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Ralph Moore opera reviews in a BOOK?
Posted by Hermajesty52 on December 16, 2025, 1:42 pm
50+ year opera fanatic here. I need ALL Mr. Moore’s thoughts and recommendations in a book I can deface with my scribbles and highlights and then leave to my children to add their own vandalism. Do you know what I mean? Mr. Moore has opened my ears to hidden treasures…. I am listening to the Bergonzi/Tebaldi Verdi Giovanna d’Arco as we speak….I didn’t think the Caballe/Domingo recording could be topped…but….among other things, its the first time I got a thrilling rush from Tebaldi (as much as I admire her singing)... this has never happened before. EVERY voice is absolute perfection!! Wowie. Thank you and much respect to all of you.
Your message is like an early Christmas present to me - especially as my wife and I long ago gave up agonising over Christmas gifts for each other, reasoning that we already possessed or had bought everything we wanted/needed, so settled upon just tokens and edibles (although our sons still benefit in pecuniary fashion). I did in fact briefly look into the possibility of publishing the collected surveys like the old guides such as the three volume "Opera on Record", edited by my critical model, Alan Blyth, but the world has changed since then: everything is available free online via our website, it would be unlikely to sell, and I am happy to bequeath that to the music-loving readership as my own little legacy. So sorry - you'll just have to print it off for annotation purposes or add comments to an electronic copy. I am just pleased that you find the surveys useful; I hardly expect to meet with universal approbation or agreement, especially given my openly advertised prejudices but it seems that they can serve as a helpful resource. Thanks again for the post.
Previous Message
50+ year opera fanatic here. I need ALL Mr. Moore’s thoughts and recommendations in a book I can deface with my scribbles and highlights and then leave to my children to add their own vandalism. Do you know what I mean? Mr. Moore has opened my ears to hidden treasures…. I am listening to the Bergonzi/Tebaldi Verdi Giovanna d’Arco as we speak….I didn’t think the Caballe/Domingo recording could be topped…but….among other things, its the first time I got a thrilling rush from Tebaldi (as much as I admire her singing)... this has never happened before. EVERY voice is absolute perfection!! Wowie. Thank you and much respect to all of you.
Of course if one wants a book badly enough you could print them all out (as Ralph suggests) and then take them to a bookbinder to turn into a hardcover book for you. it wouldn't cost too much to do that and voila! Problem solved. Possibly you could find a bookbinding hobby enthusiast out there to do it for you. there are thousands of them out there.
Previous Message
Your message is like an early Christmas present to me - especially as my wife and I long ago gave up agonising over Christmas gifts for each other, reasoning that we already possessed or had bought everything we wanted/needed, so settled upon just tokens and edibles (although our sons still benefit in pecuniary fashion). I did in fact briefly look into the possibility of publishing the collected surveys like the old guides such as the three volume "Opera on Record", edited by my critical model, Alan Blyth, but the world has changed since then: everything is available free online via our website, it would be unlikely to sell, and I am happy to bequeath that to the music-loving readership as my own little legacy. So sorry - you'll just have to print it off for annotation purposes or add comments to an electronic copy. I am just pleased that you find the surveys useful; I hardly expect to meet with universal approbation or agreement, especially given my openly advertised prejudices but it seems that they can serve as a helpful resource. Thanks again for the post.
Previous Message
50+ year opera fanatic here. I need ALL Mr. Moore’s thoughts and recommendations in a book I can deface with my scribbles and highlights and then leave to my children to add their own vandalism. Do you know what I mean? Mr. Moore has opened my ears to hidden treasures…. I am listening to the Bergonzi/Tebaldi Verdi Giovanna d’Arco as we speak….I didn’t think the Caballe/Domingo recording could be topped…but….among other things, its the first time I got a thrilling rush from Tebaldi (as much as I admire her singing)... this has never happened before. EVERY voice is absolute perfection!! Wowie. Thank you and much respect to all of you.
Seconded! I'd cherish a Ralph Moore book of opera and symphonic reviews!
Previous Message
50+ year opera fanatic here. I need ALL Mr. Moore’s thoughts and recommendations in a book I can deface with my scribbles and highlights and then leave to my children to add their own vandalism. Do you know what I mean? Mr. Moore has opened my ears to hidden treasures…. I am listening to the Bergonzi/Tebaldi Verdi Giovanna d’Arco as we speak….I didn’t think the Caballe/Domingo recording could be topped…but….among other things, its the first time I got a thrilling rush from Tebaldi (as much as I admire her singing)... this has never happened before. EVERY voice is absolute perfection!! Wowie. Thank you and much respect to all of you.
