BEETHOVEN: Fidelio.(Review)

BEETHOVEN: Fidelio

[] Nilsson, Wenglor; Hopf, Unger, Schoffler, Braun, Frick; Orchestra and Chorus of Cologne Radio, E. Kleiber. Notes, no text. Koch Schwann 3-1641-2 (2)

Erich Kleiber (1890-1956) recorded this Fidelio at Cologne Radio a few weeks before his death. As we know from his memorable Viennese recordings of Le Nozze di Figaro and Der Rosenkavalier, he was an eminently theatrical conductor who could inspire his singers to do their best while functioning as a dramatic ensemble. His Fidelio, too, exhibits a sustained dramatic flow at brisk but never hurried tempos, enhanced by the wise omission of the Leonore Overture No. 3 at the point when many other conductors provide some thirteen minutes of unalloyed musical joy at the expense of theatrical action. The disappointing element -- and this was frequently done in German recordings of the period -- is the employment of stage actors for the opera's dialogues. The otherwise informative annotations try very hard to present this as a positive element, but it isn't. The actors enunciate their lines superbly, but their voices do not relate to the singers, and since their contributions emerge from a different sound source, a disconcerting reaction results.

By 1956, Birgit Nilsson had become well established internationally; her American debuts were to follow in San Francisco and Chicago that year, and at the Met three years later. She was in wonderful form in Cologne, and Kleiber paces her more comfortably than did Maazel in her commercial ...