Cast: Fritz Wunderlich (Narraboth), Gerhard Stolze (Herodes), Astrid Varnay (Herodias), Anja Silja (Salome), Eberhard Wächter (Jochanaan), Margarita Lilowa (Page der Herodias), Murray Dickie, Heinz Zednik, Kurt Equiluz, Karl Terkal, Herbert Lackner (1. - 5. Jude), Gerd Nienstedt, Robert Kerns (1. - 2. Nazarener), Tugomir Franc, Ljubo Pantscheff (1. - 2. Soldat), Hans Christian (Cappadocier), Laurence Dutoit (Sklavin), Ludwig Mikura (Henker), Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper, cond. Zdenek Kosler
Robert Benson at www.classicalcdreview.com: "[ ...] This Myto release affords us the opportunity to hear Silja in her supposed prime: a Vienna State Opera performance of Salome from November 25, 1965. It is a mixed bag, indeed. It is rare that a performance of Salome is recommended more for Narraboth than for the title role. Apparently this is the only recorded Narraboth by Fritz Wunderlich, and it is glorious, another reminder of the loss to the musical world when he died in 1966 at the age of only 36. Astrid Varnay's Herodias is a known factor and this is one of her early performances of the role, more on-pitch than those to follow. Gerhard Stolze's Herodes here is quite histrionic, his characterization strong. Eberhard Waechter's Jochanaan is superb, the finest singing to be heard in this performance, and conductor Kosler keeps things moving. Which brings us to Ms. Silja.
Silja, like Gwyneth Jones, was a singer whose promising voice began to disintegrate early. Her sound is white,
chalky and without vibrato - with a slow wobble that can be distressing. Sometimes her pitch is suspect, her sound
more functional than beautiful. Visually she must have been quite striking, to say the least (see photo). However, as
Salomes go, hers is near the bottom of the list. There is a comical scream (actually an EEEEKKK!) as she is being
crushed by the soldiers at the conclusion of the opera, rather as if she had seen a huge mouse instead of being
crushed to death. [...]
Sound quality [...] is well-balanced and natural; there was a tracking problem with track 8 on
CD 1; three different players could not track it properly. A libretto in German only is provided " [on MYTO 2 MCD 001.212]
If you know this recording, feel free to add your own comment!
MYTO 2 MCD 001.212 (+ A. Varnay, I. Borkh, L. Welitsch in various Salome excerpts without FW, 2 CDs)
