Search - Emmerich Kalman, Richard Bonynge, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava) :: Kálmán: Die Csárdásfürstin

A Must For Lovers of Operetta

Timothy Kearney | Hull, MA United States | 08/30/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Naxos has made a reputation for itself by releasing good quality performances by somewhat unfamiliar artists and greatly adding to the classical and operatic repertoire. For Kalman's DIE CSARDARSFURSTIN (THE GYPSY PRINCESS), Naxos departs from its usual format just a bit. No it has not released a sub par recording, but it is under the direction of Richard Bonynge, one of classical music's most beloved conductors.



As anyone who has listened to Bonynge recordings in the past knows, he has a way of bringing out small highlights in musical scores while also looking at the whole of the performance. The many recordings he made with his wife Dame Joan Sutherland attest to this well. He brings these same qualities to this recording. Overall the soloists are good in this recording and each show in their performances that while operetta may be lighter music, the skills needed to perform it well are the same that make grand opera work as well. The set includes spoken dialogue as well, and for those of us who are not proficient in German (like me), the dialogue is lost and may even be a bit distracting (for me, while I do not understand a word, it makes the recording authentic). Overall the recording has a light, uplifting quality to it and it makes for greet listening at time we just want to sit down and enjoy a fun recording. The recording also contains waltzes and music from other Kalman operettas which also makes for enjoyable listening.



Now that Naxos has released one of Kalman's better known operettas, maybe it's time to release his most famous work GRAFIN MARIZA with its great showstoppers for our listening pleasure. If it follows the great start of this recording of DIE CSARDASFURSTIN, we can anticipate something wonderful

"