Operetta's, !

[Harry]

Well let me see what I can get from this list!
Thanks Morigan, I am a bit wiser.

[zamyrabyrd]

Agreed in German it should be. I am so lucky that I speak and understand it fluently, but sometimes the speech is, due to the high singing of the coloratura, not good to follow, so I need the libretti anyway....

Hopefully composers don't force a mouthful of words on coloraturas who have enough problems in the upper registers. Anyway an acoustic effect of the undiffererentation of vowels operates up there, so don't feel bad if you don't understand text. Most of the time one has to imagine or reconstruct it as in telephone conversations.

I have an LP of Joan Sutherland gorgeously singing operetta arias.

ZB

[Harry]

I have searched the internet for one day, to find the Libretti from Lehars operettas, but to no avail.
When the operettas were performed, these libretti were handed out before the event, freely and in great volumes.
When I send a email to CPO, they said, as a rule we provide all operas with a libretti, but for operettas they are too expensive to translate, and hard to come by.
Again they have proven that operetta is not considered a important branch of classical music.
In other words, it is not necessary for people to understand what is said.
And allthough I pay full price for the cd's, not one company is providing them.
In total I bought 17 cd's from EMI with operettas, but no libretti.
Somehow, that makes me very sad.

[matti]

no libretti.

Not here either, but plenty of info of the major ones - and as to Lehar, you can find the synopsis of almost all his works.

http://www.musicaltheatreguide.com/mainmenu.htm

[Que]

I have searched the internet for one day, to find the Libretti from Lehars operettas, but to no avail.
When the operettas were performed, these libretti were handed out before the event, freely and in great volumes.
When I send a email to CPO, they said, as a rule we provide all operas with a libretti, but for operettas they are too expensive to translate, and hard to come by.
Again they have proven that operetta is not considered a important branch of classical music.
In other words, it is not necessary for people to understand what is said.
And allthough I pay full price for the cd's, not one company is providing them.
In total I bought 17 cd's from EMI with operettas, but no libretti.
Somehow, that makes me very sad.

Very annoying and distressing, Harry!
The absence of texts is easily my biggest complaint concerning CD's. But it's often laziness and disinterest. I emailed EMI, who - mind you - even have a download facility on their website!! - to ask them to make available in that way the texts of the five French baroque CD's now reissued in the "Musique à la Chapelle Royalle de Versailles" set. Their encouraging reply: "Yes sure, what CD is it?" Me: "The MCRV set"? Them: "Oh that, sorry we don't have any of those texts at our disposal" Me: "But you previously issued them with texts - just upload the textfiles on your site, please." EMI: silence....utter silence.
Maybe you could have a go at it yourself to persuade them (buy stocks in EMI!  ).

Btw jpc is talking nonsense. They sell tons of opera recordings without a libretto. If a libretto is included is soley dependable on the manufacturer - it's not like that if a libretto is lacking, jpc would supply one!

On the subject of librettos. German publishers Reclam and Schott have various libretti available. Unfortunately they show no interest for operettas either. But Reclam has issued this "Operettenführer", which apperently does contain a synopsis of each work.




I guess your best bet is to direct your queries to the likeminded - I'll send you via PM a link to a Dutch website, maybe they can help.

Q

[Harry]

Very annoying and distressing, Harry!
The absence of texts is easily my biggest complaint concerning CD's. But it's often laziness and disinterest. I emailed EMI, who - mind you - even have a download facility on their website!! - to ask them to make available in that way the texts of the five French baroque CD's now reissued in the "Musique à la Chapelle Royalle de Versailles" set. Their encouraging reply: "Yes sure, what CD is it?" Me: "The MCRV set"? Them: "Oh that, sorry we don't have any of those texts at our disposal" Me: "But you previously issued them with texts - just upload the textfiles on your site, please." EMI: silence....utter silence.
Maybe you could have a go at it yourself to persuade them (buy stocks in EMI!  ).

Btw jpc is talking nonsense. They sell tons of opera recordings without a libretto. If a libretto is included is solely dependable on the manufacturer - it's not like that if a libretto is lacking, jpc would supply one!

On the subject of librettos. German publishers Reclam and Schott have various libretti available. Unfortunately they show no interest for operettas either. But Reclam has issued this "Operettenführer", which apperently does contain a synopsis of each work.




I guess your best bet is to direct your queries to the likeminded - I'll send you via PM a link to a Dutch website, maybe they can help.

Q

I did get a similar reaction from EMI by the way. When these Lehar operettas were released, they came with full libretti, and now they profess, there are none to get. They are not interested....
Buying stocks in EMI, nah, that's a dead business, and I will likely loose my money double quick time.
There are many internet sites were you can find a story line of many operettas, much more as this book has to offer, I know, I have it.....
But thanks anyway for the job of searching for me.
And yes I know that JPC/CPO are talking nonsense, but about that I will have a talk with one of the senior members of that firm.....

[Harry]

Lets bump this thread in to being again, since I bought lots of operetta the last year, and my love for them has deepened not a little. It has preference over opera with me, and I guess this will get worse in a good sense. A few of the highlights I wanted to share here, and maybe some other operetta fans will declare themselves and give even more suggestions what to buy and where!

A box which I bought for 6 euro, at a big shopping mail provided me with some older but more than excellent recordings, containing 5 cd's with recordings from before 1960, and each of them a gem.
Operetta Festival indeed.

