Album

Is this the greatest Tristan ever recorded? No: that would be Furtwängler's 1953 EMI recording. Is this the greatest Tristan by Carlos Kleiber ever recorded? No: that would be his 1982 DG recording. But, after those two, this 1974 Kleiber is arguably the greatest Tristan ever recorded. It has a sometimes terrific, sometimes merely tolerable cast, and sometimes distant, sometimes dismal sound, but it also has Kleiber and the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and that's enough. Why? Because as anyone who's heard Kleiber's DG Tristan or Weber's Die Frieschütz or Beethoven's Fifth or Brahms' Fourth or Schubert's "Unfinished" already knows, Carlos, son of Erich Kleiber, was perhaps the last of the truly inspired and an inspiring conductor. As he shows over and over again in this performance, Kleiber can do things that other conductors can't conceive of, much less hope to achieve, things like driving singers to sing better than their best, like compelling an orchestra to play better than its best, like making a performance ignite beyond the imagination of any previous conductor. Want proof? Try the ecstatic Prelude to Act I or the ravishing Love Duet in Act II or the transcendent Love Death at the end of Act III. This is great Wagner, great music making, and great art. Your life is poorer for not knowing this performance. Your life will be richer for knowing it. What are you waiting for?

© James Leonard, All Music Guide

CD 1 of 3
Richard Wagner Composer Tristan und Isolde (opera), WWV 90...Act 1 Work 1:16:24 Kurt Moll Bass, Helge Brilioth Voice, Heinz Feldhoff Voice, Yvonne Minton Mezzo-Soprano, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra Orchestra, Carlos Kleiber Conductor, Heribert Steinbach Voice, Catarina Ligendza Voice, Heinz Zednik Voice, Donald McIntyre Bass-baritone, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra & Chorus Chorus/Choir
1	1.Sc.1: Prelude	9:53			$0.99
2	2.Sc.1: Westwärte schweift der Blick; 3.Sc.1: Brangäne, du? Sag; 4.Sc.1: O weh! Ach! Ach, des Übels	5:40			$0.99
3	5.Sc.2: Frisch weht dir Wind; 6.Sc.2: Mir erkoren, mir verloren	4:41			$0.99
4	7.Sc.2: Hab acht, Tristan!	4:46			$0.99
5	9.Sc.3: Weh, ach wehe! Dies zu dulden!: 10.Sc.3: Wie lachend sie mir Lieder singen; 11.Sc.3: Von seinem Lager blickt' er her; 12.Sc.3: O Wunder! Wo hatt' ich	8:24			$0.99
6	13.Sc.3: O blinde Augen; 14.Sc.3: O Süße, Traute! Teure!; 15.Sc.3: Ungeminnt den hehrsten Mann; 16.Sc.3: Kennst du der Mutter Künste nicht?	9:40			$0.99
7	17.Sc.4: Auf! Auf! Ihr Frauen!	1:05			$0.99
8	18.Sc.4: Herrn Tristan bringe meinen Gruß; 19.Sc.4: Nun leb wohl, Brangäne!; 20.Sc.5: Interlude: Langsam; 21.Sc.5: Begehrt, Herrin, was ihr wünscht; 22.Sc.5: Da du so sittsam; 23.Sc.5: Nun will ich des Eides walten	8:00			$0.99
9	21.Sc.5: Begehrt, Herrin, was ihr wünscht; 22.Sc.5: Da du so sittsam; 23.Sc.5: Nun will ich des Eides walten	7:01			$0.99
10	24.Sc.5: War Morold dir so wert; 25.Sc.5: Ho! He! Ha! He! Am Obermast; 26.Sc.5: Du hörst den Ruf?; 27.Sc.5: Auf das Tau! Anker los!	11:38			Album Only
11	28.Sc.5: Tristan! Isolde!; 29.Sc.5: Was träumte mir von Tristans Ehre?; 30.Sc.5: Schnell, den Mantel, den Königsschmuck!	5:36			$0.99
