Recorded evidence preserves a regretfully skewed view of Otto Klemperer's Wagner. Happily, this 1968 recording of Der fliegende Holländer captures the aged Otto Klemperer at his inspired and disciplined best. The vivid detail and expressive intensity of the orchestra playing begs description, and Suvi Raj Grubb's resplendent production sounds as fresh as today's best digital engineering, especially in EMI's 20-bit remastering. Anja Silja's Senta is arguably her most absorbing major Wagnerian portrayal on disc, in terms of both singing and acting. Likewise, Theo Adam, in excellent form, inflects the title role with unusual care for words. Ernst Kozub is as brash and brazen an Erik as they come (which is good!), and Martti Talvela's weighty yet flexible Daland hardly has been bettered, past or present. Yet the individual contributions yield to the remarkable sense of ensemble give and take--not just between the singers themselves, but in the way the orchestra leads, supports, and comments upon the sung text. Full texts and translations plus excellent annotations clinch this set's essential status as both the basic Flying Dutchman on disc and Otto Klemperer's finest recording of an opera. --Jed Distler
