Johann Strauss - Simplicius / Volle, Zysset, Magnuson, Widmer, Beczala, Nikiteanu, Welser-Möst

Johann Strauss II (Artist), Franz Welser-Most (Artist), Michael Volle (Artist), Elizabeth Magnuson (Artist), Orchester der Oper Zürich (Artist), Martin Zysset (Artist), Oliver Widmer (Artist), Cheyne Davidson (Artist), Piotr Beczala (Artist), Liliana Nikiteanu (Artist), Martina Janková (Artist), Louise Martini (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 10, 2000)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Angel Records
• ASIN: B00004UB8G
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,600 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Ov - Orch Der Oper Zurich/Franz Welser-Most

2. Act One, Scene One. No.1 Intro. Musikalische Szene Und Lied: In Einsam Ruhiger Betrachtung - Michael Volle

3. Act One, Scene Two: He, Guter Feind! - Oliver Widmer/Michael Volle

4. Act One, Scene Two. No.2 Lied: Die Jungfrau Strahit In Hellem Glanze - Oliver Widmer

5. Act One, Scene Two: Gestatten: Melchior Baron Von Grubben - Oliver Widmer/Michael Volle

6. Act One, Scene Three. No.3 Auftritt Simplicius: Vater! O Vater! - Martin Zysset/Michael Volle

7. Act One, Scene Three: Beruhige Dich! - Martin Zysset/Michael Volle

8. Act One, Scene Four. No.4 Ens: Sakrament, Element! - Meinolf Kalkuhl/Martin Zysset/Cheyne Davidson

9. Act One, Scene Four. No.5 Finale: Fort, Nur Fort, Fort Von Hier - Cheyne Davidson/Meinolf Kalkuhl/Martin Zysset/Michael Volle

10. Act Two. Nr.5a Entreact - Orch Der Oper Zurich/Franz Welser-Most

See all 20 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Act Three. No.10a Prld - Orch Der Oper Zurich/Franz Welser-Most

2. Act Three, Scene One. No.11 Melodram Und Walzer-Romanze: Ob Ich Simplicius Jemals Wiederfinde - Michael Volle

3. Act Three, Scene Two. No.12 Ens: Wo Ist Er Denn? - Chor Des Opernhauses Zurich/Kinderchor Des Opernhauses Zurich/Rolf Haunstein/Meinolf Kalkuhl...

4. Act Three, Scene Two: Also Wer Hat Sich Zu Beschweren?/Scene Three: Die SchnapslotteIst Da!... - Cheyne Davidson/Michael Volle/Martin Zysset/Rolf Haunstein/Elizabeth Magnuson/Piotr Beezala...

5. Act Three, Scene Four: So Muss Ich Meinen Bruder Wiedersehen!/No.12a Lied: Der Fruhling Lacht... - Piotr Beezala

6. Act Three, Scene Five: 'S Ist Aber Doch Merkwurdig - Martin Zysset/Louise Martini/Martina Jankova

7. Act Three, Scene Five: Hilft Nix, Der Ist Jetzt Ein Feiner Mann/No.13 Duett: Also, Du Bist Ein... - Louise Martini/Martina Jankova/Martin Zysset/Oliver Widmer

8. Act Three, Scene Six: Du Alte Vettel! Medusa!/Scene Seven: Die Schweden Sind Geschlagen - Oliver Widmer/Rolf Haunstein/Cheyne Davidson/Liliana Nikiteanu/Louise Martini/Piotr Beezala...

9. Act Three, Scene Seven. No.14 Glockenlied: Bei Glockenklang Mit Frohem Tanz - Chor Des Opernhauses Zurich/Liliana Nikiteanu/Louise Martini

10. Act Three, Scene Seven. No.15 Qt. Andantino Mit Brummchor: Im Deutschen Strom - Martina Jankova/Elizabeth Magnuson/Piotr Beezala/Martin Zysset

See all 13 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Welcome to a World Premiere Recording., October 16, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Johann Strauss - Simplicius / Volle, Zysset, Magnuson, Widmer, Beczala, Nikiteanu, Welser-Möst (Audio CD)

World premiere recordings of Johann Strauss's stage works don't come along too often. EMI has put a winner on the market here, lavishly presented. Live recordings were made during performances of "Simplicius"at Zurich in 1999. Don't expect that your listening will therefore be disturbed by stage noises, audience coughs, and bursts of applause. None of these distractions are evident. Instead there is the advantage of the right sound levels being preserved between dialogue and singing.

If EMI have got all this right, they also earn ten out of ten for providing a 218 page booklet. Here you will find in French, German and English a full libretto and a full account of the work's genesis, its various revisions, its survival in various manuscripts and its preparation by the recording's conductor Franz Welser-Möst. The booklet also provides full tracking details, an autograph copy of part of the score, and a series of photos from the 1999 stage production.

You'll hear some splendid voices here. Clearly Strauss's music demands first class voices. I especially enjoyed the "secondary lovers" who first appear in Act Two, sung by Elizabeth Magnuson and Poitr Beczala. Beczala, whose voice recalls that of Nicolai Gedda, gets a little song that was later lifted out of this work and dropped into "Eine Nacht in Venedig" when the latter work was revised by Korngold. The baritone Michael Volle gets a long prologue and the hit number that opens Act Three, once recorded by the tenor Josef Schmidt. There is a fifteen minutes finale to Act Two containing some delightful things. A lost orchestral sequence in Act Three has been replaced by a performance of "Donauweibchen", a waltz which Strauss put together from material used in this operetta.

Strauss himself loved this work, the last of his stage works at which he conducted the premiere. He described it as "generally speaking a much more cheerful work than 'Der Zigeunerbaron'". His felicitous orchestration, languorous melodies, and endless inventiveness ensure hours of cheerful listening to all those who add this 2 CD set to the shopping cart.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars World Premiere of "Simplicius" by Johann Strauss, November 6, 2005

By 

Adolfo Medrano (Miami, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Johann Strauss - Simplicius / Volle, Zysset, Magnuson, Widmer, Beczala, Nikiteanu, Welser-Möst (Audio CD)

finally for the first time, strauss fans around the world will be able to appreciate this delight stage work strauss put together. A lot of the work was lost, and recently discoverd pieces have been complied and put together to finally put on the stage. Hope you enjoy this rare and magnificent recording by Johann Strauss J.r.

4 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this because my sister is singing in it., December 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Johann Strauss - Simplicius / Volle, Zysset, Magnuson, Widmer, Beczala, Nikiteanu, Welser-Möst (Audio CD)

Although I do love Strauss, I especially love this because my sister is a lead in it.