Re: Ralph Moore opera reviews in a BOOK?
Posted by Ron Cerabona on January 4, 2026, 2:13 am, in reply to "Re: Ralph Moore opera reviews in a BOOK?" Edited by board administrator January 5, 2026, 9:21 pm
I'd love to see more surveys! I've mentioned before being interested in other entries and updates even in the unchallengeable categories and maybe some other operas and works could be included eg Porgy and Bess, maybe more Gluck Orfeo recordings (given its popularity) in a separate section, some Britten eg Peter Grimes, Turn of the Screw. Happy new year to Ralph Moore and all at MusicWeb! Ron Cerabona
Previous Message
Your message is like an early Christmas present to me - especially as my wife and I long ago gave up agonising over Christmas gifts for each other, reasoning that we already possessed or had bought everything we wanted/needed, so settled upon just tokens and edibles (although our sons still benefit in pecuniary fashion). I did in fact briefly look into the possibility of publishing the collected surveys like the old guides such as the three volume "Opera on Record", edited by my critical model, Alan Blyth, but the world has changed since then: everything is available free online via our website, it would be unlikely to sell, and I am happy to bequeath that to the music-loving readership as my own little legacy. So sorry - you'll just have to print it off for annotation purposes or add comments to an electronic copy. I am just pleased that you find the surveys useful; I hardly expect to meet with universal approbation or agreement, especially given my openly advertised prejudices but it seems that they can serve as a helpful resource. Thanks again for the post.
Previous Message
50+ year opera fanatic here. I need ALL Mr. Moore’s thoughts and recommendations in a book I can deface with my scribbles and highlights and then leave to my children to add their own vandalism. Do you know what I mean? Mr. Moore has opened my ears to hidden treasures…. I am listening to the Bergonzi/Tebaldi Verdi Giovanna d’Arco as we speak….I didn’t think the Caballe/Domingo recording could be topped…but….among other things, its the first time I got a thrilling rush from Tebaldi (as much as I admire her singing)... this has never happened before. EVERY voice is absolute perfection!! Wowie. Thank you and much respect to all of you.
Re: Ralph Moore opera reviews in a BOOK?
Posted by Ralph Moore on January 5, 2026, 9:19 pm, in reply to "Re: Ralph Moore opera reviews in a BOOK?" Edited by board administrator January 6, 2026, 9:17 am
Many thanks, Ron. As I have previously said in reply to recent similar suggestions, I have of late rather run out of steam to do those extensive surveys but I'll bear in mind your proposals if the mojo returns! (I must confess that I am not a lover of Britten's operas or his music in general, so that will be someone else's job.)
Previous Message
I'd love to see more surveys! I've mentioned before being interested in other entries and updates even in the unchallengeable categories and maybe some other operas and works could be included eg Porgy and Bess, maybe more Gluck Orfeo recordings (given its popularity) in a separate section, some Britten eg Peter Grimes, Turn of the Screw. Happy new year to Ralph Moore and all at Musicweb! Ron Cerabona
Previous Message
Your message is like an early Christmas present to me - especially as my wife and I long ago gave up agonising over Christmas gifts for each other, reasoning that we already possessed or had bought everything we wanted/needed, so settled upon just tokens and edibles (although our sons still benefit in pecuniary fashion). I did in fact briefly look into the possibility of publishing the collected surveys like the old guides such as the three volume "Opera on Record", edited by my critical model, Alan Blyth, but the world has changed since then: everything is available free online via our website, it would be unlikely to sell, and I am happy to bequeath that to the music-loving readership as my own little legacy. So sorry - you'll just have to print it off for annotation purposes or add comments to an electronic copy. I am just pleased that you find the surveys useful; I hardly expect to meet with universal approbation or agreement, especially given my openly advertised prejudices but it seems that they can serve as a helpful resource. Thanks again for the post.
Previous Message
50+ year opera fanatic here. I need ALL Mr. Moore’s thoughts and recommendations in a book I can deface with my scribbles and highlights and then leave to my children to add their own vandalism. Do you know what I mean? Mr. Moore has opened my ears to hidden treasures…. I am listening to the Bergonzi/Tebaldi Verdi Giovanna d’Arco as we speak….I didn’t think the Caballe/Domingo recording could be topped…but….among other things, its the first time I got a thrilling rush from Tebaldi (as much as I admire her singing)... this has never happened before. EVERY voice is absolute perfection!! Wowie. Thank you and much respect to all of you.
