J. Strauss: Die Fledermaus / Schwarzkopf, Gedda, Streich, Krebs, Kunz, Christ; Karajan
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Free Music Notes for J. Strauss: Die Fledermaus / Schwarzkopf, Gedda, Streich, Krebs, Kunz, Christ; Karajan
Free Music Review: For once, stylish and sophisticated aren't the opposite of funny
Hit: 5 Stars
While wholeheartely joining in everyone's admiration for this mono Die Fledermaus from 1955, I can't agree that Karajan is driven, overly precise, or humorless. Ths is a delightfully witty performance, running a close second in smiles to Carlos Kleiber's set on DG. The comedy isn't entirely propelled by the singers, although they are elegantly funny without descending to burlesque. What grounds the comedy is Karajan's wonderfully buoyant conducting -- the smiles begin in the orchestra, which isn't true in his later stereo remake for Decca.
There, a degree of self-importance and inflation mars the innocence of the comedy. Schwarzkopf sets the tone here as she did in Karajan's equally comic Falstaff -- besides delivering an incredibly thrilling 'Vilja,' she manages to sound utterly fresh and worldly at the same time. That's her particular magic, and like thousands of listeners over the years, I was captivated by her charm all over again. The rest of the cast follows suit, and there are no worries about a tenor Eisenstein -- Gedda is fully in character and carries the part very credibly. Special mention should be made of Rita Streich's amazingly secure but also kittenish Adele; only Lucia Popp on the Kleier set is funnier and more charming.
Overall, by owning this version and the Kleiber, I feel that complete justice has been done to Strauss's champagne masterpiece.
Free Music Review: Famous 1955 recording with Schwarzkopf and Streich fabulous as Rosalinda and Adele (I)
Hit: 5 Stars
SOURCE: Studio recording made in the Kingsway Hall, London February 26 to April 30, 1955.
SOUND: Leading edge 1955 mono. The recording was highly regarded when it was issued and still remains a fine example of the old technology. The newer stereo recording techniques were available as early as 1954 but were not used for this "Fledermaus." Walter Legge (1906-1979), in one of the few truly bad decisions of a spectacular career as a producer, completely underestimated the value of stereo sound reproduction and stubbornly believed that he could ignore it.
CAST: Gabriel von Eisenstein, a prosperous Viennese gentlemen with a roving eye - Nicolai Gedda (tenor); Rosalinde, his wife - Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (soprano); Alfred, Rosalinde's would be lover - Helmut Krebs (tenor); Adele, Rosalinde's maid - Rita Streich (soprano); Dr. Falke, Eisenstein's good friend but also the victim of one of his practical jokes - Erich Kunz (baritone); Frank, Governor of the City Prison - Karl Doench (baritone); Prince Orlowsky, a jaded and bored visiting aristocrat - Rudolf Christ (tenor); Dr. Blind, Eisenstein's lawyer - Erich Majkut (tenor); Ida, Adele's sister - Luise Martini (soprano-speaker); Frosch, a jailer - Franz Boeheim (speaker).
CONDUCTOR: Herbert von Karajan with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus.
TEXT: The spoken dialogue has been trimmed down by Walter Legge until it provided only the minimum required plot development and connectivity. Unlike Karajan's recorded live performance of five years later, there is no interpolated "gala" of interpolated performances in Act II. Also omitted from that act is the ballet music.
COMMENTARY: This was the third complete recording of "Die Fledermaus." The first was made a full century ago in 1907 and the second was a fine performance under the baton of Clemens Krauss in 1950.
The roots of Johann Strauss II's "Die Fledermaus" stretch back to an 1851 German farce by Robert Benedix, "Die Gef?ngnis" ("The Prison"). In 1872, that admirable pair of hacks, Meilhac and Hal?vy, cobblers of libretti for Offenbach and Bizet, converted the old German play into a French vaudeville, "Le r?veillon" ("The Revel" or perhaps "The Christmas Eve Party"). In 1873-4, the French text was re-translated back into German for Strauss to set to music, but with all references to Christmas carefully expunged as a sop to respectable Viennese sensibilities. Oddly enough, the one-time Christmas Eve tale has taken firm root in Austria and elsewhere as a New Year's Eve entertainment.
If there exists a poor recording of "Die Fledermaus," I have never encountered it. Each major recording has its unique merits and its champions. Choosing the best among them is simply an exercise in expressing personal taste. "Chacun," as we are wisely advised, "? son go?t." I shall limit myself to pointing out some of the salient characteristics of this recording.
This mono recording was produced by Walter Legge. That fact alone is a guarantee that this was intended to be a sumptuous, top-of-the-line affair.
The production is permeated throughout by the presence of Herbert von Karajan. You WILL hear precision here, ja! You'll also hear some very, very fast tempi, some would say too fast. Karajan was a Salzburger, not a Viennese; nevertheless, he brings a definite Viennese lilt into the playing of the manifestly non-Austrian band. (Karajan being Karajan, of course, there is occasionally the feeling that all that lilting is marching by at attention.)
This studio production, unlike the Krauss version that preceded it, and at least one stereo version that followed it, comes with spoken dialogue. It's truncated, but it's there.
The cast boast a trio of truly stellar luminosity in Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Rita Streich and Nicolai Gedda. On the basis of those three alone, this is arguably the best sung recorded performance of "Die Fledermaus." Many would say that there is a fourth stellar singer, Erich Kunz, a baritone of immense--and to me wholly inexplicable--popularity in Austria, for whom I normally have no use whatsoever. He is adequate as Dr. Falke.)
