This is a strangely unsatisfying disc. There is probably no bass-baritone in the world with a more beautiful, colorful, technically secure voice. I’ve never found Terfel’s singing–whether in songs by Vaughan Williams or as Verdi’s Falstaff–anything but ideal, and for the most part his obvious intelligence and musicality have helped convince me that the characters he’s portraying are flesh-and-blood people with things to feel and say. And then this shows up. His Dutchman whimpers and roars and reaches a remarkable vocal climax when he feels he’s been mocked by his “blessed angel from heaven”, but I sense none of the world-weary suffering this character epitomizes. Similarly, his Hans Sachs’ “Wahn” monologue seems to be approached from the outside–with all the nuances and vocal emphases necessary to bring this character and situation to life–in other words, this is well-learned, but not lived-in.
The “Fliedermonolog” is better–winsome and gentle–but it’s an odd chunk of music with which to convince. Wolfram’s “Ode to the evening star” is ravishing, but the feelings are simpler and Terfel (or any other man his age) actually could be Wolfram. As Amfortas, Terfel is really out of is depth: with George London’s torment still ringing in my ears (with Knappertsbusch from Bayreuth) Terfel sounds like a voice student, albeit a great voice student. And then there’s Wotan: Here we get the last quarter-hour of Walküre. The god seems unnecessarily angry at this point in the drama–he’s already had his rant at Brunnhilde–but Terfel later settles in and the final moments are indeed touching. And in each selection, when he emotes and breaks through, it’s just that–emoting.
Throughout, the Berlin Philharmonic plays as if life depended on its performance, and Abbado’s leadership is clearly being tailored to Terfel’s lighter-and-younger-than-usual voice. It’s ravishing to hear. The analysis? Perhaps Terfel hasn’t lived long enough to get inside these characters; perhaps his voice is simply too beautiful; perhaps he’s too upbeat a guy to let these guys get under his skin (and vice-versa). Whatever. For amazing singing, this is it; but I could say the same about Kiri Te Kanawa and I wouldn’t be lavishing praise.
