from start to finish, explosive, sexual, electrifying, shocking, sensational and even the slightest bit romantic. This is the perfect Salome, and just as it should sound. BIRGIT NILSSON Birgit Nilsson's Salome is a little on the controversial side because she came after Ljuba Welitsch's inspired performances from decades earlier at the Met. Welitsch had a powerful voice that could produce eerie sounds for the final scene but it was a voice that was young-sounding and so appropriate to the teenager Salome character that to this date, critics hail her as the reigning interpretor of the role. Nilsson was in her prime and in great voice for this recording but physically and vocally she does not convince as the young princess Salome. For me, this is not a serious problem. The voice is good, note-for-note, with a shining and blazing high register so full of Nordic crystals and yet also capable of sounding darker and scarier (like when she insists "Bring me the head of John the Baptist"/"Gibe mich der kopf des Jochanaan). And, truth be told, Nilsson had a flexible voice, even more so at this early phase of her career, so that she was able to sound very youthful and airy. When I first heard her as she enters the courtyard where Herod has imprisoned Jochanaan in a cistern, and she has lines with Narraboth, she sounds absolutely young! I didn't recognized her. It was a sweet, seductive, princess-like voice and she would never again use this kind of voice in latter recordings, not even as Isolde Nilsson was fully in character and knew just how to bring out all the layers in Salome's nature. Notice for instance the scene after her Dance when Herod first asks her what she would like on a silver platter. "Give me on a silver platter....the head of Jon the Baptist". She says this using that same girlish, sweet voice, as if what she had just asked for was nothing big or serious, a little girl asking for a toy!! The result is devilish! But note, too, how she changes her voice and darkens it when Herod does not obey her immediately and delays in bringing her the head. She sounds as if she has gone mad (her breathing is fast and you can hear it on this recording) and she is practically screaming for blood. Nilsson knew how to sing a very masterful Salome and for me, there is no greater Salome. The thing is, that even if singers like Ljuba Welitsch, Cheryl Studer and Hildegard Behrens can manage to sound young and petulant, they totally destroy the powerful dramatic impact that the voice ought to have in the more dramatic moments when Salome has gone nuts with her desire for John's head. Nilsson was able to sing with unrivaled mastership, her voice cutting through and rising above the jungle of Strauss' music, and maintaining a dramatic integrity all the way. GERHARD STOLZE/GRACE HOFFMANN/EBERHARD WACHTER Gerhard Stolze's Herod takes the crown as far as singing it with dramatic insight. His voice is an acquired taste. It is not a beautiful voice. He had success singing mostly "spoken" style singing, his German voice oozing with mannerisms and theatricality. For the role of Herod, this is perfect. Stolze's Herod packs a powerful punch. He is mad, he is lustful (so lustful that it's scary) and while he is overacting, it's necessary for the drama. And truth be told, Stolze had the right kind of voice with its big ugly baritone power. Grace Hoffmann's mezzo soprano is very mannered and operatic. Herodias is not ugly sounding or especially dramatic. She didn't sound angry, bitchy or even cold, as Herodias is supposed to sound. The evil queen has probably stopped sleeping with Herod and is a bitchy ice-queen compared to the more passionate Salome, to whom she has lost. Herod really would prefer to mate with Salome, his own stepdaughter. Hoffmans' voice is beautiful but truthfully, it did not sound appropriate to her character. Eberhard Wachter's Jochanaan is beautifully sung, even if not especially brilliant like certain baritones who would take on the part later on. It is a voice that is strong, spiritual and lyrical. The scenes between him and Salome find him in a very even voice, and he is a total contrast to Stolze's crazy Herod and the equally crazy Salome. In fact, Wachter's peaceful voice is so in character. He is a saint among Satanists. And we can truly hear that. It is also to his credit that he could portray this role at the same time he had recorded the classic Giulini Don Giovanni with Joan Sutherland and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. Wachter had a very flexible instrument and was essentially a high baritone, and his Jochanaan appears to be taking the "peaceful, calm saint" approach. Without a doubt in my mind, there is no greater Salome. Decca has remastered this so the sound is even better and clearer. There are 2 versions of this same recording, the other being a little inferior in quality (sounding like it was taken from a library collection of CDs). This one is the one to take home. Birgit Nilsson triumphs as Salome as no other soprano ever has. Solti conducts an incredible score, finally resurrected from opium sleep to wild theatricality thanks to the fine musicianship of the Vienna Philharmonic.

