TANNHÄUSER

TANNHÄUSER:Wagner
Original Air Date: 01/24/1987
Levine; Cassilly, Norman, Randová, Hagegård, Rootering
MOD Audio SID.18430101
NOTE: Levine has three broadcasts after these in October 2015 (8,19,27) with Westbroek, DeYoung, Botha, Mattei, Groissbock
RWW: Amazingly, this is Levine’s last broadcast Tannhauser. A run of performances 10 years later with Sharon Sweet, Jon Frederic West, and Bryn Terfel was prior to the broadcast season (I saw one of these terrific performances) are his final Met appearances in the opera to date. Tannhauser remains one of Levine’s highest totals at 62, but none since 1997, and none broadcast since this 1987, but I also think it’s one of his best efforts and Norman presents a beautiful, if unconventional Elisabeth, and the orchestra and chorus are on top form. This performance is in MOoD and highly recommended on Sirius this week as well.
For my money although Tannhauser does not have as much great music as Lohengrin, the Paris/Vienna revisions make Tannhauser a bit more exciting in the theatre. This performance is available on Met Player and is Levine’s most recent in theatre broadcast. Levine does have a wonderful run in 1997 with Jon Frederic West , Terfel and Sweet , but that run was not on the matinee broadcasts (in the current environment we would get to hear this cast.) Levine’s strong conducting, and Jessye Norman’s Elisabeth (not commercially recorded) are the most distinctive features.