J. Strauss II Die Fledermaus Clemens Krauss PATZAK GUEDEN DERMOTA LIPP POELL RAR

	€		16
	$		19

J. Strauss II

 Die Fledermaus

 Clemens Krauss

 PATZAK

GUEDEN

DERMOTA

LIPP

POELL

u.a.

2CD

(ean : 636943118023)

 RAR

SOURCE:
Studio recording made by Decca at the Musikvereinsaal in Vienna on June 22 (Frülingstimmen) and September 16-22, 1950.

SOUND:
Acceptable 1950s mono that places the soloist well to the front and emphasizes them over the orchestra and chorus in accordance with the style of the day. Preiser has, over the years, established an admirable reputation for getting excellent results out of old recordings.

CAST:
Gabriel von Eisenstein, a prosperous Viennese gentlemen with a roving eye - Julius Patzak (tenor)
Rosalinde, his wife - Hilde Gueden (soprano)
Alfred, Rosalinde's would-be lover - Anton Dermota (tenor)
Adele, Rosalinde's maid - Wilma Lipp (soprano)
Dr. Falke, Eisenstein's good friend but also the victim of one of his practical jokes - Alfred Poell (baritone)
Herr Frank, Governor of the City Prison - Kurt Preger (baritone)
Prinz Orlofsky, a jaded and bored visiting aristocrat - Sieglinde Wagner (mezzo-soprano)
Dr. Blind, Eisenstein's lawyer - August Jaresch (tenor)

The speaking roles of Ida, Adele's sister; Frosch, a jailer, and Iwan, Orlofsky's servant and henchman, do not appear on this dialogue-free recording.

CONDUCTOR:
Clemens Krauss with the Wiener Philharmoniker and Chor der Wiener Staatsoper.

TEXT:
This recording omits all spoken dialogue. Strauss' "Frülingstimmen," recorded a few months prior to the operetta, proper, has been inserted into the finale of Act II. This version of "Die Fledermaus" is blessedly free of any gala nonsense.

COMMENTARY:
This is the second complete and the first electronic recording of the musical sore of "Die Fledermaus." The first recording dates back a full century to 1907.

The roots of Johann Strauss II's "Die Fledermaus" stretch back to an 1851 farce in German by Robert Benedix, "Die Gefängnis" ("The Prison"). In 1872, that admirable pair of hacks, Meilhac and Halévy, cobblers of libretti for both Offenbach and Bizet, converted the old German play into a French vaudeville as "Le réveillon" ("The Revel" or perhaps "The Christmas Eve Party"). In 1873-74, 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 which premiered in the spring of 1874, 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, "à son goût." I shall limit myself to pointing out some of the salient characteristics of this recording.

The particular strengths of this recording lie in its stylishness and sense of ensemble. Elsewhere I have written that the Karajan version of 1955 with Schwarzkopf, Streich and Gedda is probably the best sung of all recorded versions of "Die Fledermaus." I continue to hold that opinion, but I do not claim that the Karajan version is necessarily the best recorded version. There are many who would argue that this one is. Gueden, Lipp and Patzak are one and all very fine singers but they fall just short of matching Schwarzkopf, Streich and Gedda vocally. On the other hand, each one is warmer, funnier and generally more convincing as Rosalinde, Adele and Eisenstein, respectively. When it comes to the role of Alfred, Rosalinde's would be tenor lover, Anton Dermota on this recording stands head and shoulders above Karajan's Adolf Dallapozza-or any other Alfred ever recorded, for that matter. The role was written with Austrian-style music for an Austrian-style lyric tenor--think of a young Richard Tauber. It has, over the years become encrusted with the idiotic notion that Alfred is actually Alfredo, a completely over-the-top caricature of an Italian tenor. Dermota has nothing of that foolshness. He is restrained and superb.

The principal singers of Krauss' cast were established, principal singers with the Vienna State Opera. They had worked together in many productions, "Die Fledermaus" doubtlessly among them. They knew how to play to one another's strengths. You can hear them doing just that on this recording.

The undeniable and unavoidable weaknesses of this recording for contemporary listeners are the technical limitations of its sound and the lack of dialogue. Of the first, I can only say that after a few minutes I cease to notice its sonic failings because I get caught up in the performance. Of the second, I am inclined to consider it no great loss, especially to listeners who haben kein Deutsch--at least as far as Acts I and II are concerned. The short final act, however, seems distorted almost out of recognition for someone who is familiar with "Die Fledermaus."

I regard the strengths and virtues of the performance to be found on this set to be so great that they overcome its weaknesses. Five stars.

Zustand : Neu

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