Happy new year to all. I wholeheartedly agree, Mr Moore has certainly opened my ears to many hidden treasures. That is the main reason why I sorely miss his opinion on some of the big operas he has filed off as untouchables. (Lohengrin, Tannhäuser, Tosca, La Boheme) Collecting opera recording for me is not about finding that one perfect recording but mining for those thrilling moments when a singer or performer is on fire and gives you that rush, as mentioned by the previous commentator about Tebaldi in Giovanna d’Arco. How long such a thrilling momentum lasts in one performance varies, of course. Sometimes it’s a single high note or one phrase you can actually hear the singer suddenly turning flashed eyed and everything lights up.
I have over the holidays been going through my meagre collection of 15 recordings of Lohengrin. Every single recording gives me some pleasure. I agree with the common consensus that the Kempe studio recording is excellent in so many aspects but at the same time there are many other recordings I would not want to be without. Christa Ludwig bringing the house down at the Wiener Staatsoper with Böhm, Grümmer and Konya in Bayreuth (with an all-round great cast), Steber as Elsa in Bayreuth with a fresh-voiced Windgassen (or as fresh as he probably every sounded), Varnay as Ortrud and many more. ( I’m sure you get my point by now)
I have, through Mr. Moore’s writings discovered many thrilling moments, many of which I would never have approached otherwise. But Mr. Moore’s writings have done more for me. He has made me think about how I value music and singing, because of his writing I have re-evaluated my attitude towards singers, but more importantly his writing has strengthened me in approaching operas and music critically and forming my own opinion and standing by it. At the end of the day, of course, this is such a personal choice and a truly impossible and thankless job to be a critic.
So, while I reiterate my plea that Mr. Moore gives us more; I would like to thank him from the bottom of my heart for his work and for his generous collection of surveys.
Thank you Mr. Moore.
Previous Message
50+ year opera fanatic here. I need ALL Mr. Moore’s thoughts and recommendations in a book I can deface with my scribbles and highlights and then leave to my children to add their own vandalism. Do you know what I mean? Mr. Moore has opened my ears to hidden treasures…. I am listening to the Bergonzi/Tebaldi Verdi Giovanna d’Arco as we speak….I didn’t think the Caballe/Domingo recording could be topped…but….among other things, its the first time I got a thrilling rush from Tebaldi (as much as I admire her singing)... this has never happened before. EVERY voice is absolute perfection!! Wowie. Thank you and much respect to all of you.
Re: Ralph Moore opera reviews in a BOOK?
Posted by Ralph Moore on January 8, 2026, 12:35 pm, in reply to "Re: Ralph Moore opera reviews in a BOOK?" Edited by board administrator January 8, 2026, 12:46 pm
I thank you most sincerely for your kind words, Larus; you have encapsulated perfectly why I enjoy doing those surveys - not, I hope, for my own aggrandisement but because it gives me great pleasure to share my enthusiasms and stimulate debate. You are not the first to ask if I could revisit some of the "Untouchables"; I do mention a few other recordings in that section and am somewhat daunted by the plethora of options but will certainly think about supplementing my first thoughts, even if I can provide only a limited conspectus of other recordings. I would, however, point out that the recordings you rightly refer to as having great merit are all live and I tend to consider the collector's need for best sound, concentrating on studio versions unless a live performance is almost as listenable. I will take a look at some of those "Lohengrin" recordings, however.
All the best and thanks again, Ralph
Previous Message
Happy new year to all. I wholeheartedly agree, Mr Moore has certainly opened my ears to many hidden treasures. That is the main reason why I sorely miss his opinion on some of the big operas he has filed off as untouchables. (Lohengrin, Tannhäuser, Tosca, La Boheme) Collecting opera recording for me is not about finding that one perfect recording but mining for those thrilling moments when a singer or performer is on fire and gives you that rush, as mentioned by the previous commentator about Tebaldi in Giovanna d’Arco. How long such a thrilling momentum lasts in one performance varies, of course. Sometimes it’s a single high note or one phrase you can actually hear the singer suddenly turning flashed eyed and everything lights up.
