Search - Ralph Benatzky, Munich Radio Orchestra, Anneliese Rothenberger :: Benatzky: Im weißn Rössl

Delightful fluff

John-Michael Sherrick | West Nanticoke, PA United States | 06/08/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Alright, so it's not THE MERRY WIDOW. WHITE HORSE INN belongs to a group of late Viennese operettas that attempted to combat the popularity of American jazz and musical comedy by intermingling these styles with traditional operetta music in their works. What results is uneven in quality but always charming and at times a little bizarre. Think of it as Irving Berlin meets Franz Lehar. The orchestrations used on this cd are very different from two recordings of highlights of WHITE HORSE INN I have (Benatzky did not orchestrate his own music) and a bit more traditional than is usually heard. I should also add that the singers are first-rate (as with all of the EMI Viennese operetta recordings) and the dialogue is thankfully kept to a minimum. Overall this is a fun if not particularly operatic light opera."