Word: fischer-dieskau
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PUCCINI: TOSCA (2 LPs; London). Birgit Nilsson's voice is purest gold, and it takes men of equal quality to sing against her. She has found ideal antagonists in this recording: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as Tosca's brutally intelligent tormentor and Franco Corelli as her devoted lover are almost overwhelming in their dynamic and masculine artistry. Yet Birgit summons all the fire in her Swedish soul and emulates, if not exactly incarnates, the Latin passions of Tosca, daring anyone to typecast her as merely a Wagnerian soprano. With Conductor Lorin Maazel whipping his orchestra along in unrelenting fury...
...flagpole in the courtyard of the 13th century stone barn, the black, red and gold stripes of Germany flew above the red hammer and sickle of the Soviet Union. It was a tribute to German Baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, by all odds the world's finest lieder singer, who was to perform in the barn during the Touraine Festival in central France. It was also an act of self-effacement by Fischer-Dieskau's accompanist, Soviet Pianist Sviatoslav Richter, who has made the rustic, four-year-old festival his own showcase...
Having performed with him before, Fischer-Dieskau was already acquainted with Richter's modesty. But even he was impressed when Richter insisted on turning the piano so that he could face the singer-with his back to the audience. Said Fischer-Dieskau: "I know of no other player who would have done this...
...other players could have done what Richter did with the piano music either. Fischer-Dieskau sang the 15 Magelone Romances by Brahms in one recital, 20 of Hugo Wolf's Mörike Lieder in another. Richter matched FischerDieskau's richly expressive voice in every curve of melody, every nuance of shading, every dramatic inflection, making the piano not so much an embellishment of the vocal line as a second voice that sang along with...
Leonard Bernstein, in a guest appearance with the Vienna Philharmonic (London), gives a turbulent interpretation that shows his affinity for Mahler. But Tenor James King sounds a bit forced, and the second soloist is a baritone instead of the usual, complementary mezzo-soprano. However, that baritone is Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, and his 30-minute Farewell is a perfect fusion of poetry and song...