I have over the holidays been going through my meagre collection of 15 recordings of Lohengrin. Every single recording gives me some pleasure. I agree with the common consensus that the Kempe studio recording is excellent in so many aspects but at the same time there are many other recordings I would not want to be without. Christa Ludwig bringing the house down at the Wiener Staatsoper with Böhm, Grümmer and Konya in Bayreuth (with an all-round great cast), Steber as Elsa in Bayreuth with a fresh-voiced Windgassen (or as fresh as he probably every sounded), Varnay as Ortrud and many more. ( I’m sure you get my point by now)
I have, through Mr. Moore’s writings discovered many thrilling moments, many of which I would never have approached otherwise. But Mr. Moore’s writings have done more for me. He has made me think about how I value music and singing, because of his writing I have re-evaluated my attitude towards singers, but more importantly his writing has strengthened me in approaching operas and music critically and forming my own opinion and standing by it. At the end of the day, of course, this is such a personal choice and a truly impossible and thankless job to be a critic.
So, while I reiterate my plea that Mr. Moore gives us more; I would like to thank him from the bottom of my heart for his work and for his generous collection of surveys.
Thank you Mr. Moore.
Previous Message
50+ year opera fanatic here. I need ALL Mr. Moore’s thoughts and recommendations in a book I can deface with my scribbles and highlights and then leave to my children to add their own vandalism. Do you know what I mean? Mr. Moore has opened my ears to hidden treasures…. I am listening to the Bergonzi/Tebaldi Verdi Giovanna d’Arco as we speak….I didn’t think the Caballe/Domingo recording could be topped…but….among other things, its the first time I got a thrilling rush from Tebaldi (as much as I admire her singing)... this has never happened before. EVERY voice is absolute perfection!! Wowie. Thank you and much respect to all of you.
OK, Larus and Ron - I have cracked and am embarking - slowly - on a survey of about twenty recordings of "Lohengrin".
Previous Message
Happy new year to all. I wholeheartedly agree, Mr Moore has certainly opened my ears to many hidden treasures. That is the main reason why I sorely miss his opinion on some of the big operas he has filed off as untouchables. (Lohengrin, Tannhäuser, Tosca, La Boheme) Collecting opera recording for me is not about finding that one perfect recording but mining for those thrilling moments when a singer or performer is on fire and gives you that rush, as mentioned by the previous commentator about Tebaldi in Giovanna d’Arco. How long such a thrilling momentum lasts in one performance varies, of course. Sometimes it’s a single high note or one phrase you can actually hear the singer suddenly turning flashed eyed and everything lights up.
I have over the holidays been going through my meagre collection of 15 recordings of Lohengrin. Every single recording gives me some pleasure. I agree with the common consensus that the Kempe studio recording is excellent in so many aspects but at the same time there are many other recordings I would not want to be without. Christa Ludwig bringing the house down at the Wiener Staatsoper with Böhm, Grümmer and Konya in Bayreuth (with an all-round great cast), Steber as Elsa in Bayreuth with a fresh-voiced Windgassen (or as fresh as he probably every sounded), Varnay as Ortrud and many more. ( I’m sure you get my point by now)
I have, through Mr. Moore’s writings discovered many thrilling moments, many of which I would never have approached otherwise. But Mr. Moore’s writings have done more for me. He has made me think about how I value music and singing, because of his writing I have re-evaluated my attitude towards singers, but more importantly his writing has strengthened me in approaching operas and music critically and forming my own opinion and standing by it. At the end of the day, of course, this is such a personal choice and a truly impossible and thankless job to be a critic.
So, while I reiterate my plea that Mr. Moore gives us more; I would like to thank him from the bottom of my heart for his work and for his generous collection of surveys.
Thank you Mr. Moore.
Previous Message
50+ year opera fanatic here. I need ALL Mr. Moore’s thoughts and recommendations in a book I can deface with my scribbles and highlights and then leave to my children to add their own vandalism. Do you know what I mean? Mr. Moore has opened my ears to hidden treasures…. I am listening to the Bergonzi/Tebaldi Verdi Giovanna d’Arco as we speak….I didn’t think the Caballe/Domingo recording could be topped…but….among other things, its the first time I got a thrilling rush from Tebaldi (as much as I admire her singing)... this has never happened before. EVERY voice is absolute perfection!! Wowie. Thank you and much respect to all of you.
That is fantastic new, thank you so very much, I will be looking forward to reading it.