I can, without question, blame this recording, along with Solti's Götterdämmerung, for causing the permanent tinnitus in both my ears. When I first came upon this recording of Salome I couldn't take it off the turntable for weeks on end. My roommates finally demanded I use earphones. Hence permanent hearing damage. I still love you, Birgit, and I can still hear you. Was this affliction worth it? Absolutely. The old lps with the outrageously lurid and camp photo of Mme Nilsson, looking like a wall poster for the immortal B movie Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, have long been worn out It wasn't until last week that I purchased this remastered Decca classic and I really kick myself now for depriving my soul the pleasure and thrill of this recording over all these years since the snaps, crackles and pops of the lps made them useless as pleasurable listening experiences. I switched my loyalties to the more sensuous and also beautifully sung and recorded set on EMI with Hildegard Behrens and Karajan. Then the excellent Sinopoli/Studer set came along, and the very under-rated one with Michael Schönwandt with Inga Nielson. Dohnanyi's with Malfitano ain't bad either. But this Nilsson Solti leviathan of a recording is unsurpassed in every department. I remembered this recording over all those intervening years and knew I must return to it someday if only to see if it really is as magnificent as I remembered. It is! More so. Nilsson was an amazing Salome, on record anyway. The huge, titanium voice easily over-riding the Vienna Philharmonic at full roar under Solti's demonic direction. Alternatively she could sing on a single silvery thread of voice, like a moonbeam slipping through a chink in the window blinds, absolutely beautiful. And she acted with this splendid instrument of hers as well as anyone else I can think of. Definitely in the Maria Callas league as far as dramatic singing abilities are concerned, viscerally conveying seemingly endless nuances in the music and text. As good as other Salomes are and no doubt will be for decades to come, I can't imagine any one of them topping this miraculous performance. This is all pretty hyperbolic language for me but I have nothing but ecstatic admiration for the accomplishments of this team. And I don't care what the critics of John Culshaw may say, they just don't make brilliantly engineered recordings like this anymore. The puritans have put the kibash on this sort of theatricality resulting from what they like to call knob-twiddling. Well, twiddle away if this is the result! If you want only one Salome in your library this is without question the one. Just listen to Eberhard Wächter's heroic, ringing tones as John the Baptist, then move along to Salome's big scene when Jokanaan's head is presented to her on a silver platter. The stage picture springs to life and the imagination soars as Nilsson moves through this psychologically rugged territory and emerges triumphant in her madness at the end. Solti proves once again that he was capable of fining down from a roar to a tinkling magical whisper the myriad of details in this score. In my opinion this is Strauss's greatest masterpiece, which is saying something. Salome changed the musical landscape for ever when it appeared in the early years of the 20th century. The cast is unsurpassed. Gerhard Stolze's Herod and Grace Hoffman's Herodias are palpably vile and decadent people. Waldemar Kmentt's beautiful tenor perfectly conveys the love-sick young soldier, Narraboth. Don't hesitate to get this release while it lasts. There is a full libretto included and the remastering is splendid. Buy this recording even if you don't think you'd like a tale of such bloody sexual passion. It is life enhancing.

