Wagner: Der Fliegende Hollander.(Sound Recording Review)

* Eaglen, Palmer; Struckmann, Holl, Seiffert, Villazon; chorus of the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, Staatskapelle Berlin, Barenboim. Text, notes, translation. Teldec Classics 88063

Does the world need another Fliegende Hollander recording? Probably. But not this one.

The primary attraction must be Daniel Barenboim, who herewith completes his sprawling survey of Wagner on CD, leaving only the elusive Rienzi to our imagination and, possibly, his. There's no denying the visceral excitement this conductor stirs up in the pit. As always, he favors brisk tempos, broad dynamics and crashing climaxes. The Berlin forces--emphatically his Berlin forces--give him precisely what he wants.

Still, there are problems. Exaggerations cloud the perspective, especially in the choral episodes. The should-be lusty sailors yelp under pressure, and Senta's giddy chums sound like chirpy dolls, over-wound and caught in a scramble. Ultimately, idealists will miss the grandeur of a Furtwangler (an early Barenboim idol), not to mention the spacious nuances of a Knappertsbusch. By contemporary standards, however, Barenboim remains a spirited paragon. Even in opera--especially in opera--everything is relative.

For this venture, recorded during May and June of 2001, Barenboim ...