Previous Message
OK, Larus and Ron - I have cracked and am embarking - slowly - on a survey of about twenty recordings of "Lohengrin".
Previous Message
Happy new year to all. I wholeheartedly agree, Mr Moore has certainly opened my ears to many hidden treasures. That is the main reason why I sorely miss his opinion on some of the big operas he has filed off as untouchables. (Lohengrin, Tannhäuser, Tosca, La Boheme) Collecting opera recording for me is not about finding that one perfect recording but mining for those thrilling moments when a singer or performer is on fire and gives you that rush, as mentioned by the previous commentator about Tebaldi in Giovanna d’Arco. How long such a thrilling momentum lasts in one performance varies, of course. Sometimes it’s a single high note or one phrase you can actually hear the singer suddenly turning flashed eyed and everything lights up.
I have over the holidays been going through my meagre collection of 15 recordings of Lohengrin. Every single recording gives me some pleasure. I agree with the common consensus that the Kempe studio recording is excellent in so many aspects but at the same time there are many other recordings I would not want to be without. Christa Ludwig bringing the house down at the Wiener Staatsoper with Böhm, Grümmer and Konya in Bayreuth (with an all-round great cast), Steber as Elsa in Bayreuth with a fresh-voiced Windgassen (or as fresh as he probably every sounded), Varnay as Ortrud and many more. ( I’m sure you get my point by now)
I have, through Mr. Moore’s writings discovered many thrilling moments, many of which I would never have approached otherwise. But Mr. Moore’s writings have done more for me. He has made me think about how I value music and singing, because of his writing I have re-evaluated my attitude towards singers, but more importantly his writing has strengthened me in approaching operas and music critically and forming my own opinion and standing by it. At the end of the day, of course, this is such a personal choice and a truly impossible and thankless job to be a critic.
So, while I reiterate my plea that Mr. Moore gives us more; I would like to thank him from the bottom of my heart for his work and for his generous collection of surveys.
Thank you Mr. Moore.
Previous Message
50+ year opera fanatic here. I need ALL Mr. Moore’s thoughts and recommendations in a book I can deface with my scribbles and highlights and then leave to my children to add their own vandalism. Do you know what I mean? Mr. Moore has opened my ears to hidden treasures…. I am listening to the Bergonzi/Tebaldi Verdi Giovanna d’Arco as we speak….I didn’t think the Caballe/Domingo recording could be topped…but….among other things, its the first time I got a thrilling rush from Tebaldi (as much as I admire her singing)... this has never happened before. EVERY voice is absolute perfection!! Wowie. Thank you and much respect to all of you.
May I be so bold as to offer a few thoughts on Lohengrin. (Pardon my grammar and spelling, English is my third language).
Lohengrin the most fragile of all the Wagner operas. It needs a great conductor who can combine both the lyrical and the dramatic and some aspect the same is required of the singers in the leading roles. A good conductor starts from the first bar of the work to paint the halo around the legend, the best preludes are intimate, hushed and unhurried. The conductor should really hold in the reins and not let the orchestra crescendo until it is absolutely unavoidable and then you let it bloom. (Böhm does this to great effect on the live recording from Vienna in 1965). The conductor must throughout the work keep the action going while at the same time be alert and willing to allow the more tender moment or the more expressive and beautiful ones to bloom and have their proper effect. (You really need to cuddle it a little). Nothing short of a first-class orchestra will do the job properly - those strings really need to shimmer.
Lohengrin also needs a big and accomplished chorus, especially the male part. Some of the most rousing music involves the male chorus and they need to be impressive but also precise and parts of the music are complex and can easily fall apart – mainly the section leading to Lohengrin’s first entrance in act 1. Reserved forces will not do – not for me.
The orchestra, strings specially, creates a hollow around Lohengrin and the swan, but Elsa has to make her own. For that the singer needs a beautiful, young sounding, divine-like voice, and a singer who know how to float a note, specially a high-lying soft note. (Emphasis on the young sounding part). Elsa has to be young, innocent and pure – no verissimo chest voice and not matronly. The best in my mind, by far, are Grümmer, Janowitz and Elenor Steber under Keilberth in Bayreuth 1953.
The most important role to cast is Ortrud. She is the backbone on which the whole opera rests, specially the long second act. One can tolerate a dull Lohengin or Elsa and even forgive and less then mediocre Telramund, but a dull Ortrud will kill the show. She doesn’t have to be vocally perfect, but she must be expressive and dramatically involved. (Vocal amplitude helps a lot). For this reason also, a good Ortrud can easily steal the show, I have witnessed this in the opera house and we have a recording of such an event in the 1965 recording from Vienna with Böhm and Christa Ludwig.
