In the current economic climate it is difficult to imagine a small company like PentaTone contemplating recording one Wagner opera, let alone ten. Yet, thanks to a fruitful collaboration with Deutschlandradio Kultur and no doubt some generous sponsorship, PentaTone’s ambitious project to record and release ten Wagner operas on SACD by 2013, the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth, has begun. This thrilling release of ‘Die Fliegende Holländer’ was recorded at a live concert performance in the Philharmonie, Berlin on November 13th 2010 with a cast that includes some of the most distinguished Wagnerian exponents of our time.

Wagner’s main sources of inspiration for the opera are well known and stem from his sojourn in Riga in 1838. There he first encountered the legend of the Dutchman and Heinrich Heine’s treatment of it. Following a meeting with Heine in Paris a year later, when both were in exile, Wagner wrote his libretto with the poet’s approval. The connections between Heine and Wagner are explored in the interesting essay by Steffen Georgi that accompanies these discs.

Wagner made a number of revisions to the score of Der Fliegende Holländer following its Dresden premiere in 1843 and continued to make further changes to the orchestration as late as 1860. Although the work is ostensibly in three acts Wagner originally intended it to be performed in one continuous span without intervals, though he never actually conducted it in that form. The current fashion, however, is to stage it according to Wagner’s original intentions without intervals. On this set almost two thirds of the opera is accommodated on the first disc (78’35”) while the remainder is on the second (47’54”), the necessary break coming at a suitable place in Act 2, thus preserving as much as possible the sense of an uninterrupted sweep.

As in every opera recording the choice of appropriate singers is crucial, and in that respect anyone attending this live performance would have had little to complain about.

The fine bass-baritone Albert Dohmen has had exceptional experience in the role of the Dutchman and his dark voice is ideally suited to the part. Throughout the performance his singing successfully communicates the anguish and torment of the character while maintaining a legato line and beauty of tone. His opening narration 'Die Frist is um' is both powerful and chilling whilst his clear enunciation of the text and communication of its meaning is outstanding.

Those who have heard Ricarda Merbeth in the opera house will know that she has large and thrilling voice that can easily ride a Wagner orchestra in full cry, but unfortunately it is not always well controlled and unsteadiness leading to an unpleasant wobble can result. This is something that will disturb some listeners more than others. On the plus side she does sing with passion and commitment, presenting a formidable and convincing Senta, but one that in no way matches some of the great performances found on other versions of this work.

The role of Daland is splendidly sung by the veteran Finnish bass Matti Salminen. It is hard to believe that though I first heard him in this role at Bayreuth as long 27 years ago in Harry Kupfer's famous production he remains in remarkably fine voice. Understandably his vocal resources do not have quite the richness and depth of earlier years, but the vast experience and complete authority he brings to the role makes this a performance to cherish.

The choice of that fine Heldentenor Robert Dean Smith in the rather ungrateful role of Erik is an example of luxury casting. For many of the world's leading opera houses he is the tenor of choice for Tristan, Lohengrin, Siegmund, Walter von Stoltzing etc. He brings his customary intelligence and flexible voice to the part of Erik, but in spite of sounding a little pushed in his Act 3 Cavatina by Janowski's fast tempo, his performance is otherwise exemplary.

Care has obviously been taken in the casting of the smaller roles. The fine Australian tenor Steve Davislim gives a fresh-voiced account of the Steuermann, the plaintive timbre of his voice being especially pleasing and characterful as are his ringing top notes. Too often in the opera house the small part of Mary, Senta's nurse, is assigned to elderly sopranos well past their yell by date, but here the youthful mezzo of Silvia Hablowetz is most welcome, and she turns in a most creditable performance of this cameo role.

Over and above the individual performances of the solo singers the three things that impress the most in this recording are the magnificent conducting of Marek Janowski, the superb playing of the Radio Sinfonieorchester, Berlin and the outstanding contribution of the Berlin Rundfunk choir. Marek Janowski’s vast experience in the opera house pays dividends in his wonderfully bracing account of the score. His tempi throughout seem ideal and the thrust and sweep of his performance engulfs the listener in the drama ensuring that at no point are there any longeurs. At a total time of 2 hours 6 minutes the opera is propelled rapidly to its redemptive dénouement, yet Janowski knows exactly when and where to relax the pace.

The Philharmonie, Berlin has acquired a reputation as possessing a difficult acoustic in which to record. Yet, as those who have attended concerts there will testify, the sound can be most impressive. On this recording the Polyhymnia recording team have managed to work wonders in spite of the constraints of recording live. True, there is at times a touch of hardness noticeable on the solo voices, but this is more than compensated for by the clarity and focus of the orchestral sound. The instrumental detail captured is extraordinary and the soundstage is remarkably wide. The lack of any extraneous noise from the audience is an indication of their concentration on Janowski’s riveting performance and the engineer’s careful placement of the microphones. What must have been tumultuous applause at the end of the performance has thankfully been excised. The surround channels have been used sparingly, but with imagination to enhance the drama. The Dutchman’s spectral crew emerge spookily from the rear speakers in Act 3 accompanied by piercing piccolos, and some thrilling horns at the start of Act 1 surround the listener. Wisely, there has been no attempt to create any stage movement for the main protagonists and the balance between singers and orchestra is exemplary.

The two-disc set is packaged inside a hard-back book that contains biographies of the artists, detailed notes on the opera and full text and translation of the libretto in German and English. One small caveat regarding the packaging is that it is almost impossible to extract the discs from their cardboard sleeves without touching their surfaces.

This is a most auspicious start to PentaTone’s Wagner project and makes one eager for the next instalment of what already promises to be something very special.

Details of the casts of future performances to be recorded and issued by PentaTone may be found at
http://www.rsb-online.de/content/e67/e27371/e27372/index_eng.html

Copyright © 2011 Graham Williams and HRAudio.net

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