Edda Moser - Wagner - Arias and Interludes

 

Release Date: November 4, 1992 Label: Stradivari Classics Number of discs: 1 Composer: Richard Wagner Performer: Edda Moser cd info/ buy

Review:

For fans of German opera singer Edda Moser this album may come as a bit of a surprise. Edda was not a Wagnerian soprano. She sang the role of a Rhinemaiden in Das Rhinegold for Herbert Von Karajan as her operatic debut and she went on to sing Sieglende from Act 1 of Die Walkure but she was chiefly a dramatic coloratura soprano whose most successful repertoire was Mozart. Her dramatically rendered performances as the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflote and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni were utterly brilliant, Her Elettra in Idomeneo and Aspasia in Mitridate were other triumphs for her. Her Mozart Concert arias won her praises from critics and fans worldwide. She was skilled at singing Baroque opera and Strauss operetta. The latter came easy to her since Strauss' Viennese operettas was music she had heard since her childhood as a native German speaker. In this recording, made in 1989 in Ljubljana, Maestro Anton Nanut conducts her in Wagner's most demanding soprano music in his catalog - the Immolation Scene at the end of Gotterdammerung, and the Liebestod of Isolde in Tristan And Isolde. Normally a Mozart singer would destroy herself singing such heavy repertoire. The tessitura is very high, and in addition the music calls for power in the lower notes, middle voice and chest voice. While Edda doesn't have bottom, she is certainly comfortable in the top registers. Her Isolde here is divinely beautiful, with excellent polished technique, and this is saying a lot about her since in 1989 when she recorded this, she had been singing for many years and was a veteran opera singer late in her career. Yet she sounds youthful and every bit the passionate Isolde. Her Liebestod as recorded in this disc is well worth listening and fans will be in for a treat.

 

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Edda Moser - Virtuose Arien von W.A. Mozart

 

Release Date: 1988 Label: EMI Number of discs: 1 Composer: W.A. Mozart  Performer: Edda Moser  cd info/ buy

Review:

This 1973 recital LP "Virtuoso Arias by W. A. Mozart" received the Grand Prix du Disque. "Astonish me!" Diaghilev would cry. He should have met Miss Moser. Her singing on this album is a ballet in itself, an astonishing exercise in daring and poise; but what sets the nerves dancing in response is the sense of dramatic command and musical intelligence that accompany the virtuosity. Such a sense is imparted right from the start. This Queen of Night makes her regal authority very  clear in her first phrases; when she tells of "den Bosenwicht" it is with some venom and when she contemplates weakness it is with scorn. Similarly, this Constanze presents an invincible spirit, and this Donna Anna a deep store of tenderness. The fluidity, the cleanness, the extensiveness of the range are all quite astounding. 01 - O Zittre Nicht, Mein Lieber Sohn (04:54) 02 - Der Holle Rache (03:04) 03 - Crudele? (07:26) 04 - Popoli Di Tessaglia (11:31) 05 - Ma Che VI Fece, O Stelle (09:17) 06 - Bester Jüngling, Mit Entzücken (03:26) 07 - Ich Bin Die Erste Sängerin (05:44) 08 - Martern Aller Arten (08:30)

 

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Friedrich von Flotow - Martha - Rothenberger, Fassbaender, Gedda, Prey, Heger

 

Release Date: 09/10/2002 Label: Emi Classics Number of discs: 2 Composer: Friedrich von Flotow Performer: Robert Heger, Bavarian State Orchestra cd info/ buy

Review:

Flotow's opera "Martha" was once a very popular and frequently performed opera, but today, with the exception of its well known tenor aria "Ach so fromm," usually sung in Italian, the work is relatively unknown. Yet it was for many years a staple at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and a favorite of tenor Enrico Caruso. It is comic opera, originally performed in German, but there are also French and Italian versions of the work as well. It tells the story of a high class woman who becomes a farm maid just to overcome boredom, and falls in love with the owner of the farm. The plot formula is not all that original, the two meet and fall in love, something threatens the love, but all ends happily ever after. If the plot is not all that original, the music is very rich and melodious. Martha is not a singspiel, meaning that the music is continuous without spoken dialogue. While it has a light feeling to it like an operetta, the music is as sophisticated as many of the more serious German operas. The opera has a rousing overture that is sometime performed in concert halls as a free standing work. There are many lively ensembles, arias duets as well as choral parts. Listeners will not only be familiar with Lyonel's famous aria, but also an aria based on the Irish folk song "The Last Rose of Summer" which helps give this German opera a bit of local color since it takes place in the British countryside (at the time the opera was composed, Britain occupied all of Ireland). In this recording, Nicolai Gedda is Lyonel, one of the tenor's favorite roles. The recording dates back to the late 1960's and Gedda is in top vocal form. His love interest, Lady Harriet is sung by Anneliese Rothenberger. The versatile and gifted baritone Hermann Prey is Plunkett. The recording is superb, and after listening to it, many would wonder why the opera is not performed more often.

 

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