Customer Reviews

Strauss: Die Fledermaus

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This is one of the grand old recordings from the glory days of the mid-sixties. It has opulent casting and even more opulent sound values. I doubt that anyone will quibble about the overall quality of this venture. Therefore I just wanted to address a couple of complaints that appeared in another review of this recording. First of all, the role of Orlofsky was written for a mezzo and NOT for a tenor. Strauss was very deliberately following the long tradition of having women sing "trouser" roles. Just think of Gluck's Orphee or Mozart's Cherubino in his Marriage of Figaro. To have a man sing the role of the dissolute Fledermaus prince destroys the original vision. Second, the gala that appears is a quaint, and lost, tradition that flourished throughout the early history of this operetta. The second act party scene was a place where opera companies would trot out their roster of stars, or guest artists, to show off their singing in areas of music not usually associated with them. That's why you have Birgit Nilson singing a Broadway show tune. Call it camp if you will, but it was a very deliberate decision for her to have some fun with unusual repertoire. Looked at from this angle, the gala becomes a unique feature of this recording, making it all the more valuable for the collector. Don't hesitate to buy this one!

This is AMAZING! LOOK at the cast during the gala scene! It is a who's who among operatic superstars! Dame Joan Sutherland, Birgit Nilsson, Leontyne Price, Renata Tebaldi, Jussi Björling, Mario Del Monaco, Regina Resnik, Ettore Bastianini, Giulietta Simionato, Eberhard Wächter, Ljuba Welitsch, Teresa Berganza, Walter Berry, Fernando Corena and more. I don't think I've ever seen such an array of stars in one place in my life. This is a once in a life time event! A must have!

Any serious hardcore fan of classic opera singers will want to own this studio recording from the 60's. Johann Strauss' charming and sempiternally popular "grand" operetta Die Fledermaus as conducted by none other than Herbert Von Karajan and the Vienna Symphony and starring opera singers that reigned supreme during their day-Birgit Nilsson, Leontyne Price, Renata Tebaldi, Mario Del Monaco, Regina Resnik, Bjussi Bjorling, Ettore Bastianini, Eberhard Wächter, Giuletta Simionato, Ljuba Welitsch, Walter Berry, Teresa Berganza and Fernando Corena. I'm disappointed Beverly Sills wasn't invited or for that matter Maria Callas. These singers are of course part of the long-winded entertainment during the MasqueradeSequence/Orlofsky's Ball. This is what draws operaphiles to this particular studio recording. Karajan is having fun witht the score, and it is a piece of cake for him since it is not the normally demanding music he conducted - Puccini, Strauss, Verdi, Wagner, Mahler, Bruckner, etc. It is lilting waltzes with operatic words to them. The Masquerade strays from the Strauss score and we are treated to unusual "American" music. Wagnerian goddess Birgit Nilsson surprises everyone by taking off her Valkyrie helmet and singing "I Could Have Danced All Night" from My Fair Lady! It must be heard to believe! Of course, it's awful but it makes this recording a cult classic in its campy and cheesy effects. Furthermore to Nilsson singing Broadway, we get to hear Giuletta Simionato and Ettore Bastianini, with their low husky voice singing "Everything You Can Do I Can Do Better". Operatic arias are included, in tidbits as sung by Leontyne Price, Renata Tebaldi, Bjussi Bjorling and the forementioned others. This is a real treat if your'e a fan. At an affordable price on the Used section it should be a real value for you. Don't hesitate to buy this recording now! It is endless pleasure!

De nuevo una gran version de los clasicos de Straus un gran album y grandes interpretes

It''s a special edition, with great operastars as guests at von Eisensteins big party.

This performance does effectively evoke visions of a viennese extravaganza at its most bougeouis, with Karajan moulding the lush luxuriant strings of the VPO, giving magnificent support to a fairly strong cast. Comparing this with Karajan's earlier Philaharmonia recording on EMI, however, there is little question to my mind that Schwarzkopf outclasses Hilde Gueden as Rosalinde, one only has to listen to her rendition of the Klange der Heimat in Act 2. The same applies to the peerless Rita Streich on EMI who as Adele tackles the coloratura passages with formidable ease. The men in the VPO recording do better than their counterparts on EMI, and thie later recording is in resplendent vintage Decca stereo sound whereas the EMI is in mono, although one has to say that it was very expertly engineered by Walter Legge. Another important observation is that the Orlorfsky role is played by a man in the EMI recording, while Regina Resnik plays the role here,and I find the result effete and unnatural. The biggest blot on this recording has to be the gala sequence.
While the lineup of big operatic names promised much, I found my expectations deflated quite quickly. Of all the wonderful arias that the great Birgit Nilsson could have sung, why she chose to sing "I could have danced all night" from Loewe's My Fair Lady is quite beyond me. Her majestic wagnerian voice was completely unsuited to Broadway, and suffice to say it was truly truly awful. Think Brunhilde imitating Julie Andrews. Ditto for Giuletta Simionato's and Ettore Bastianini's "Anything you can do" from Berlin's Annie get your gun! Whenever I play this recording I programme the CD player to skip the entire gala sequence. In summary, this is a vintage Fledermaus marred by a gimicky gala sequence.