Very Best of Fritz Wunderlich

Fritz Wunderlich (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 22, 2003)
• SPARS Code: A-D
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: EMI Classics
• ASIN: B000083GOM
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #79,195 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

• This is item 2 in The EMI Classics: Very Best of the Singers Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Fritz Wunderlich is one of those singers whose voice, while you are listening to it, seems to eclipse all others. Ravishingly beautiful, perfectly produced, radiant, even, mellow, it flows out with effortless ease like a golden stream. His breath is endless, and there is nothing that he cannot do. On these two very generous discs he sings arias ranging from Handel to Viennese operettas and sounds equally at home in all of them, vocally and stylistically. Mozart was one of his specialties, and the five arias opening the program have a beguiling, caressing lyricism that melts the heart. The selection includes familiar arias by Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Massenet, Donizetti, Smetana (including a duet with Pilar Lorengar), as well as several by composers whose operas were popular in the 1960s, when the records were made, but have now fallen into oblivion, such as Lortzing, Flotow, Cornelius, Kienzl, Nicolai, Thomas, Boieledieu. Wunderlich sings them all with the same seriousness and commitment, making the lesser ones sound better than they are, and creating real characters with color, nuance and expression. In keeping with the European tradition of performing opera in the local language, he sings everything in German, except the famous "Ombra mai fu" from Handel's Serse, which must have escaped the translators. Choosing from the best operettas by Lehár, Johann Strauss, Millöcker, Kálmán and Fall, he captures their smiling, tongue-in-cheek lightness and never lets the catchy tunes become corny or sentimental. (Listen also to his two very different, but equally wonderful recordings of Mahler's Song of the Earth under Schmidt-Isserstedt on BellaVoce and Klemperer.) In 1966, aged 36, at the peak of his artistry and his career, Wunderlich died after a fall, a month before he was to make his debut at the Metropolitan Opera. --Edith Eisler

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Elegant collection though everything...auf Deutsch!, May 2, 2004

By	Armindo (Greece) - See all my reviews

Among the lyric tenors, Wunderlich had one of the most handsome voices and a strength not usually related to this type of tenors. One melancholically wonders how much his repertoire could have expanded, had he lived longer.

This new VERY BEST collection has arias of some of his trademark Mozart roles, songs and arias of less popular composers as well as some famous arias of the Italian repertoire. He sings them all with memorable style, unparalleled beauty of tone and - where needed - the right vigour. I only wish he'd escaped the tradition of those decades and recorded the Italian and French arias in their original language and not in German. Only "Ombra mai fu" is sung in Italian and it doesn't reveal any bad Italian accent. Listening for example to his lovely "Una furtiva lagrima" in German is unique for sure but I prefer the Italian version.

His life was brief but the quality of his singing eternal.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wunderlich.. ah what might have been,but glory in what was.., December 28, 2004

By	s (USA) - See all my reviews

Fritz Wunderlich died at the tragically young age of 36, just weeks before his scheduled Metropolitan Opera debut. I have no doubt that he would have been THE tenor of the 1960s and 70s. This collection is a compendium of some of Wunderlich's finest stuff (although his lieder are not represented here). Among the highlights, Granada.
I know, it's a Spanish song, and as the previous reviewer said, everything here is in German, which can get a little annoying with the Italian opera.. but for sheer vocal glory, Granada will make you want to stand up and shout, what a voice!!
If you don't know Wunderlich, get this disc.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Best of Fritz Wunderlich, January 9, 2007

By	R. MacDonald (Singleton, Western Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fritz Wunderlich is still one of the Best. This CD is very good value for money, such a variety of songs, excellent tone quality.