Johann STRAUSS II (1825–1899)
Die Fledermaus (1874) [1:57:05]
Rosalinde (wife of Eisenstein) - Hilde Gueden (soprano)
Gabriel von Eisenstein (a well-to-do gentleman) - Waldemar Kmentt (tenor)
Adele (maid to Rosalinde) - Erika Köth (soprano)
Falke (friend of Eisenstein) - Walter Berry (bass-baritone)
Frank (a prison governor) - Eberhard Wächter (baritone)
Alfred (an Italian tenor) - Giuseppe Zampieri (tenor)
Prince Orlofsky (a young Russian nobleman) - Regina Resnik (mezzo)
Dr. Blind (Eisenstein's lawyer) - Peter Klein (tenor)
Frosch (a prison warder) - Erich Kunz (bass-baritone)
Ida (Adele's sister) - Hedwig Schubert
Lord Barrymore (an English nobleman) - Omar Godknow*
Ivan (butler to Prince Orlofsky) - B. Fasolt*
Carikoni (an influential man) Andre von Mattoni
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra/Herbert von Karajan
rec. 12-20 June 1960, Sofiensaal, Vienna. ADD. stereo
PRISTINE PACO 068 [57:03 + 60:02]
*“Omar Godknow” (“O my God, no”) was Christopher Raeburn (one of the producers
and eventually head of Decca Opera Recordings) and “B. Fasolt” is an anagram
of the words "Fat slob", referring to Terry McEwen, who ran Decca/London’s
New York office.
This is a pioneering stereo recording done by some of the best sound engineers
in the business. The fifty-one year old recording was already a sonic marvel
which could only be improved by Andrew Rose giving it the usual Pristine XR
re-mastering treatment. It remains my favourite version despite some stiff
competition from Krauss, again with Gueden in 1950, and Karajan with Schwarzkopf
in 1955. There is here a joie de vivre from a matchless ensemble which is
all the more apparent in its new incarnation. About this Rose writes that
it has “more immediacy, vibrancy and sense of dimension [and] really does
breathe new life into a classic.” It’s a dashing performance with a breathless,
heady excitement about it that convinces me afresh that this is the most tuneful
music ever written.
Gueden is foxy charm itself. She sings enticingly with sparkling élan; Köth
is a winning soubrette, witty and sharp; Kmentt, Berry, Wächter and Zampieri
are all Vienna regulars with lovely voices. They are happy to camp it up just
a little to bring out the full, farcical fun. Resnik is a rich-voiced and
rather butch, convincing Orlovsky. Erich Kunz’s ludicrous, echt-Viennese accent
and drunken clowning as Frosch are the best on record.
Pristine here omits the ballet music and Gala concert (with contributions
from Renata Tebaldi, Fernando Corena, Birgit Nilsson, Mario del Monaco, Teresa
Berganza, Joan Sutherland, Jussi Björling, Leontyne Price, Giulietta Simionato,
Ettore Bastianini and Ljuba Welitsch) although these are available on a separate
Pristine disc with four other Johann Strauss II overtures and waltzes from
the early 1940s as a bonus. Pristine chose to do so on the grounds that although
that music was on the original premium-price opera label issue then being
launched, it was omitted from the 1962 SXL set. As the “Gramophone” critic
noted in 1960, for some listeners its inclusion would surely constitute "a
very considerable disruption of the kind of mood so far established".
Timings are very slightly faster than the Decca Originals issue as, in Andrew
Rose’s words, “Viennese tunings traditionally tend to be slightly sharper
than the standard A4=440Hz. The recording came off the Decca LPs at A=449.24,
but close analysis of residual electrical hum suggested an original tuning
of A=445.67, and my restoration therefore adopts this pitch.”
If you already own, as I do, that Decca Originals set with the Gala music
and a physical libretto and are resistant to being required to download, I
wouldn’t rush off to buy this Pristine issue. That said, the improvement in
the quality of sound certainly justifies the extra expense if you want to
buy this recording for the first time. Links to further notes, information
on the score and a libretto may be found on the Pristine website.
Ralph Moore
A dashing performance with breathless, heady excitement.