The story is relatively simple. King Waldemar falls in love with the girl Tove, after which the jealous Queen Helwig has the girl killed. Waldemar then curses God, after which God curses Waldemar. The hapless knight is then doomed to lead a grim death army every night. is almost impossible, two Wagner plots (Fliegende Holländer & Tristan und Isolde) for the price of one. The tragedy takes
… place around the castle Gurre, hence the title Gurre-Lieder. devised a gigantic choir and orchestral line-up for these songs, which even shadows symphonic line-ups. The booklet shows a photo of the performers of this double-sacd crammed together on stage. There are already quite a few good versions of this ambitious work available. This performance led by conductor is no exception. This issue was named Editor's Choice by Gramophone magazine. (HJ)more