Tannhäuser (CD): Daniel Barenboim, Waltraud Meier, Peter Seiffert, Jane Eaglen, Thomas Hampson, René Pape, Thomas Hampson
Conductor: Daniel Barenboim
Landgraf Hermann René Pape
Tannhäuser Peter Seiffert
Wolfram Thomas Hampson
Walther Gunnar Gudbjörnsson
Biterolf Hanno Müller-Brachmann
Heinrich Stephan Rügamer
Reinmar Alfred Reiter
Elisabeth Jane Eaglen
Venus Waltraud Meier
Ein junger Hirt Dorothea Röschmann
Staatskapelle Berlin
Chor der Berliner Staatsoper
Recorded in 2001. A clip from the recording sessions can be seen in the documentary about Waltraud Meier: Waltraud Meier: I Follow a Voice Within Me
Reviews
"This must be one of the most opulent recordings made of
any opera. The truly remarkable range, perspective and balance of the sound
is most appropriate for a work conceived on the grandest scale, yet it
retains its focus in the more intimate scenes. The achievement of Barenboim's
Berlin chorus, so important in this opera, and orchestra could hardly be
bettered. The results are, if nothing else, an audio treat, surpassing
the DG version's rather hit-and-miss engineering and the now slightly dated
feel of the Decca.
[…]
The title-role, as many tenors admit, is a real killer. Seiffert is probably
its most telling exponent: his performance that combines vocal assurance
and emotional involvement to create a vivid portrait of the hero torn between
sacred and profane love. The objects of Tannhäuser's attention are impressively
portrayed by Waltraud Meier and Jane Eaglen. Meier makes the most of the
bigger opportunities and brings her customary tense expression to bear
on Venus's utterance, while not quite effacing Christa Ludwig's voluptous
reading for Solti."
The
Gramophone Classical Music Guide 2008
Waltraud Meier also appear as Venus on the visionary nightmare production of Tannhäuser from Munich, available on DVD.