This is a sparkling collection of 36 operetta selections. The many composers
represented include: Johann Strauss II, Oscar Strauss, André Messager,
Victor Herbert, Emmerich Kálmán; Franz Lehar; Carl Zeller;
Lionel Monckton; Carl Millöcker; Robert Stolz; Carl Michael Ziehrer;
and Richard Tauber. Many of the tunes will be familiar even if the names
are not, like the lovely Let me dance and let me sing from
Die Csárdásfürstin by Kálmán
and My Hero from The Chocolate Soldier by Oscar Strauss.
Favourite operettas are included: The Merry Widow, Casanova,
The White Horse Inn and Merry England
The performances may not reach the peaks achieved by the Viennese orchestras
and singers like Hilde Guedon, Renate Holm, Gundala Janowitz, Erik Kunz,
Werner Krenn and Richard Tauber, nevertheless the Chandos artists show great
enthusiasm and commitment. Marilyn Hill Smiths light soprano voice
is ideal for many of these songs and her colaratura singing is very impressive
in operettas like Der Schätzmeister (Ziehrer), and Der arme
Jonathan (Millõcker) in which she her voice soars over The
Doleful Prima Donna. She is marvellous as the amusing Sybil
(Jacobi) in which she sings the marching song The Colonel of the Crimson
Hussars. Where she is not so successful is in the later operettas of
Lehar where he was approaching the style of grand opera. In Giuditta
a smokier more seductive voice (like that of Hilde Gueden) is needed to
successfully put over On my lips every kiss is like wine.
Peter Morrison is a strong if adenoidy hero. He colours his voice so that
he sounds extraordinarily like Richard Tauber and Nelson Eddy when he comes
to sing those numbers associated with them like My Heart and I
from Old Chelsea and At the Balalaika from
Balalaika (Victor Herbert) respectively. He is a robust and ardent
romantic hero and a staunch patriot in the stirring The Yeoman of the
Guard from Edward Germans Merrie England. Morrison is also
charmingly witty, when he muses over his many lady friends, as he endures
the rigours of Military Life from Der
Fremdenführer; and as he despairs about his wifes figure
in Thin, thin is my Gwendolin from Ziehrers Die drei
Wünsche.
The choirs give staunch support as does the Chandos Concert Orchestra under
Barry Knight who points up the often hilarious subtleties of the music like
the orchestral horse laughs that comment on the heroines Scale
Song from Ziehrers Der Schätzmeister.
In conclusion I must mention the very impressive rendition of Johann
Strausss The Nuns Chorus and Lauras Song from
Casanova.
An enchanting collection.
Reviewer
Ian Lace
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