I usually don’t have too many demands when it comes to the leading tenor role in a Wagner opera, vocal amplitude and dramatic involvement usually carries the day for me. Lohengrin on the other hand is not subject to the same leniency. A good Lohengrin requires both a hefty voice and a lyrical quality. It cannot be too heldentenor-like, not too dark, not such much a Tristan or a Parsifal - the voice emerging from the orchestra halo in act 1 must be tender but handsome - he is a warrior but also a holy man and a lover. The role can be sung by a more Italianate spinto tenor to great effect. I believe Jussi Björling had started to prepare for it before his death and we are lucky enough to have a beautiful recording of In fernem Land from his last concert in Sweden (sung in Swedish, which surprisingly works pretty well). Sandor Konya is a personal favourite, he had a dramatic voice but with an Italian spinto sound and could sing beautifully, almost bel canto. Jess Thomas was also a great Lohengrin with his handsome, masculine tenor. His co-patriot James King did a good job of it too (I particularly like his live account from Bayreuth under Kempe in 1967). Peter Seiffert is a more recent accomplished exponent of the role. (Many will expect me to mention Kaufman at this point, which I understand, but I have some reservations regarding his voice projection or the sound he makes).
Other roles are not as important although Telramund does carry a lot of the first act. I prefer a dramatic baritone with great diction, meaty voice and good high notes, my favourites are Thomas Stewart and Herman Udhe. Walter Berry also did a good job and more surprisingly so did Ernest Blanc in Bayreuth in 1959. (Yes, yes, Fischer-Dieskau was great too.) King Henry, who gets some beautiful music, profits from a solid dark, regal bass voice with cantante elements. The role requires some high notes and both heft and fatherly tenderness. (Hearing a dark bass throw of an impressive high note can be a very thrilling thing in the opera house). Favourites in the role are Franz Crass, Ridderbusch, Frick and Moll. The role of the Heerrufer is actually quite substantial but sometimes undercast. It requires a good baritone and perhaps for that reason Wächter sang it regularly both at Bayreuth and Vienna. It is however not a deal-braker.
Your thoughts arrived just as I was working on the introduction to my ongoing survey and we are thinking along very similar lines, so I shall ensure that I take cognisance of your ideas when working out my own responses - and thank you very much.
Previous Message
May I be so bold as to offer a few thoughts on Lohengrin. (Pardon my grammar and spelling, English is my third language).
Lohengrin the most fragile of all the Wagner operas. It needs a great conductor who can combine both the lyrical and the dramatic and some aspect the same is required of the singers in the leading roles. A good conductor starts from the first bar of the work to paint the halo around the legend, the best preludes are intimate, hushed and unhurried. The conductor should really hold in the reins and not let the orchestra crescendo until it is absolutely unavoidable and then you let it bloom. (Böhm does this to great effect on the live recording from Vienna in 1965). The conductor must throughout the work keep the action going while at the same time be alert and willing to allow the more tender moment or the more expressive and beautiful ones to bloom and have their proper effect. (You really need to cuddle it a little). Nothing short of a first-class orchestra will do the job properly - those strings really need to shimmer.
Lohengrin also needs a big and accomplished chorus, especially the male part. Some of the most rousing music involves the male chorus and they need to be impressive but also precise and parts of the music are complex and can easily fall apart – mainly the section leading to Lohengrin’s first entrance in act 1. Reserved forces will not do – not for me.
The orchestra, strings specially, creates a hollow around Lohengrin and the swan, but Elsa has to make her own. For that the singer needs a beautiful, young sounding, divine-like voice, and a singer who know how to float a note, specially a high-lying soft note. (Emphasis on the young sounding part). Elsa has to be young, innocent and pure – no verissimo chest voice and not matronly. The best in my mind, by far, are Grümmer, Janowitz and Elenor Steber under Keilberth in Bayreuth 1953.
The most important role to cast is Ortrud. She is the backbone on which the whole opera rests, specially the long second act. One can tolerate a dull Lohengin or Elsa and even forgive and less then mediocre Telramund, but a dull Ortrud will kill the show. She doesn’t have to be vocally perfect, but she must be expressive and dramatically involved. (Vocal amplitude helps a lot). For this reason also, a good Ortrud can easily steal the show, I have witnessed this in the opera house and we have a recording of such an event in the 1965 recording from Vienna with Böhm and Christa Ludwig.
