3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
For committed Schwarzkopfites only, April 24, 2000
This review is from: Alzira (Audio CD)
This is a live Berlin concerrt performance from 1938, so one obviously cannot expect sound up to current standards. But this release is substandard even for that period. There are places where the surface noise is as loud as the content.
Worse, it's not even a complete performance of this already short opera. A note in the booklet explains that "Due to the vicissitudes of war, three acetates have been lost. The end of the prologue, the final scene, and the beginning of Act I are thus incomplete."
That said, the 23-year old Schwarzkopf sings delightfully, when you can hear her clearly, in spite of the fact that she was a last-minute substitute and was sight-reading the part. The rest of the cast ranges from fair to bad. (The booklet admits that for this performance "the cast list does not include a single 'star' from one of the three Berlin Opera houses active at the time.")
If you absolutely must have everything Schwarzkopf ever recorded (mea culpa), then maybe this is for you -- otherwise, it's going to be a disappointment.
(Did I mention that there's no libretto?)
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