Vienna State Opera

Strauss, R: Capriccio

Live Recording 1964

With its new production on 7th June 2008, the Vienna State Opera revived a long-standing tradition of having the finest representatives of the profession singing Capriccio. The work was first staged in Salzburg in 1950 in a production subsequently seen in Vienna. Both there and in Salzburg, the Countess was for many years sung by Lisa Della Casa in one of the Strauss roles with which she was most closely associated. The present live recording is the first official record of this ideal interpretation, with Georges Prêtre in the pit, vividly demonstrating his Strauss credentials. It virtually goes without saying that the singers who were engaged to appear with Lisa Della Casa were in every way her equals.The difficulty in choosing between poetry and music becomes all the more understandable when the representatives of these two art forms are artists of the stature of Waldemar Kmentt and Walter Berry. Both men were among the company's leading singing actors, bringing to their parts both striking vocalism and an impassioned wooing of the woman on whom they have set their hearts. No less impressive is the American baritone Robert Kerns, whom Herbert von Karajan had invited to join the Vienna State Opera ensemble two years previously and who remained with the company until his premature death at the age of 55 in 1989.As the Count he displays natural charm in his attempts to win the hand of Christa Ludwig's imposing Clairon. Otto Wiener was more of a heroic baritone than either Berry or Kerns, allowing him to bring all the necessary authority to the role of the theatre manager La Roche and to his great address. Last, but not least, are the two 'Italian' singers, whom it would be difficult to imagine better cast today: the young Lucia Popp and Fritz Wunderlich turn Strauss’ witty parody of Italian bel canto singing into a serious highlight.

Puccini: Turandot

Live Recording 1961

They made a distinctly odd couple onstage: she was the supreme hochdramatisch soprano of her generation, a singer able to maintain her tremendous vocal powers over a period of several decades, whereas he could captivate his listeners as a poetic and spirited lyric tenor so prodigal with his resources that within little more than a decade he had burned out. It was in 1961 that Birgit Nilsson appeared alongside Giuseppe di Stefano in a performance of Puccini's Turandot which, caught on the wing by by the microphones of Austrian Radio, manages not to be simply a duel between two vocal gymnasts anxious to display their top notes. As Calaf, Giuseppe di Stefano, who died on 3rd March at the age of 86, genuinely gives the impression that he is able to melt the Ice Princess with his mellifluous tenor and ingratiating timbre. Especially towards the end of her killer role, Nilsson shows that she has at her disposal the soft notes and subtle nuances needed to effect this change to a sense of greater humanity.This exceptional cast is completed by Leontyne Price as Liù. Rarely in the history of opera before or since have three such distinguished singers appeared together onstage.This new production of Turandot was conducted by Francesco Molinari-Pradelli, at that time one of the most sought-after conductors of the Italian repertory.

Strauss, R: Intermezzo, Op. 72

Live Recording 1/5/1963

If singers loved working with Joseph Keilberth [1908-1968], it was because he brought to all his opera performances a deep knowledge of the work in question, a stick technique that left them in no doubt as to his intentions and a highly considerate musical sensitivity. Even in luxuriantly scored works he never lost his ability to ensure a perfect balance between stage and pit.These were ideal conditions for a work like Richard Strauss's 'bourgeois comedy', Intermezzo, for which the composer wrote his own libretto - only the second time that he had done so since the failure of his first opera, Guntram, 30 years earlier. In his depiction of a marital row between Court Kapellmeister Robert Storch and his wife, Strauss did not fight shy of ironic allusions to his own connubial domesticity.The Vienna State Opera mounted a new production of this rarely heard work at the Theater an der Wien in 1963, when Keilberth and the Vienna State Opera Orchestra had at their disposal a team of singers who, thanks to their excellent diction and acting skills, were able to capture the conversational tone that is required but which is so difficult to achieve. Leading the ensemble is Hanny Steffek as the Kapellmeister's wife, Christine. She enjoyed an international career as a Strauss soprano, most notably as Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier, which she sang at Covent Garden under Solti in 1959. Alongside her is Hermann Prey as Storch, a role tailor-made for him both physically and vocally, so much so, indeed, that he was still cutting a fine figure in the part 25 years later in the composer's home city of Munich.The two tenors in the 1963 Intermezzo,Waldemar Kmentt and Ferry Gruber, had equally long careers, making their mark in roles that serve initially to fuel the petty jealousies between Storch and his wife before ultimately leaving the coast clear for a suitably harmonious ending

Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72

Never before released (we do not acknowledge pirate productions!), recorded at a single evening's performance (25 May 1962), this Fidelio, under the baton of Herbert von Karajan (who was also responsible for the acclaimed stage production), is remarkable for its spontaneity and sense of theatrical presence.

Gundula Janowitz

Live 1962-1990

Weber: Der Freischütz

Live 1972

Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro, K492 (highlights)