Posted by Daryl on November 14, 2006, 16:05:12, in reply to "Parsifal" About the recordings: I received the Karajan CD set as a gift back in ‘87 or ’88 just when I was still getting to know the work. I bought the Kubelik set last year after reading the reviews. Pound for pound, I prefer the Kubelik perhaps not for the component parts, but because of the whole. Point by point: Parsifal: Peter Hofmann – well, it’s Peter Hofmann. Not the best, but effective. His throaty sound puts many off, I happen to like it somewhat. There’s no doubt he sings with a passion, but the vocal peculiarities may be enough to put you off. James King – I’ve always been a King fan, knowing full well that he sounds wooden at times. But he does something in the Kubelik that I’ve never heard him do: act with his voice. He is solid, strong, sympathetic, and sensitive. Not the kind of words you usually use with King, but perfectly appropriate here. Wholly committed to the role he is. Gurnemanz: Kurt Moll – Unsurpassed in both recordings. I tend to prefer him in the Kubelik because I like the set more than the Karajan, but his performance is about equal. He recorded them at about the same time so there’s no real difference in voice quality. Basically if you are a Moll fan, you’ll love him in either. Kundry: Dunja Vejcovic – Um…well, she’s OK, but not more. She tries to be dramatic, but at crucial moments she is shrill and unsteady. Not Karajan’s best choice (in fact, one of his worst) and certainly not the best selling point for the set. There are moments in Act 2 where I cringe knowing that she's about to "sing". Yvonne Minton – Heads and shoulders above Vejcovic and very committed to the role. Not the greatest Kundry on record (that’s a difficult one to choose…) but not a distraction the way Vejcovic is. Amfortas: Jose van Dam – This is where we have a problem. The great bass baritone throws in one of his great performances and his velvet smooth tone is a joy to hear…but as the anguished Grail King? I don’t think he achieves the desired effect. He sounds perfectly healthy, even when he’s crying out in pain. He’s good as Amfortas, in fact, TOO good! Bernd Weikl – He’s never been one of my favorites, but he does do well in this set. He doesn’t suffer from the vocal problems he displays in the Met Parsifal on DVD (boy, what a mess he is in that!) but he is somewhat bland. That said, he sounds perfectly anguished and that is a bonus for this set. Klingsor: Siegmund Nimsgern – Perfectly fine and evil. You can’t go wrong. The same with Franz Mazura. I’ve always liked him and find him to be perfectly cruel. Great vocal effects. Minor roles (Titurel, Flower Maidens, Grail Knights, etc.) – so much to consider here, but the nod must go to the Kubelik set. The choice to use a children’s choir in Act 1 is a shrewd one and pushes the Kubelik over the top. Plus Kubelik employs Lucia Popp as one of the flower maidens and she helps bring that ensemble up another notch. Conductors: Both have a firm grasp of the score and they conduct with a solid conviction. The single biggest difference between the two is the sound of the recording. Both made in early digital, but the Karajan sounds mannered and spacey (as many of his recordings do). The Kubelik is much more natural. Karajan also seems to "fetishize" the score to fit his idea and this sometimes doesn't work. He has this unique ability of actually overstating obvious climaxes to the point where he actually underwhelms the listener. much of that had to do with his preferred recording technique. At times exciting. Here it sounds bad, or at best underwhelming. Too bad, because the Berlin Philharmonic plays their heart out. In conclusion, as I mentioned before, the Kubelik in my opinion is the superior. I am so glad they finally released this and it fits nicely into my collection. Just as a reference, my Parsifal collection consists of the following (with rankings of up to 5 stars) Muck excerpts (1927) – Naxos Historical (***** Indispensable!) I’ve heard dozens of others I love, but can’t really ranks them here because I don’t have a reference recording to go back to. This is just one man’s take. Parsifal is a supreme achievement and a great work that deserves great performances. Daryl
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Ahhhh…the age old question: which Parsifal? To me there is no one definitive recording. So much depends on the parts to create the right combination and any one part can spoil the rest. But that shouldn’t be the case. In discussing the two recordings you mention above there are first a few things to keep in mind. Which Parsifal recordings do you already own? Having either the Karajan or the Kubelik can enhance your collection, but they could also be redundant.
Knappertsbusch (1951) – Teldec (**** ½)
Steidry (1952) – Archipel (*** ½)
Karajan (1961) – Opera D’Oro (***)
Knappertsbusch (1962) – Philips (***** This is it.)
Karajan (1980) – DG (****)
Kubleik (1980) – Arts (**** ½)
Goodall (1984) – EMI (*** ½)
Levine (1992) – DG (DVD) (**** If only for Moll alone)
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