Lehár: Die lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow) ~ Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus [Import]

Franz Lehár (Artist), Otto Ackermann (Artist), Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (Artist), Nicolai Gedda (Artist), Erich Kunz (Artist), Emmy Loose (Artist), Anton Niessner (Artist), Otakar Kraus (Artist), Josef Schmidinger (Artist), Hella Kurty (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: EMI
• ASIN: B000002SEW
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #396,714 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Verehrteste Damen u. Herren

2. Und jetzt, meine Herrschaften

3. So kommen Sie! 's ist niemand hier!...Ich bin eine anstaend'ge Frau

4. Excellence, Exzellenz, die Glawari kommt - dialogue

5. Frau Glawari darf keinen Pariser heiraten...Bitte, meine Herrn...Welche Galanterien...

6. Gnaedige Frau, ich...dialogue

7. Also bitte, Njegus, ich bin hier...Da geh' ich zu Maxim

8. Njegus, Geliebter, wo ist Vaterland? - dialogue

9. Damenwahl!...Es gibt keine gress're Beleidigung...O kommt doch, oh kommt, Ihr Ballsirenen

10. Wie die Blumen im Lenze erblueh'n

11. Der junge Mann tanzt Polka

12. Ich bitte, hier jetzt su verweilen

13. Nun lasst uns aber wie daheim...Vilja, oh Vilja, du Waldmaegdelein

14. Was sagen Sie, Njegus, Herrlich,.... - dialogue

15. Heia, Maedel, aufgeschout...Dummer, dummer Reitersmann

16. Herr von Cascada...dialogue

17. Wie die Weiber..Ja, das Studium der Weiber is schwer

18. Valencienne, bitte geben Sie mir...-dialogue

19. Mein Fruend, Vernumft!...Wie Sie mich quaelen!

20. Wie eine Rosenknospe...Sieh dort den kleinen Pavillon

See all 31 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This is among the best Viennese operetta recordings ever made. Taped in 1953 as part of EMI-Angel's series of "champagne operettas," it captures the waning years of the Vienna State Opera's postwar ensemble in ways that the same label's 1958 stereo remake did not. The story of rich and royal personages afoot in glamorous Paris is captured in the lilting phrases that hover gracefully around cadences, seconded by conductor Otto Ackermann's flexible, genial tempos that never fall into sentimentality. Among the singers, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf's voice has a special luster here, while Nicolai Gedda is captured at his youthful, vocally flexible best. Erich Kunz teases and charms Lehár's musical lines as Danilo while Valencienne is sung by the little-known Emmy Loose, whose voice has a radiant warmth. Sound quality is as good as mono gets. --David Patrick Stearns

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kunz and Gedda at their best!, January 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Lehár: Die lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow) ~ Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus (Audio CD)

Having heard quite a number of performances, this recording is still the one that I will go back with great pleasure. Gedda and Kunz are simply gorgeous. The meltingly beautiful love duet between Gedda and Emmy Loose has never, never have been matched. Kunz's Danilo makes all the authentic tenor Danilos sound like a little boy. Kunz's charming, gently seductive voice was made to sung this role. Schwarzkopf is in better voice here than in the remake and she too beat pretty much all the competitors (with the possible exception of Hilde Gueden). Emmy Loose's lovely voice adds extra glory to the wonderful cast. Ackermann's conducting may not have the incisiveness of Matacic, but has a beautiful, nostalgic atmosphere that is quite appropriate for the music. The recording is in mono, but has a fine warm quality, unlike many of the metallic sounding digital recordings. In short, this is a gem!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best!, June 25, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Lehár: Die lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow) ~ Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus (Audio CD)

Listeners who want to hear the very best recording of perhaps the best Viennese operetta should listen to this one. Gedda, Schwarzkopf,and Loose are splendid, but Kunz's witty, warm combination of dialog and singing provides the spice wich makes this an extremely satisfying performance.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The cheapest way to aquire a uniquely delightful recording, April 15, 2007

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Lehár: Die lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow) ~ Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus (Audio CD)

This older CD issue of EMI's 1953 Merry Widow is out of print but extremely cheap here at Amazon Marketplace. The sonics are favorably comparable to the latest remastering, in large part because the original sonics are fairly mediocre to begin with.

This classic portrayal from Schwarzkopfdoesn't need any more accolades, but I wanted to say how much joy it has brought me over the years. I have bought several modern Widows, too, but thrown them all away. This gem will be remembered as long as the work itself, and it's all the more amazing since Schwarzkopf never performed in a staged operetta of any kind.

I came late to Schwarzkopf's mono Merry Widow under Otto Ackermann, which finds her in even more ecstatic voice than in her acclaimed stereo remake. Many listeners may prefer Erich Kunz, whose Danilo is mellower and less fiercely temperamental than that of Wachter in the later set. No one should miss either recording, given the shortfall of joy these days.