Another box with four cd's for 4 euro's is for me again a big winner, with many highlights from unknown operetta composers, as Ralph Benatzky's "Im Weissen Ross'l", and Paul Abraham's "Victoria und ihr Husar".
Lehar's "Paganini" is really a gem too, seldom performed, but a treasure nevertheless.

[Harry]

Another big surprise where to me to recordings issued by Line Music, to know Johann Strauss "Tausendundeine Nacht" a recording made in 1952, and every bit a smashing performance, where the wonderful Rita Streich, Helmut Krebs and Anneliese Rothenberger rule the stage. Fine performance and recording any time.
The second is Jabuka a recording from 1957 that features the wonderful soprano Anny Schlemm, and the renown Benno Kusche, not to forget Franz Fehringer that has a truly magical voice. A better recording this is as the more recent Naxos, which is not bad, have that too, but this is far beyond that.

[zamyrabyrd]

Not too long ago, I bought (since it was on sale), Eine Nacht in Venedig with Elizabeth Scwartzkopf. Actually, I was looking for a pretty aria or two but found instead that most of the operetta really needed the stage to be fully appreciated. In fact, that may well be the problem of musicals and operettas recorded in sound. So much of the necessary visuals are missing. I might be wrong but Fledermaus seems to have the most interesting takeaway arias by Strauss: "Mein Herr Marquis", "Czardas", etc.

ZB

[Harry]

Eine nacht in Venedig is a beautiful operetta, and I would love to see it on stage, but fat change....
So I am happy with the recordings, and this version you are talking about is beautiful.
Thank you for your comment, that is highly appreciated.

[DarkAngel]

 

I have had these two Schwarzkopf operetta collections and decided I need more.....much more
So I placed order for the 1950s EMI series with Gedda/Schwarzkopf, what an amazing team for these sparkling works!

[Harry]

 

I have had these two Schwarzkopf operetta collections and decided I need more.....much more
So I placed order for the 1950s EMI series with Gedda/Schwarzkopf, what an amazing team for these sparkling works!

Magical, there is a lot of amazing singing.

[DarkAngel]

Magical, there is a lot of amazing singing.

Wait there is more.......
I decided to play a quick catch up game with Gilbert & Sullivan operetta 5CD boxset by MacKerras, cheap at Amazon sellers! Should be excellent modern sound with Telarc.......

[Harry]

Wait there is more.......
I decided to play a quick catch up game with Gilbert & Sullivan operetta 5CD boxset by MacKerras, cheap at Amazon sellers! Should be excellent modern sound with Telarc.......

Will venture there too, and see if I can catch the same box. Thanks

[DarkAngel]

 

I have had these two Schwarzkopf operetta collections and decided I need more.....much more
So I placed order for the 1950s EMI series with Gedda/Schwarzkopf, what an amazing team for these sparkling works!

Also should mention they will join this classic rendition of Die Fledermaus to close the circle on Schwarzkopf's 1950s operetta champagne gala run for EMI........

[listener]

If you can find the Boskovsky Das Land des Lächens  - it has a libretto!!!!  and it was an EMI  release  CDS 747 604.     The vinyl (mono) from Angel with Schwarzkopf and Erich Kunz has a libretto, so it might be worth buying that just for the "extra".
Oscar STRAUS  Die Lustigen Nibelungen (on Capriccio)  really needs more than their short synopsis.  The "banks of the Rhine" are financial institutions....     and another site with a google translation becomes inscrutable: "Oscar Straus' Nibelungen persiflage 1904 was the first major success of the composers.  In this musical satire is not only to today as "typically German" existing stereotypes on grain, which composition, in the very style of the time especially from schmissigen waltzes, marches and couplets exists, is beyond a joke with accurate with the "great role model" Richard Wagner apart.

And to branch out, there are all those French operetta n Musidisc, from mono radio recordings:
Delibes  Le Roi l'a dit, Adam: Toréador (also with Sumi Jo on London, with a libretto), Audran: Miss Helyett, La Poupee, Boieldieu: Le Calife de Bagdad, Les voitures versées, Ganne: Les Saltimbanques, Hans le joueur de flûte, Lecoq: Le coeur et la main, , La petite mariée, Hahn: Ciboulette (on EMI)     that I have on CD

and look up Dostal - Clivia, Die Vetter von Dingsda,  excerpts were on vinyl.

then there's the glories of the Spanish zarzuelas, but I'll leave that for later.

[zamyrabyrd]

Music of dreams and romance...
Fritz Wunderlich  "Dein ist mein ganzes Herz"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sru-tbwLwew

[Tsaraslondon]

Music of dreams and romance...
Fritz Wunderlich  "Dein ist mein ganzes Herz"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sru-tbwLwew

Ah, Fritz Wunderlich! Was there ever a more headily beautiful tenor voice? He was on the threshold of a very great career when he died. Even singing in German, his recordings of arias from Italian opera, outclass several Italian tenors. If ever I'm feeling down, then I listen to his fantastic recording of Lara's "Granada", guaranteed to lift the spirits.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7moPpoXdL8

[DarkAngel]

http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Anneliese-Rothenberger-Die-Stimme-f%FCr-Millionen/hnum/2247232

Harry
This seems to be a gift from the operetta gods..............a 10 CD collection of Rothenberger operetta highlights in good sound, check out those samples from JPC, the cost less than 1 full price CD! Amazon sellers USA also extremely cheap, order has been placed

[DarkAngel]

Also to save shipping costs I just ordered EMI Lehar 13 CD boxset containing 7 of Lehar's best operettas.
Not a super bargain, but same cost as buying/shipping 3 individual operettas so I took the plunge, many of the biggest names in operetta are in these performances