I usually don’t have too many demands when it comes to the leading tenor role in a Wagner opera, vocal amplitude and dramatic involvement usually carries the day for me. Lohengrin on the other hand is not subject to the same leniency. A good Lohengrin requires both a hefty voice and a lyrical quality. It cannot be too heldentenor-like, not too dark, not such much a Tristan or a Parsifal - the voice emerging from the orchestra halo in act 1 must be tender but handsome - he is a warrior but also a holy man and a lover. The role can be sung by a more Italianate spinto tenor to great effect. I believe Jussi Björling had started to prepare for it before his death and we are lucky enough to have a beautiful recording of In fernem Land from his last concert in Sweden (sung in Swedish, which surprisingly works pretty well). Sandor Konya is a personal favourite, he had a dramatic voice but with an Italian spinto sound and could sing beautifully, almost bel canto. Jess Thomas was also a great Lohengrin with his handsome, masculine tenor. His co-patriot James King did a good job of it too (I particularly like his live account from Bayreuth under Kempe in 1967). Peter Seiffert is a more recent accomplished exponent of the role. (Many will expect me to mention Kaufman at this point, which I understand, but I have some reservations regarding his voice projection or the sound he makes).
Other roles are not as important although Telramund does carry a lot of the first act. I prefer a dramatic baritone with great diction, meaty voice and good high notes, my favourites are Thomas Stewart and Herman Udhe. Walter Berry also did a good job and more surprisingly so did Ernest Blanc in Bayreuth in 1959. (Yes, yes, Fischer-Dieskau was great too.) King Henry, who gets some beautiful music, profits from a solid dark, regal bass voice with cantante elements. The role requires some high notes and both heft and fatherly tenderness. (Hearing a dark bass throw of an impressive high note can be a very thrilling thing in the opera house). Favourites in the role are Franz Crass, Ridderbusch, Frick and Moll. The role of the Heerrufer is actually quite substantial but sometimes undercast. It requires a good baritone and perhaps for that reason Wächter sang it regularly both at Bayreuth and Vienna. It is however not a deal-braker.
My love for classical music began in the late 60's and I'm also a fan of Ralph's reviews, even if I'm not always a fan of the music he's reviewing. He has a way with words that reminds me of Harold C. Schoenberg and Andrew Porter. His recent look at Rattle's Mahler 10ths is a good case in point. Like many of us, I'm sure, I look forward to enjoying Ralph's work for many years to come!
Previous Message
50+ year opera fanatic here. I need ALL Mr. Moore’s thoughts and recommendations in a book I can deface with my scribbles and highlights and then leave to my children to add their own vandalism. Do you know what I mean? Mr. Moore has opened my ears to hidden treasures…. I am listening to the Bergonzi/Tebaldi Verdi Giovanna d’Arco as we speak….I didn’t think the Caballe/Domingo recording could be topped…but….among other things, its the first time I got a thrilling rush from Tebaldi (as much as I admire her singing)... this has never happened before. EVERY voice is absolute perfection!! Wowie. Thank you and much respect to all of you.
Thank you very much, Steve; I have no immediate plans to shuffle off the mortal coil so hope to do a bit more - but my aim, of course, is to convert non-believers to loving the music I love...
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My love for classical music began in the late 60's and I'm also a fan of Ralph's reviews, even if I'm not always a fan of the music he's reviewing. He has a way with words that reminds me of Harold C. Schoenberg and Andrew Porter. His recent look at Rattle's Mahler 10ths is a good case in point. Like many of us, I'm sure, I look forward to enjoying Ralph's work for many years to come!
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50+ year opera fanatic here. I need ALL Mr. Moore’s thoughts and recommendations in a book I can deface with my scribbles and highlights and then leave to my children to add their own vandalism. Do you know what I mean? Mr. Moore has opened my ears to hidden treasures…. I am listening to the Bergonzi/Tebaldi Verdi Giovanna d’Arco as we speak….I didn’t think the Caballe/Domingo recording could be topped…but….among other things, its the first time I got a thrilling rush from Tebaldi (as much as I admire her singing)... this has never happened before. EVERY voice is absolute perfection!! Wowie. Thank you and much respect to all of you.
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