With this Dutchman on DHM, Bruno Weil attempts to refresh Wagner's classic by returning it to its original form. He deploys a scaled-down orchestra of period instruments (including both natural and valved brass, and an ophicleide in place of the modern tuba) and uses the original Paris version of the score, which predates even Wagner's own revisions made before the 1843 premiere in Dresden. Among other things, the Paris score eliminates Wagner's stylistically ill-fitting reworking of the overture from the 1860s, and ...
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With this Dutchman on DHM, Bruno Weil attempts to refresh Wagner's classic by returning it to its original form. He deploys a scaled-down orchestra of period instruments (including both natural and valved brass, and an ophicleide in place of the modern tuba) and uses the original Paris version of the score, which predates even Wagner's own revisions made before the 1843 premiere in Dresden. Among other things, the Paris score eliminates Wagner's stylistically ill-fitting reworking of the overture from the 1860s, and transposes Senta's Act II ballad to the key of A minor. Far from an academic exercise in authenticity, Weil's effort is a compelling argument for rethinking the modern conception of Wagner's works, in which bigger is almost always better, and in which his early works are prized as much for their foreshadowing of his mature masterpieces as for their own qualities. Though smaller, Weil's orchestra is still majestic in sound while posing less of a balance problem for the singers; the subtle...
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