Scenes from Wagner Operas. Chor der Staataoper Unter Den Linden. Staatskapelle, Berlin Deutsche Grammophon, 477 6617 ****

The German bass René Pape is at the height of his powers and highly sought after by the great opera houses in the operatic world. There is a velvet quality to Pape’s timbre, coupled with a faultless legato and an amazing range reaching up into bass-baritone territory that allows him to cover a wide repertoire ranging from Mozart and Verdi to Wagner and Richard Strauss. In recent years he has essayed the great heroic Wagner roles, and this disc is built around extended sequences from two of these (Wotan’s Farewell from Die Walkure and the Good Friday scene from Parsifal), which he shares with an ardent Placido Domingo. Both singers perform with a fine sense of musicality, and this, combined with sensitive conducting from Daniel Barenboim, highlights the lyrical quality of the wonderful music.

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