George London (bass-baritone)
Grosse Sänger unseres Jahrhunderts
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra/Richard Kraus, Rudolf Moralt, Hermann Weigert
rec. 1953-56, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Munich
ORFEO C220051 [80]
This is a straight re-issue of Orfeo C502001B which appeared in the year 2000, although it has been remastered to sound rather more immediate but also to reveal yet more clearly the conductor’s irritating habit of groaning along in the first track. For a moment, my hopes were aroused by the word “stereo” on the spine but the recordings were made between 1953 and 1956, making that highly unlikely and the words “MONO RECORDING” on the reverse cover and my first listening soon put paid to any such hope and the misprint remains misleading.
Neither that disappointment, nor the superfluous noises made by Richard Kraus in fact, much take the shine off my pleasure in this recording, as it enshrines some superlative singing from one of the great post-WW2 bass-baritones, here accompanied by some fine - if very different – sopranos: Teresa Stich-Randall, whose pure, piping timbre is so reminiscent of Gundula Janowitz, and Wagnerian hochdramatische soprano Astrid Varnay. Eminent contralto Mária von Ilosvay, famous for her performances as Erda at Bayreuth under Clemens Krauss and Joseph Keilberth, puts in an appearance as the voice of Antonia’s mother in the trio from The Tales of Hoffmann and (the essentially comprimario) soprano Valérie Bak is a sympathetic not especially vocally distinguished Tatiana in the two excerpts from Eugene Onegin. It is a pity that are sung in German, as London was a gifted linguist, capable of singing perfectly in any one of five languages, as his appearance at the Bolshoi as the first Westerner to sing Boris Godunov and the aria from Borodin’s Prince Igor here demonstrate, but it was still the custom in Germany then to sing Russian operas in the native vernacular. It really does sound odd in German to modern ears, despite the excellence of the singing.
I appreciate that George London’s voice is not to all tastes but it was a remarkable instrument, dark and ductile. I consider him to be the finest Wotan of his era – its power, resonance and range make him a formidable Heldenbariton. In addition to his vocal prowess, he brought the linguistic skills already mentioned and a formidable stage presence as an actor; he was also remarkably versatile in his repertoire, as this recital demonstrates – French, German, Russian and Italian operatic roles were all embraced with equal facility.
The mono sound does his voice no favours, but it is such a rich, resonant instrument that its penetrative qualities emerge virtually unscathed from its inky depths up to ringing G-flats in both the Offenbach and Verdi items. Despite his heroic timbre, he can “do villainous” as the Dappertutto and Dr Mirakel roles illustrate. There is plenty of drama and fine singing in those excerpts, even if I think Stich-Randall’s shrill, final top D is
ill-advised. London sings Prince Igor’s aria with great dignity and feeling but it is the three final items with Varnay that form the high point of this album, in that they contain both the greatest music and the finest partner. In the Aida duet, London is out of the bass-baritone Fach and properly into that of the high Verdi baritone. Varnay doesn’t sound entirely at ease, labouring and “lowing” somewhat, but the amplitude of her voice matches that of London and at least they are singing in Italian. She is obviously more at home as Brünnhilde as she had already sung the role for three years running at Bayreuth for such as Karajan, Stiedry and Krauss and here her husband Hermann Weigert was conducting. She does not always make the loveliest sound, tending to squeeze notes, but she is well inside the role and has the top and volume. London’s Wotan is characterised by his customary acute attention to text and diction and the security of his bronze voice. I think he is marginally more imposing in his London studio recording for Leinsdorf in 1961 but all the components of his mighty assumption of the role of Wotan are already present here in 1953. He is first noble, anguished and tender, then imperious in his commanding of Loge; the only thing missing is the breadth of stereo sound.
The playing of the BRSO is fine throughout and all three conductors ensure idiomatic execution.
Ralph Moore
Previous review: Göran Forsling
Contents
Jacques Offenbach
Les contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann)
1. Act II: Scintille diamant†[03:26]
2. Act III: Du wirst nicht mehr singen? - Leise ton' meiner Stimme Klang (Sung in German)* ᶲ [09:42]
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Eugene Onegin, Op 24 (Sung in German) (excerpts)
3. Act I: Sie schrieben mir†ᶧ[04:22]
4. Act III: Onegin, bitte, steh'n sie auf†ᶧ[09:39]
Alexander Porfir'yevich Borodin
5. Prince Igor (Knyaz Igor), Act II: Aria: Ni sna ne otdykha (No sleep, no rest)‡[07:44]
Giuseppe Verdi
6. Aida, Act III: A te grave cagion m'adduce, Aida‡[08:07]
Richard Wagner
Die Walküre (excerpts)
7. Act III Scene 3: War es so schmählich, was ich verbrach‡[20:39]
8. Act III Scene 3: Leb' wohl, du kühnes, herrliches Kind!, "Wotan's Farewell"‡[15:22]
with Teresa Stich-Randall (soprano)*, Mária von Ilosvayᶲ (contralto), Valérie Bakᶧ (soprano), Astrid Varnay‡ (soprano)
