CLASSICAL new release harmonia mundi UK available 11th ...

C785092i
Barcode: 4011790 785226
2 MID PRICE CDS
Bedrich SMETANA
Die Verkaufte Braut
Hans Braun (Krušina); Hilde Konetzni (Ludmila); Irmgard Seefried (Marie);
Ludwig Welter (Micha); Rosette Anday (Háta); Murray Dickie (Wenzel);
Waldemar Kmentt (Hans); Oskar Czerwenka (Kecal); László Szemere
(Zirkusdirektor); Liselotte Maikl (Esmeralda); Hans Schweiger (Muff);
Chor und Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper / Berislav Klobucar (conductor)
Live Recording 11. November 1960
Smetana's The Bartered Bride, performed in German, it has long been a regular part of Vienna's mainstream
operatic repertory. In 1960 this production was captured by Austrian Radio in a performance that
immortalised the interpretations of the original principals from 1959. The cast was headed by Irmgard
Seefried, a great favourite with Viennese audiences. At the time of this recording she could already look back
on a stage career lasting 20 years, and yet she had retained the youthful freshness necessary for Marie/
Marenka. The other half of this dream couple was Waldemar Kmentt as Jeník, or Hans, one of the roles with
which the Austrian tenor was rightly most closely associated. The tragicomedy of his stuttering stepbrother is
well caught by Murray Dickie avoiding buffo excess. The self-infatuated and vainglorious marriage broker Kecal
is entirely plausible when the role is played by another Viennese operatic institution, the distinguished
Upper Austrian bass Oskar Czerwenka. The smaller roles are also cast from strength by singers of
the calibre of Hilde Konetzni, Rosette Anday and László Szemere, all of whom milk their brief scenes for all
that they are worth. A lively and yet always well-disciplined performance is further guaranteed by the Chorus
and Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera under the direction of Berislav Klobucar, who, often criminally
undervalued, presided genially over countless repertory performances in Vienna.
C598081B
Barcode: 4011790 598123
MID PRICE CD
IRMGARD SEEFRIED
CORNELIUS Brautlieder; BRAHMS Die Trauernde,
Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer, Nachtigall;
WOLF Das verlassene Mägdlein, Der Gärtner, Im Frühling;
KIENZL Maria auf dem Berge, Mai; MOZART Sehnsucht nach dem Frühling;
SCHUBERT Die Forelle; BRAHMS Wiegenlied; MARX Marienlied, Erinnerung,
Lied eines Mädchens, Zigeuner, Sankta Maria; STRAUSS Morgen,
Die Nacht, Meinem Kinde, Du meines Herzens Krönelein, Ruhe, meine Seele,
Allerseelen, Schlagende Herzen
Irmgard Seefried (soprano);
Leopold Ludwig,Viktor Graef, Erik Werba (piano) Vienna 1943-1952
Irmgard Seefried’s interpretation of the Composer in Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos is said to have inspired
Strauss himself to exclaim that until then he had not known how good his Composer was. She was also one
of the most sought-after concert singers and lieder recitalists of her age. Not released until now, the many
recordings included in the present CD attest to the richness and variety of that palette even during the early
years of her career.
The earliest of these recordings are Peter Cornelius's Brautlieder from the heyday of the Romantic art song,
settings in which the soprano's exemplary treatment of the words and the vocal line are fully in evidence. The
affinities between this cycle of six songs and the traditional German folksong offer the singer - a native of
Swabia - a welcome opportunity to colour her tone even further, an approach that is also found in her
recordings of songs by Mozart, Brahms, Wolf and two lesser-known composers, Wilhelm Kienzl and Joseph
Marx. This compilation of Irmgard Seefried's recordings from the first ten years of her career in Vienna
additionally includes some of Strauss's most popular songs, songs such as Morgen and Allerseelen that make it
clear why, as we noted above, their composer held the soprano in such high regard.
harmonia mundi UK- released 11th January 2010