Die Zauberflote. RIAS Symphony Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Ferenc Fricsay. (Deutsche Grammophon)
When Deutsche Grammophon decides to rifle its cupboards for cast offs, it’s time to go op-shopping.
DG’s latest batch of bargain-basement ‘doubles’ includes Ion Marin’s magnificent Lucia di Lammermoor (London Symphony Orchestra with Studer and Domingo, recorded in 1990, which Gramophone magazine hailed as the finest version in digital sound) and some vintage sets.
Ferenc Fricsay’s recording of Die Zauberflöte is 47 years old, and mono, but this Flute remains the most magical in the catalogue and one of the great opera recordings. The remastered sound quality is amazing; fresh and full-blooded. The sound image is so vivid, I doubt you will notice it is monaural.
The performance is fast and fizzy, more Italian in style than German. It boasts a boyish Fischer-Dieskau as the bird catcher and an astonishing Queen of Night in Rita Streich. But more remarkable than the cast, or individual performances, is the ease with which the orchestra and ensemble move from gentle humour to wretchedness to elation.
Double DG opera titles don’t come with libretti, but they are -- nevertheless -- good enough to be first choice sets. And cheap enough to be second or third choices.
This review was published in the Weekend Edition of the Australian Financial Review, September 1-2, 2001.
