____________________________________________________
Sir Georg Solti and soloists (standing) Herbert Lippert, Karita Mattila, Ben Heppner, and Alan Opie; (seated) José van Dam, Iris Vermillion, and René Pape (Jim Steere photo)
In September 1995, Sir Georg Solti led three concert performances of Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at Orchestra Hall. The performances were split: the first two acts on one concert and the third act on a separate concert over the course of two open dress rehearsals and four concerts. Principal soloists included Karita Mattila, Iris Vermillion, Ben Heppner, Herbert Lippert, José van Dam, Alan Opie, and René Pape, along with the Chicago Symphony Chorus prepared by Duain Wolfe.
“Last weekend you could call the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, without fear of contradiction, the best and most prestigious Wagnerian pit band in the world of opera,” wrote John von Rhein in the Chicago Tribune. “Even as Solti blockbusters go, [these concerts] were an extraordinary experience—painstakingly prepared and powerfully executed. . . . It would be no exaggeration to call this a milestone in Solti’s Wagnerian career to rank with his historic recording of the Ring.”
The subsequent London Records release won the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording. The award marked Solti’s thirty-first Grammy, more than any other recording artist in any genre. He received seven awards in addition to his twenty-four awards with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Solti and producer John Culshaw also received the first NARAS Trustees’ Award in 1967 for their “efforts, ingenuity, and artistic contributions” in connection with the first complete recording of Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen with the Vienna Philharmonic. Solti also received the Academy’s 1995 Lifetime Achievement Award.
This article also appears here and portions previously appeared here.
from the archives 
3 comments
Comments feed for this article
January 31, 2023 at 7:01 AM
Sir Georg Solti: Grammy champ | from the archives
[…] Classical Album (nom 70)Best Opera Recording (nom 71, win 31)WAGNER Die Meistersinger von NürnbergSir Georg Solti, conductorKarita Mattila, Iris Vermillion, Ben Heppner, Herbert Lippert, José van […]
October 24, 2020 at 7:12 AM
Happy birthday, Duain Wolfe! | from the archives
[…] WAGNER Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Sir Georg Solti, conductor Eva Karita Mattila, soprano Magdalene Iris Vermillion, mezzo-soprano Walther von Stolzing Ben Heppner, tenor David Herbert Lippert, tenor Hans Sachs José van Dam, bass-baritone Veit Pogner René Pape, bass Sixtus Beckmesser Alan Opie, baritone Kunz Vogelgesang Roberto Saccà, tenor Konrad Nachtigall Gary Martin, baritone Fritz Kothner Albert Dohmen, bass-baritone Balthasar Zorn John Horton Murray, tenor Ulrich Eisslinger Richard Byrne, baritone Augustin Moser Steven Tharp, tenor Hermann Ortel Kevin Deas, bass-baritone Hans Schwarz Stephen Morscheck, bass-baritone Hans Foltz, Ein Nachtwächter Kelly Anderson, baritone Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe, director Recorded in Orchestra Hall in September 1995 for London Records. The recording was produced by Michael Woolcock; James Lock, John Pellowe, and Neil Hutchinson were the balance engineers; and Krzysztof Jarosz was the location engineer. The recording won the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording. […]
August 18, 2017 at 2:09 PM
Sir Georg Solti + CSO = 108 | from the archives
[…] Moses und Aron, Verdi’s Otello, and Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. The set also includes hallmarks of the choral repertoire, featuring the Chicago Symphony Chorus […]