canariasesmusica

The soprano Anneliese Rothenberger enjoyed a distinguished stage career and was also a greatly beloved figure on German television. She could have spent her entire artistic life singing operetta heroines and the light sopranos of Mozart and Strauss. She chose, however, to balance those areas of her repertoire with a good deal of contemporary opera, which played to her impressive strengths both musically and dramatically. Rothenberger’s reach as a communicator extended well beyond opera houses and concert halls, thanks to her own highly successful television show, which made her a household name throughout the German-speaking world. Although she sang several coloratura roles (among them Oscar, Blonde, Olympia and Adele), her voice was more of a high lyric soprano. As such she was utterly at home in two definitive Strauss portrayals widely viewed as definitive, Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier and Zdenka in Arabella. Enhancing Rothenberger’s artistry in all her roles were thoughtful musicians...

100 years ago one of the greatest tenors was born in Stockholm, Nicolai Gedda. He is, with the permission of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, the most recorded opera singer, with celebrated recordings through the pass of time. Bach's Matthew's Passion under Klemperer, Verdi's Requiem under Giulini, Mozart's Requiem with Barenboim, Berlioz's Damnation under Pretre... as well as French, Italian, German, Russian songs on discs. Among his almost 100 opera recordings very few people know that he also recorded extracts, and here it is a very rare one, Puccini's Butterfly in German with Anneliese Rothenberger, Hermann Prey and Siegliende Wagner conducted by Giuseppe Patané. The recording sessions took place at the Grunewaldkirche in Berlin from the 30 of October to the 4 of September in 1966 for EMI/Electrola. Here you can hear Gedda as you never heard him before. Patané conducts the Ochester der Deutschen Oper Berlin and the RIAS-Kammerchor: a luxury.  If you want this recor...