For Schwarzkopf, the role of Rosalinde was a step toward a new career path. Hitherto, her part had been Adele. She was shifting from light songbird to a performer of immensely greater depth. Her fans hold her as the exemplar of all Rosalindes. Her detractors regard her Rosalinde as an early example of her over-thought and over-mannered mature style. As for myself, I can't readily imagine anyone improving on her Roselinde and that only Lotte Lehmann in the past might possibly have matched it.
Rita Streich is a fabulous Adele. She was the leading German coloratura of her era, just as Erna Berger had been before her. Her dramatic range was not wide nor was her voice very large, but Adele suited her perfectly. I can't name anyone subsequent to this recording who was her match in the part, let alone her better.
Nicolai Gedda, like Richard Tauber before him is a lyric tenor Eisenstein. The role doesn't go very high, so baritones can and have attempted it. I prefer a tenor, because Act II is vocally unbalanced without the presence of at least one tenor on stage. Gedda is very good, but I think he sings just a little too sweetly to be a perfect Eisenstein. I prefer a tenor with a bent for character roles, a natural-born Monostatos or Herod, such as Julius Patzak.
The rest of the cast is uniformly admirable save for the controversial handling of the part of Prince Orlofsky. Strauss wrote the part for a mezzo-soprano. He is supposed to be bored and jaded young man, hardly more than a boy. Tenor Rudolf Christ sounds like a forty-ish cabaret singer with a serious buzz on, whether from drink, drugs or both, I can't say. My personal reaction to him is that he coarsens Act II unnecessarily.
This is a famous recording with some unbeatable performances, all at a reasonable price.
Five stars.
Free Music Review: A great classic Strauss operetta preserved for the digital age.
Hit: 5 Stars
The original vinyl discs of this landmark recording have been been transcribed to two CD's, with all the benefits of modern digital technology. The result is most pleasing, and I couldn't wait to upload it to my iPod so that I could listen to the operetta through my noise reduction headphones on my recent flight to Europe. The set is conveniently accompanied by an informative compact booklet which includes the text in the original German, and also English and French.
The cast of Schwarzkopf, Gedda, Streich, Krebs, Kunz and Christ, all operatic giants in their time, make this recording arguably the best ever.
Purists might quibble that the original vinyl discs have a somewhat "warmer" audio quality than the new digital version; having checked out my own vinyls and compared, I think this is perhaps a highly subjective thing, and owners of the CD's can rest assured that they will have a beautiful audio experience every time they listen to this ageless work.
Free Music Review: Come with me to a supper.
Hit: 5 Stars
"Come with me to a supper." So sings Dr Falke to his crony Eisenstein.
And what a supper it turns out to be! Besides the champagne, the dancing and the food provided at the villa of the world-weary young Prince Orlovsky, we see Eisenstein flirting with a masked "Hungarian lady" (Eisenstein's wife in disguise), Eisenstein's maid Adele (in a ball dress filched from her mistress's wardrobe) pretending to be an actress, and Dr Falke arranging a "pay back" for Eistenstein who had recently concocted a joke by which Dr Falke had been made to sneak home, after a fancy dress ball, through the city streets dressed as a bat.
Listening to the music that Johann Strauss Jnr provided for this "supper", it is hard to believe that "Die Fledermaus" was taken off after only 16 performances at its premiere Vienna season. Soon after, however, it was taken up elsewhere, notably in Hamburg where it was conducted by Mahler. Nowadays, it can be seen everywhere (often in up-dated productions), and music lovers can select from umpteen recorded versions.
This one has recently gravitated to the prestigious "Great Recordings of the Century" eminence. It is one of a classic series of recordings made in the mid 1950s by the producer Walter Legge. Featuring the orchestra he created (the Philharmonia), his wife Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, and the conductor whose career he had thus far promoted (Herbert von Karajan), it still remains one of the best recommendations despite its limited monaural sound. There is verve and sparkle a-plenty, the casting is flawless, there is a strong sense of ensemble, and dialogue is included.
To balance all of this, it should be mentioned that the Act II ballet music Strauss provided has been omitted (the booklet accompanying my set states that that waltz "Kunstlerleben" is interpolated in its stead, but this is not so). As has sometimes happened, the part of Orlovsky, originally for mezzo soprano, is here sung by a baritone. And it is tenor Nicolai Gedda, as Eisenstein, who takes the lead in the Act II sextet "Bruderlein, Bruderlein und Schwesterlien, instead of baritone Erich Kunz as Dr Falke.
I hope there is enough here to help browsers make a choice. I should hate to be forced to choose only one recorded "Die Flederamaus", but this is certainly one that I would hate to be without. Duration: 110 minutes.
Free Music Review: Fledermaus With Style
Hit: 5 Stars
Notwithstanding the extraordinary vocal talent that comprises this cast, Von Karajan has wed these glorious voices to the Waltz King's magnificent music and served up perhaps the finest recording of this Operetta ever made.Schwarzkopf's Rosalinde is pure elegance. Her producer-husband Walter Legge along with Karajan saw operetta as serious business, which was frequently more difficult than opera, to perform well. This operetta is performed without schmalz, overstatement or freewheeling. The Conductor/Producer interpretation was strictly adhered to allowing only minimal performer rubato. The result was an undertstated and subtle rendering that dazzles the ear and touches the soul.
Schwartzkopf had done other operettas with Gedda, Streich and Kunz under the baton and genius of Otto Ackerman. This production exhibits great singers having a great time making music and enjoying one another's talent.
Finally the Philharmonia Orchestra (originally created by Legge)is an orchestra of the finest caliber. It never overshadows or overpowers the singers.
There are indeed other Fledermaus recordings that are superb; but this recording has a style and superiority that goes beyond excellent. It is a recording not to be missed.
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