Post by Vaan September 18, 2010 (11 of 24)
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Post by seth September 18, 2010 (12 of 24)
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Allen said:
Taking the La Traviata from Anna on DG, for an example, the noise on the stage is so distracting, not to say the noise from audience. That is probably the worst Traviata I have had (I have more than 10 different editions for this one), and so I never dare to go to buy her mimi ever since.
What? Are you talking about the CD release? It's pretty quiet. The only non-musical sounds I can recall are the ambient party sounds in the first and seconds acts, and the occasional footsteps. If I didn't know it was a live recording I'd probably think those sounds were purposely added to make the recording have the feeling of being live.
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Post by Castor September 19, 2010 (13 of 24)
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Peter said:
I didn't hear any audience noises, and the long excerpt included the conclusion with no applause. I guess Castor has a copy already?
Yes Peter. Hopefully posting my review today.
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Post by Daland September 24, 2010 (14 of 24)
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This is probably the worst-recorded opera to appear on SACD. Why the reviewer recommends it enthusiastically is a mystery to me. The standard of singing may be good but this is difficult to verify because the singers are often barely audible. The balance between soloists and orchestra is ill-judged. If you want to hear the singers properly you must turn up the volume to such a level that the orchestra sounds shrill and overblown. Yet even the purely orchestral passages are not particularly impressive because they lack transparency. Apart from the multi-channel version I also tried the stereo version, but this is just as unsatifactory.
At first, I thought that something was wrong with my equipment. To find out, I put on the complete recording of Lohengrin conducted by Bychkov. And this was just perfect.
The sonic problems encountered in Parsifal might be excusable if this had been a live performance. But as you can see from photos in the booklet, the opera was recorded during concert performances with the singers having the score in front of them.
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The review here and on musicweb made no mention of balance problems. I ordered my copy a few days ago and your comments are a bit distressing. Hopefully I can give it a listen early next week!
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Post by tailspn September 24, 2010 (16 of 24)
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Daland said:
This is probably the worst-recorded opera to appear on SACD.
There are at least three engineering elements to every recording. The first is the actual recording, which includes among other things, the selection of microphones and their placement, and in a studio environment (non live performance), the arrangement of the orchestra and cast members. This Parsifal recording, as well as all other Mariinsky series recordings to date, except Rex, were recorded by Soundmirror. The second and third steps, which are post processing, are editing and mastering, of which the later includes SACD authoring. Editing is obvious. It's the assembly of takes from the producers notes. Mastering establishes the sound-field balance by combining the available microphone channels into separate stereo and MCH mixes, and applying any level adjustments, limiting/compression, reverb, equalization, panning, and any other available magic the producer and mastering engineer desires to achieve the producers sound-field goals.
Parsifal was edited and and mastered by Classic Sound Ltd, of LSO Live fame. All other Mariinsky series recordings to date, except for Rex, were recorded, edited, and mastered entirely by Soundmirror. Simply comparing the Shostakovich: The Nose with this Parsifal tells the story.
Tom
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tailspn said:
Parsifal was edited and and mastered by Classic Sound Ltd, of LSO Live fame.
Tom
Fame? Infamy, is more like it. But, a well stated post, Tom. You have told me all I need to know. If there is to be a Parsifal in my home, it will be a Blu-ray.
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Post by Wolfgang September 25, 2010 (18 of 24)
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Don't really understand this. Got my copy a couple of days ago and really like it. No problem with the voices which are really clear and the Mariinsky orchestra sounds great. Wonder if you are listening to the same recording? It is a live recording because - as you say - the recording was made during a concert which means live recording?
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Post by Castor September 25, 2010 (19 of 24)
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Daland said:
Why the reviewer recommends it enthusiastically is a mystery to me. The standard of singing may be good but this is difficult to verify because the s ingers are often barely audible.
Dear Daland
You have answered your question yourself. I recommended it for the mostly very fine singing and orchestral playing.
My experience with regard to the balance between and orchestra was, surprisingly, the opposite to yours. If anything I would have preferred the orchestra to have been rather more forwardly balanced.
I did say that the recording was honest rather than spectacular and whether due to the Classic Sound mastering, as some posters have suggested, or other factors, the sound is not the equal in vividness to the Shostakovich'The Nose'. That is why I did not feel that it warranted a full 5 stars.
The Profil Lohengrin is, I agree, exceptionally fine.
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I'd be interested in specific examples of poor balance in this recording, or is it basically all the way throughout?
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