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Vienna Staatsoper series (cont.)

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Malcolm Richardson

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Dec 14, 1996, 3:00:00 AM12/14/96
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Having purchased volume 1 (1933-36) of the history of the Vienna State
opera series, I would also be interested in comments on the later volumes.
I found this volume containing the earliest material to be rather like
electical Mapleson cylinders, with all kinds of odd and very short cuts
ending and beginning suddenly and the perfomances variable and most of the
best of them found elsewhere with better sound, like the Melchior
Gotterdammerung excerpts. I can't say I'd walk across the street to hear
poor-sounding fragments of performances by Charles Kullman or Anny
Konetzni and other so-so singers of the the time, either, not to mention
the Vienna State opera chorus. The Flagstad Immolation Scene under
Weingartner is worth the price of the set, however. And I say all this as
someone who can listen to 30s broadcasts with pleasure, if they are
pleasureable broadcasts. However, the reviews in Fanfare made some of the
later volumes sound more attractive.

One further question for anyone owning this set: there's an Aida scene
supposedly with Lauri-Volpi, but I'd be willing to bet money that it's
really Pertile singing, in any case not Lauri-Volpi.
--
Malcolm Richardson

Stefan

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Dec 17, 1996, 3:00:00 AM12/17/96
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I bought all 24 volumes -- sometimes I got vaguely desperate - but the
overall impression was tremendously gratifying. But you learn more about
let's say orchestral playing practices and performing traditions than
about the actual performances sometimes. Then suddenly comes a revelation
Anny Konetzni is out of her ordinary mezzo'ish self as Ariadne with free
gleaming top notes, or you discover Rose Merker another GREAT
hochdramatische you never heard of or you get to hear the original
version of large chunks of Carmina Burana with solo singers instead of
chorus. And there are treasures like the excerpts from Palestrina with
Witt and Rethy (she is fabulously well represented in everything from
Lauretta to 3rd Norn and she only made operetta records after the war) or
some real great character singing by Hermann Weidemann (Toscanini's
Beckmesser) as Alberich... And then there are som radio material in very
good sound -- like Bartered Bride with Rethy & Dermota -- far from
Mapleson -- and a complete FRIEDENSTAG with Hotter, Ursuleac, etc
And a complete ARIADNE in good sound under Böhm known from other sources
but better transfer.
But for most of the snippet discs listen with a score or you will be
bored.
Stefan J

gggg gggg

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Sep 29, 2022, 10:33:30 AM9/29/22
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> Lauretta to 3rd Norn and she only made operetta records after the war)...

(Youtube upload):

"Mozart/R. Strauss - Idomeneo - Excerpts - Sabel, Böttcher, Réthy, Konetzni - Strauss (1941)"
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