Outstanding recording, the Baptist's defiant cries from the cistern and Salome's bizarre ecstacy in the final scene as spine chilling now as when the recording was first issued

Que le nom de Birgit Nilsson ne vous passe pas fuir ! On n'est qu'en octobre 1961, elle a déjà abordé Brünnhilde, Turandot et Isolde, elle a déjà 43 ans, mais sa voix conserve encore une aveuglante clarté, une lumière argentée qui n'appartint jamais qu'à elle. Et elle se donne à Salome avec un engagement dont on ne la crédite pas souvent. Sa prestation n'a jamais rien de figé, ni d'inerte ou de placide ; elle apporte à chaque instant un détail interprétatif juste, souvent fascinant et donnant toujours l'impression qu'elle y croit : une coloration du timbre, un accent, une inflexion. C'est peut-être une folie de ma part, mais je n'hésite pas à mettre cette interprétation parmi mes préférées, aux côtés des meilleurs témoignages d'Inge Borkh, Ljuba Welitsch et Christl Goltz, n'hésitant pas à fermer les yeux sur les notes les plus graves. La tessiture est introuvable, et les chanteuses qui ont les notes les plus graves ne peuvent pas avoir la couleur du rôle à mon goût. Je préfère entendre une Salome à laquelle je crois dans la majeure partie de l'ouvrage et supporter quelques notes manquant de volume et de timbre. Gerhard Stolze (Herodes) et Grace Hoffman (Herodias) sont excellents dans deux rôles qu'ils ont beaucoup pratiqués, et Eberhard Wächter laisse son meilleur Jochanaan, sans les "trouvailles" qui tombent à plat dans le live viennois avec Rysanek. Le reste de la distribution est globalement efficace sans réserver de trésors cachés (le Narraboth de Waldemar Kmentt est percutant mais manque de grâce), mais on parle là de petits rôles qui ne font pas l'opéra. Georg Solti est fidèle à lui-même : en virtuose de la baguette, il refuse de renoncer à la moindre parcelle d'énergie survoltée, de rigueur de la mise en place, et de transparence. Mais c'est bien Nilsson qui fait de ce coffret un morceau de choix de la discographie de Salome.

1961: Georg Solti, einer der großen Strauss-Dirigenten, tritt ans Pult der Wiener Philharmoniker. An den Mikrofonen stehen Birgit Nilsson (Salome), Gerhard Stolze (Herodes), Grace Hoffmann (Herodias), Eberhard Wächter (Jochanaan) und Waldemar Kmentt (Narraboth). Die Decca sorgt dafür, daß das Schauspiel akustisch eingefangen wird. Das sind die Zutaten, die Erfolg versprechen, oder etwa nicht? Nicht nur die Namen klingen verheißungsvoll, nein, auch die Musiker dahinter lassen es krachen. Da haben wir den Dirigenten, der die Partitur meisterlich auslotet und kraftvolle Akzente setzt. Solti gelingt eine der besten Salomes auf dem Plattenmarkt. Das liegt überdies an den Wiener Philharmonikern, die in Höchstform spielen. Die Titelrolle ist der Schwedin Nilsson wie auf den Leib geschrieben. Sie bietet eine Traum-Salome, deren Fokus auf der Gesamtgestaltung und weniger auf den Finessen liegt. Wächter glänzt als "sturmfester" Prophet, der allem widersteht. Dem aufrechten, selbstbewußten Jochanaan steht ein selten lüsterner Herodes gegenüber. Stolze verleiht seiner Figur menschliche Abgründe, wie man sie derart äußerst selten findet. Auch Herodias, die von Hoffmann selbstbewußt gestaltet wird, kann dieser "großartigen" Verkommenheit nichts entgegensetzten. Die Nebenrollen vervollständigen diese ausgezeichneten Leistungen. Klanglich nutzt die Decca alles aus, was technisch möglich ist. Es ist nur schwer in Worte zu fassen, es stellt sich jedoch das Gefühl ein, daß nicht nur das hiesige Herrschergeschlecht ein wenig überzüchtet ist, sondern auch die klangliche Darbietung. Der Grat zwischen einem Optimum und dem Zuviel ist äußerst schmal. Inzwischen schätze ich die Leistung der Toningenieure weitaus mehr, denn sie verleihen der Aufnahme eine ungewöhnliche Transparenz und Vielschichtigkeit. Doch sie macht aus Soltis Einspielung eine etwas besondere Salome. Das sollte man wissen. Es ist schon paradox, daß das Besondere dieser Produktion weniger in den brillanten Leistungen der Musikern liegt – die Namen halten, was sie versprechen –, sondern vielmehr in dem etwas anderen Klangerlebnis. Müßte ich mich entscheiden, würde ich noch immer Karajans Salome wählen. Zwar habe ich mich mittlerweile an den besonderen "Klangrausch" der Decca gewöhnt, doch ist mir die Natürlichkeit des Klangs bei Karajan in letzter Instanz lieber. (Das Begleitheft ist in englischer, französischer, deutscher und italienischer Sprache.)

