GMG Classical Music Forum

The Music Room => Composer Discussion => Topic started by: Albion on April 27, 2020, 10:42:29 AM

Title: Johann Strauss II, Blindekuh and the other operettas
Post by: Albion on April 27, 2020, 10:42:29 AM
With the very welcome Naxos release of Strauss's Blindekuh (1878), the number of his operettas complete on disc continues to expand - a great chance to explore the little-known works apart from the usual (magnificent) suspects Die Fledermaus, Eine Nacht in Venedig and Der Zigeunerbaron. I have tried to compile a list of recommendations for the more obscure scores below (highlighted in bold), omitting the three works already mentioned:

Indigo und die vierzig Rauber [Indigo and the Forty Thieves] (1871) - no complete recording at present

Der Carneval in Rom [Carnival in Rome] (1873) - CPO 777 405-2

Die Fledermaus [The Bat] (1874) - various

Cagliostro in Wien [Cagliostro in Vienna] (1875) - no complete recording at present

Prinz Methusalem [Prince Methusalem] (1877) - CPO 777 747-2

Blindekuh [Blind-Man's Buff] (1878) - Naxos 8.660434-35

Das Spitzentuch der Konigin [The Queen's Lace Handkerchief] (1880) - CPO 777 406-2

Der lustige Krieg [The Merry War] (1881) - no complete recording at present (I think an ORF broadcast was available at some point)

Eine Nacht in Venedig [A Night in Venice] (1883) - various

Der Zigeunerbaron [The Gypsy Baron] (1885) - various

Simplicius (1887) - originally EMI Classics 7243 5 57009 2 6, now in a 10-disc Warner box 9846642

Furstin Ninetta [Princess Ninetta] (1893) - Naxos 8.660227-28

Jabuka (1894) - Naxos 8.660216-17

Waldmeister [Woodruff] (1895) - no complete recording at present although the website of the Johann Strauss Society of Great Britain states that "Johann Strauss's operetta Waldmeister is being recorded in January 2020 for release in 2021"

Die Gottin der Vernunft [The Goddess of Reason] (1897) - Naxos 8.660280-81

Please feel free to offer corrections (additional performances may be available on Youtube for example) as well as personal recommendations for the three more well-known works...

:)