It speaks very highly of any singer if, on a solo recital disc, he is joined by artists of the caliber of
Daniel Barenboim and
Plácido Domingo. On this album of operatic scenes and arias by
Wagner, bass
René Pape shows himself to be very much in the league of
Barenboim and
Domingo. Perhaps most importantly, he has the commanding personality that's a bottom-line necessity in making the composer's mythic characters believable and sympathetic even in their moral complexity. And his voice is ideal for
Wagner: absolutely secure and full in its depths and heights, subtly colored, and with a loamy richness that projects over the orchestra without forcing. He was only in his mid-forties when he made this album, so he should have a long and fruitful career ahead as he gains even deeper insight into these demanding roles. The scenes recorded here spotlight
Pape's gifts wonderfully. In the program notes, he discusses
Wagner's desire for singers to master a kind of bel canto vocal production that could also accommodate the percussive consonants of the German language, and
Pape exemplifies that kind of synthesis: warm, shapely bel canto singing in which the words are projected with power and absolute clarity. His Wotan, in his farewell to Brünnhilde at the end of Die Walküre, is heartbreaking in his intense expression of a father's conflicted grief. He is as powerful in his moments of tenderness as in his raging against the tragedy he cannot avert.
Pape's Gurnemanz radiates compassion and wisdom, and the synergy between him and
Domingo is thrilling in their extended scene from Parsifal.
Barenboim, a veteran
Wagner conductor, brings masterful insight to these scenes; he leads
Staatskapelle Berlin in performances that are beautifully paced, and their details shine with clarity even through the composer's sometimes dense orchestration. Deutsche Grammophon's sound is clean and warmly ambient.