Thursday, October 20, 2011

Domingo's Tristan

Someone gave me a copy of Placido Domingo's recording of Tristan und Isolde.  Nina Stemme is Isolde in this recording.  She is incredible.  One could wish to hear her with a real Heldentenor.  Placido Domingo is not one.  His voice sounds somewhat fragile, and the technicians seem to have done nothing to make him seem to balance with Stemme.

I'm not a fan of Tristan.  In my search for a Tristan I could make it all the way through, I liked only Nilsson and Vickers.  I don't hear Wagner in Domingo's voice.  People don't always make the best decisions.  Am I supposed to carry on about how old he is?  Domingo's tone is self-consciously developed to sound like a certain type of tenor, and this isn't a Heldentenor.  He does nothing here to sound like a Heldentenor.

I also own the Tristan with Christine Brewer and John Treleaven.  Brewer is very bland compared to Stemme, and Treleaven is almost a baritone compared to Domingo.  I think I prefer Runnicles conducting with Brewer to Pappano with Domingo.  Do I totally love either one of them?  Probably not.  How about Stemme and Heppner?
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