Search - Emmerich Kalman, Tamás Bródy, A Magyar Rádió Szimfonikus Zenekara (Hungarian Radio Symp :: Kálmán: Csárdáskirályno

Top of the Magyar world

J. MOLDOVAN | 12/19/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is of course the definitive performance of a marvelous gem of the operetta repertoire. The work itself is musical magic with unforgetable foot-taping and lilting melodies in the Astro/Hungarian tradition of the 19th century. It's not sophisticated or highbrow in any way but pure entertainment - the pop music of its time.



It is sad that non-Hungarian speakers will miss out on the imaginative, sometimes bittersweet, sometimes humorous dialogue and lyrics. But the music more than makes up for this. This collection is better value for the non-Magyar speaker than the full operetta which has much more dialogue and storyline.



I strogly recommend this CD to all music lovers, romantics and dreamers. At the price it's also a bargain.



(I admit to a bias. I had the pleasure of seeing this work performed live with the great Honti Hanna in the lead role, at the Nemzeti Szinhaz in Budapest when I was very, very young.)"