Customer Reviews

Operetta Arias

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I can still remember the first time I heard Richard Tauber's recorded voice. It was, of course, his extraordinarily best-selling signature piece, Lehár's 'Dein is mein ganzes Herz.' I was about ten years old when I heard it and it took my breath away. I became an instant fan, like many others over the decades who have been enthralled by this most Viennese of tenors. This CD, one of a series that has been impeccably transferred and presented by Naxos, consists of operetta arias, duets and ensembles recorded between 1924 and 1932 and featuring Tauber, and begins with three by J. Strauss and two by Kálmán. Then follow eleven of them by that Hungarian operetta-master, Franz Lehár, although it does not include the aforementioned 'Dein is mein ganzes Herz,' from 'The Land of Smiles.' Included are three duets from 'Paganini' ('Was ich denke, was ich fühle,' 'Einmal möcht ich was Närrische tun,' and the delicious 'Niemand liebt dich so wie ich') with soprano Carlotta Vanconti, his wife of the moment; they still manage to sound in love even though they only stayed married a year. Tauber then moves on to the two tenor arias from 'Paganini,' including 'Gern hab' ich die Frau'n geküsst,' which in its day was almost as famous as 'Ganzes Herz.' All these mentioned were recorded in the acoustic era. We then move on to early electric recordings, including the two famous arias from 'The Merry Widow' ('Lippen schweigen' and 'Vilja,' the latter ending with a ravishing pianissimo high B), done as only Tauber can do them, with ardent emotion, caressing tone and impeccable musicality. Lehár is closed out with arias from 'Zigeunerliebe' and 'Der Rastelbinder.'

Then comes one of my very favorite operetta arias: Heuberger's wittily suggestive 'Im chambre separée,' from his 'Opernball.' This performance is, unfortunately, not to my taste, largely because the zither player isn't very good and his instrument is only approximately in tune. Tauber is magnificent, but that twanging zither ruins it for me. (I much prefer Beverly Sills' much later recording that eliminates the zither entirely.) This is followed by two arias from Friml's 'Rose Marie' sung in German: 'O Rose Marie, I love you,' and 'Indian Love Call' (titled, in German, 'Über die Prärie'!). Both are beautifully done, but slightly jarring for those of us who keep expecting the oft-parodied 'ooo--oo-oo-oo--oo-oo-oo' which becomes a string of German words. One must, however, add that Tauber's patented crooning mezza voce is simply spine-tingling here.

The CD finishes out with three ensemble sections from Johann Strauss's 'Die Fledermaus' recorded in 1928, the first ('Dieser Anstand') with the light-soprano Vera Schwarz as Adele, and then the Act II finale, 'Herr Chevalier' and 'Genug damit,' with soprano Lotte Lehmann (Rosalinde) and mezzo Karin Branzell (Prince Orlofsky), and others accompanied by the Berlin State Opera Orchestra. These joyful final selections are like a frothy dessert after a rich and scrumptious meal.

In summary, this CD contains repertoire that made Tauber's name and fame. He owned these roles, these arias and ensembles, and here he is caught in his absolute prime. You owe it to yourself to have these performances if you're the least bit interested in this repertoire. Further, Ward Marston has given us sound from these ancient recordings that is as good as it gets for recordings of that era. Superb!

TT=79:21

Scott Morrison