Musically, here is work from the conductor and orchestra on the level of their 2013 London Proms Ring...A well-chosen cast make much of the sympathetic acoustic of the Staatsoper's temporary Schiller Theatre home, with the ladies well contrasted...Mattei's finely enunciated Wolfram and Peter Seiffert encompassing the title-role's difficulties with a constant eye on their dramatic import.

The individual vocal performances also prove extremely worthwhile. With the singer aged 50 at the time of the recording, Peter Seiffert’s Heldentenor is no longer a consistently steady instrument, yet its power and security remain undiminished...Ann Petersen’s blonde good looks give her an almost typecast appearance as Elisabeth, and though her tone is initially less than ideally focused, she settles down into a commanding, clean-edged account...Pride of place, though, must go to Daniel Barenboim’s expert conducting and to the superb playing he draws from the Berlin Staatskapelle alongside the pristine choral singing of the Berlin Staatsopernchor.

Tannhäuser is definitely worth watching in choreographer Sasha Waltz’s production from Berlin. She doesn’t force the work into a Konzept, but allows it to unfold quite simply within her own pared-down aesthetic, balancing movement and stasis to great effect … Daniel Barenboim provides spacious and lucid conducting … Marina Prudenskaya is a fabulous Venus, with her sinuous and spicy mezzo. Peter Mattei strikes gold as Wolfram: I thought Christian Gerhaher owned this role, but Mattei is equally superb, oozing class.