CD 2 of 3
Richard Wagner Composer Tristan und Isolde (opera), WWV 90...Act 2 Work 1:17:33 Kurt Moll Bass, Helge Brilioth Voice, Heinz Feldhoff Voice, Yvonne Minton Mezzo-Soprano, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra Orchestra, Carlos Kleiber Conductor, Heribert Steinbach Voice, Catarina Ligendza Voice, Heinz Zednik Voice, Donald McIntyre Bass-baritone, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra & Chorus Chorus/Choir
1	1.Sc.1: Prelude	2:42			$0.99
2	2.Sc.1: Hörst du sie noch?; 3.Sc.1: Der deiner harrt; 4.Sc.1: O laß die warnende Zünde; 5.Sc.1: Und mußte der Minne	11:58			Album Only
3	6.Sc.2: Isolde! Geliebte! Tristan!; 7.Sc.2: Wie lange fern! Wie fern so lang!; 8.Sc.2: Das Licht! Das Licht!; 9.Sc.2: Der Tag! Der Tag; 10.Sc.2: O eitler Tagesknecht!; 11.Sc.2: In deiner Hand den süßen Tod; 12.Sc.2: Doch es rächte sich der verscheuchte Tag; 13.Sc.2: O nun waren wir Nacht-Geweihte!	17:27			Album Only
4	14.Sc.2: O sink hernieder, Nacht der Liebe; 15.Sc.2: Einsam wachend in der Nacht	7:42			$0.99
5	16.Sc.2: Lausch, Geliebter!; 117.Sc.2: Unsre Liebe? Tristans Liebe?; 18.Sc.2: Doch unsre Liebe; 19.Sc.2: So stürben wir, um ungetrennt; 20.Sc.2: Habet acht! Habet acht!; 21.Sc.2: O ew'ge Nacht, süße Nacht!	14:54			Album Only
6	22.Sc.2: Rette dich, Tristan!	1:34			$0.99
7	23.Sc.3: Tatest du's wirklich?; 24.Sc.3: Wozu die Dienste ohne Zahl; 25.Sc.3: Dies wunderhehre Weib; 27.Sc.3: Nun, da durch solchen Besitz	12:19			Album Only
8	27.Sc.3: O König, das kann ich dir; 28.Sc.3: Wohin nun Tristan scheidet; 29.Sc.3: Als für ein fremdes Land; 30.Sc.3: Verräter! Ha! Zur Rache, König!	8:57			$0.99
CD 3 of 3
Richard Wagner Composer Tristan und Isolde (opera), WWV 90...Act 3 Work 1:15:04 Kurt Moll Bass, Helge Brilioth Voice, Heinz Feldhoff Voice, Yvonne Minton Mezzo-Soprano, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra Orchestra, Carlos Kleiber Conductor, Heribert Steinbach Voice, Catarina Ligendza Voice, Heinz Zednik Voice, Donald McIntyre Bass-baritone, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra & Chorus Chorus/Choir
1	1.Sc.1: Prelude; 2.Sc.1: Shepherd's pipe song	7:17			$0.99
2	3.Sc.1: Kurwenal! He!; 4.Sc.1: Öd' und leer das Meer!; 5.Sc.1: Wo du bist? In Frieden; 6.Sc.1: Hei nun! Wie du kamst?	10:39			Album Only
3	7.Sc.1: Wo ich erwacht; 8.Sc.1: Isolde noch im Reich der Sonne!	7:33			$0.99
4	9.Sc.1: Noch losch das Licht; 10.Sc.1: Mein Kurwenal, du trauter Freund!; 11.Sc.1: Noch ist kein Schiff zu sehn!; 12.Sc.1: Nein! Ach nein! So heißt sie nicht!; 13.Sc.1: Der Trank! Der Trank!; 14.Sc.1: Mein Herre! Tristan!; 15.Sc.1: Das Schiff? Siehst du's noch nicht?; 16.Sc.1: Wie sie selig, hehr und milde; 17.Sc.1: O Wonne! Freude!: 18.	26:05			Album Only
5	20.Sc.2: O diese Sonne! Ha, dieser Tag!	3:15			$0.99
6	21.Sc.2: Ich bin's, ich bin's, süßester Freund!; 22.Sc.2: Die Wunde? Wo?	5:24			$0.99
7	23.Sc.3: Kurwenal! Hör!; 24.Sc.3: Tot denn alles! Alles tot!; 25.Sc.3: Sie wacht! Sie lebt!	7:26			$0.99
8	26.Sc.3: Liebestod: Mild und leise wie er lächelt; 27.Sc.3: Heller schallend, mich umwallend	7:25			$0.99