Not quite 5 stars, because for the most part I waver between loving this recording and just liking it, and there are some details I'm not so keen on. The good thoughts first. As one would expect, Birgit Nilsson as Salome is well up to the vocal demands of her role. She sings beautifully, spinning a focused incisive silver thread of tone, she sounds girlish and naive on the one hand, voluptuous and demanding on the other. As the object of her 'affections' Eberhard Waechter (Jochanaan) sounds virile and noble in his holy utterances, and disgusted at Salome's unwanted advances. Gerhard Stolze uses his distinctive, incisive tenor to good effect as Herod, making a strong impression. Grace Hoffman is an emphatic Herodias. The Vienna Philharmonic play excellently, and one is immediately transported to a balmy night in the Holy Lands by the sensuous, delicately played opening melody. For the most part, Georg Solti's conducting is excellent if a bit on the heavyweight side, and he can whip up some huge orchestral climaxes. His reading is at times transparent with lots of delicate orchestral detail, other times it's very dense, quite darkly coloured, and loud. Very loud. The ferocity and violence of some aspects of Solti's reading, and sheer volume of the orchestra, can be a bit overpowering in some passages. As good as this CD set is, it is definitely not a recording to relax to. As already mentioned, there are some details I'm not so keen on. The percussion at the start of the Dance of the Seven Veils is woolly and taken at a frantic tempo out of context with the rest of it, so loses any impact. When the orchestra suddenly wells up as Jochanaan's head is served, in the first of a series of huge climaxes, there should be a huge crash of cymbals. No pun intended but the orchestra should take your head off at this point. On this recording the cymbals are not distinctive, if there at all, and the effect is lost. There is also a general sense of wanting less darkness in the orchestra at times Sound quality on this early 1960s Decca stereo studio recording is excellent. Recorded balance favours the orchestra, but for the most part the singers are clear. There is a mild cavernous effect for the encisterned Jokanaan. The booklet includes some notes, a synopsis, libretto and translation (with plenty of thees thys and sires but no matter). Despite the excellent sound, and orchestral volume and detail on this recording, personal first choice remains the live 1965 Buenos Aires performance also with Nilsson (superb, better than for Solti) Waechter and Hoffman, and Fritz Uhl another characterful Herod, brilliantly conducted by Georges Sebastian, complete with a better Dance of the Seven Veils (solid percussion and all) and the orchestra really does take your head off as Jochanaan's is served (Ornamenti 2CDs if you can find a copy). I would also not want to be without the ultimate Salome interpreter Ljuba Welitsch in the New York 1949 performance under Fritz Reiner's expert direction, the blistering New York 1958 performance with Inge Borkh and Dimitri Mitropoulos's incendiary conducting (please see my reviews if interested) or the 1978 Chicago Lyric Opera performance with an outstanding cast, Grace Bumbry (Salome) trills beautifully with a sumptous mezzo-ish lustre, Norman Bailey, Ragnar Ulfung and Mignon Dunn. One of course has to compromise on expectations in terms of sound compared to the studio recording but it is great to have such a choice of versions of this truly excellent music. Disclaimer: Please note this review is for Salome with Nilsson, Waechter, Stolze and Resnik, VPO studio recording, Solti, Decca The Originals 2CDs. If it appears with another recording, Amazon's systems have incorrectly linked it.

Good service and product as described