Just out of European
copyright it’s a good time to reissue
this classic 1953 Merry Widow. Otto
Ackermann is at the helm
of the Philharmonia, an orchestra he
fronted for Walter Legge on disc and
off it, and the stellar vocal soloists
are, then and now, names to conjure
with. The sound quality has come up
well and without obvious difficulty,
since it was anyway fine for its time.
There’s a synopsis not a libretto but
I suspect that will be of little account
especially as admirers of the work or
the cast will have other more recent
recordings, not least the later 1962
von Matacic (EMI CMS5 67370 2) a two
CD set in which Schwarzkopf and Gedda
reprise their roles.
Back in 1953 we find
the Philharmonia in bright, springy
form. I’ve read some criticism of their
contribution, finding it slack and lacking
in character but the opposite seems
to me to be the case, and contemporary
critics felt the same. The rhythms are
buoyant, instrumental solos eloquently
taken, the wind choir truly characterful
and the strings elegant and lithe. Even
the smaller roles are well and knowledgeably
cast. Otakar Krauss as Cascada shows
a firmly centred and confident, athletic
baritone and his opening scenes set
the (albeit critically seldom acknowledged)
standard for the performance. But we
soon enough meet Gedda whose effortlessly
deployed head voice illumines Ich
bin eine anstand’ge Frau and in
her replies and exchanges we can hear
Emmy Loose’s light, caressing intimacy
of utterance. Erich Kunz, hero of many
a Viennese operetta, and much else,
takes the role of the Count and with
his usual treasurable warmth. He’s exceptional
in Hilfe kommt where his buoyancy
and natural rhythmic sap fuse with a
line that lies perfectly for his voice.
One should note however that Also
bitte, ich bin hier doesn’t sit
so well, rather too low, and he is forced
to transpose.
Schwarzkopf shows her
seductive side in the scene beginning
Pardon, Madame, zuviel Reklam’! and
in Act II’s opening scene we really
hear the gleam in that tone as one does
the finely trained choir - and also
the way Ackermann imparts a real Dvořákian
Slavonic Dance lilt. The lovely unimpeachable
tone, with its admixture of gravity,
and the way she floats it, makes
Schwarzkopf’s Nun lasst very
special, only enhanced by the shimmer
of the strings with their perfectly
placed pizzicatos. One of the most warming
scenes is that between Gedda and Loose
in Mein Freund, Vernunft! which
rises to a peak of effulgence. Other
things also impress as much as they
ever did; the colour and shading of
Schwarzkopf’s tone and the way her vibrato
quickens so decisively in Act III’s
Bei jedem Wallzerschritt (the
Merry Widow Waltz). Or indeed the way
Gedda’s honeyed tone communicates so
warmly in his exchanges with Loose,
not least Sich dort den kleinen Pavilion.
I last saw EMI’s own
re-issue of this coupled on a 2 CD set
with the Land of Smiles (567529-2)
but many will warmly welcome this Naxos
budget price single CD issue and the
performance enshrined within.
Jonathan Woolf
see also review
by Göran Forsling
- April Bargain of the Month
Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus/Otto Ackermann
