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An enchanting disc

Mr. DAVID Geer | Sydney Australia | 04/15/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"An enchanting disc with Richard Tucker in quite unbelieveably fine voice, even purists will quickly adjust to the slightly cute "English lyrics"The great surprise of this disc is that it is sung in English using slightly suspect English lyrics, rather than translations it seems, of the non-American works. Mostly it does not matter much, occasionally they are an improvement or even enlighten the music, such as Lehar's "I have been in love before" from his Paganini. In other cases they seem quite unnecessary or simply wrong and difficult to sing to boot. Given that Tucker also sometimes applies an accent that seems vaguely Viennese and it might seem to add up to a recipe for disaster. Not so at all. The voice wins you over within minutes and the recording and remastering were clearly undertaken with equal and genuine affection. Then there are the pieces sung by other than the tenor, such as Lisa Della Casa singing Vilja and the Merry Widow Waltz, once again in English, with her individual timbre complete with her usual melancholy tones plus simply exquisite top notes, no strain at all. Della Casa has a distinct and charming (natural, of course) Swiss-German accent mainly evident in the Waltz she sings & hums with John Reardon. In between we find Tucker singing one of the sacrileges of the re-constructed English lyrics, Zeller's "Roses from Tyrol", it misses the originals dialectic charm, "Schenkt man sich Rosen in Tyrol" does not translate somehow as "In the Tyroler lover knows the special promise of a rose for every blosom that you send swears that your love will never end.......". But the singing is so lovely and the last top note bewitchingly floated you forget the quibbles.The tempos are leisurely but never quite pure schmalz, even in the Grieg' Song of Norway. The worst lyric irritation I found to be Heuberger's "Im Chambre separee" as "in our seculded rendevue." English instead of German and French as well as being sung by a tenor, for which it may well have been written but here it lacks the soprano accompaniment. I prefer this as two soprano voices in the original sprachen. The text here really is not well matched to the notes though Tucker fits the syllable's across octaves where necessary, swallowing others that can't be fitted in. Again he finishes on an amazing high note floated literally into the distance. I am amazed how Allers & Tucker make the Romberg piece sound like an operratic version of Rawhide. I adore Hadley & Swenson in "Stranger in Paradise" as well as the others, especially the rare Della Casa and as I type this I am listening to it all on the computer's CD player for the N'th time since I unwrapped my considerably less than 10 bucks worth.Recommended with reservations on the lyrics but not the extent of content. For purists it will provide many hours of unravelling fact from fiction whilst producing a glow of well being in the process."

An Operetta Gem

Karl Hess | Sandy, Utah United States | 06/29/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For those of us who have an unbridled passion for operetta, this CD is a treasure. The focus here is Richard Tucker. Fourteen of the 22 tracks are by him. There is much love and affection in these readings. The english translations are just fine. Original languages are just as confectionary in their own tongue. This is part of the magic--part of the fantasy. I would like to have seen this as a single vehicle for Mr. Tucker. The other selections were extracted from full production highlights from other albums and were transition works from operetta to American musical comedy--Song of Norway, Show Boat and Kismet. While nice, they do not necessarily qualify as essential operetta. My only real concern with the collection is Mr. Tucker's use of falsetto for the concluding high note on four selections. This was particularly disconcerting in the revered Siecynski favorite, VIENNA, MY CITY OF DREAMS. The transition to the high note resembled a yoddle. He hits the same notes so beautifully in the other numbers. But what the heck, you still have 10 other solos to treasure. An investment well worth the price."

Insipid lyrics-just what I wanted!

Allen Drury | Lubbock, TX USA | 01/27/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I received this CD several days ago and have just ordered two more copies of it so I can play it in the car and living room as well as on the computer. I also have "Vienna, City of My Dreams" sung by Placido Domingo in German and love them both. Many years ago before I ever knew who Richard Tucker was, I bought his record, "Vienna, My City of Dreams" with those English lyrics-I wore out three copies of that record and am finally getting it on CD-regardless of the language he sings in, Richard Tucker's music is a treasure and how wonderful that it will never be silenced!!"