Wagner wrote three early operas that are relatively unknown since they are rarely performed, including die Feen, das Liebesverbot, and Rienzi. They are operas that are not typical of  Wagner’s mature style, but do show development toward the final Wagnerian style. Rienzi is the opera that launched Wagner’s career as a musician, and several of the pieces including the overture are still occasionally performed. There were no available movie versions of this opera until this performance came out, so I decided to buy it, especially with the reasonable reviews given to it by Amazon.com reviewers. This performance has its merit. The singers were faultless, acting and singing well. The recording was high quality, though there were often problems with mixing of the sound of the singers and the orchestra, in that the orchestra tended to drown out the voices on stage.

My problem with this performance is the staging. I don’t object to modern versions of operas, so long as they don’t distract from the story and theme of the original opera. If the staging is such that it creates another theme or story than the original opera, or if it restricts itself to being solely a commentary on either the opera or the composer, then it should not be considered as a legitimate version of the opera. I recall the Peter Sellars versions of various operas that attempted contemporary contextualization of 18th and 19th century operas, yet they were never sold as straight opera renditions. Creative license with modern European staging tends to destroy the composers intent, and this should be overtly stated. It would be like re-writing a Beethoven symphony for a Jazz band but calling it the original symphony. Liszt did not have the audacity to do that, but was willing to call his transcriptions something else, and bizarre creative staging should be called something other than the original opera.

The staging used in this performance is indeed bizarre. The citizens of Rome come out masked at first, eventually removing their masks and donning suits that looked more like Soviet peasant outfits. Rienzi and his daughter appeared more like Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun than a noble Roman tribune. The themes of Stalin, Hitler and Mussolini prevailed, forcing the entire opera into an entirely other interpretation. Adriano, the traitor, is made into the hero, and Rienzi is reduced to totalitarian scum. The final scene, with Rienzi in Hitler’s bunker and Speer’s model of the new Berlin before him was exceptionally distractive to the aria “Allmächtiger Gott…” and completely out of place. The videos of Rienzi as a totalitarian propagandist before microphones appearing on television were seriously distracting. Wagner’s character development in the opera was completely re-written. The behind the scenes slaughter of the assassins at the end of act 1 altered the story of the opera. This is not the way Wagner intended the opera to be, and the staging was too divergent from the actual opera story to be legitimate. I’d rather just listen to a recording than to watch what Stölzl has given us.

Whatever one may think of Wagner, I suggest that performances should leave Wagner alone. It is true that Wagner was a truly despicable  egotistical, racist person, yet his composing is sublime. It is quite easy to see his anti-Jewish sentiments throughout his operas, which must be overlooked. Thankfully, many Jewish Wagner conductors and performers have been able to do that, producing some of the best performances of Wagner in existence (eg., James Levine’s Ring, Leonard Bernstein’s Tristan und Isolde). To be obsessed with mid-twentieth century totalitarianism when performing a Wagner opera deprives the opera of its legitimate interpretation and reduces the performance to just another case of Euro Trash.

This set consists of  Beethoven: Fidelio ????, Janacek: The Cunning Little Vixen ???, Mozart: Don Giovanni ????, Verdi: Othello ?????, Offenbach: Les Contes d’Hoffman ?????, Offenbach: Barbe-Bleu ??, Mozart: Le Nozze de Figaro ????.

Felsenstein was the manager of the Comic Opera in east Berlin, and also the producer of these operas. There distinction with this set, is that the operas were all performed in German, though only Fidelio was actually written in German. They are also produced as movies for film. Oftentimes, the opera script was heavily edited, such as Fidelio, with a number of inessential sections removed. In the Tales of Hoffman, additional spoken material is added and acts 2 and 3 are reversed. The operas work unbelievably well in German, and the modifications mostly improve rather than diminish the operas. These recordings have as much a historical value as well as entertainment value. The first three operas above were in black and white and thus somewhat lacking in the best of quality. The latter operas were very impressive, and the Tales of Hoffman and Othello were competitive with the best productions of those operas. The singing and acting were superlative in all the operas. The only opera that I didn’t like so much was Offenbachs’ Barbe-Bleu, but that had nothing to do with Felsenstein or the production, as it was not an appealing opera compositionally.

La Fille du Regiment, by Donizetti, starring Natalie Dessay ???

Donizetti was an extremely productive early 19th century Italian opera composer, though most of his works go unperformed at this time. His greatest works include this opera, as well as Lucia de Lammermoor, L’elixir d’Amore, Anna Bolena, and a few others. This is probably the poorest conceived of his better known operas, and best known with Joan Sutherland as the star daughter of the regiment. In this opera, Natalie Dessay is the star. Her vocal qualities do not compete with the excellence of Dame Joan, though her acting and overall operatic skills make her one of the better daughters to ever have filled this role. Thus, it was a delight and joy to watch. The staging was a cross between traditional and minimalist, and served as much as a distraction as a help to the overall flow of the opera. This is not one of my favorite operas. The music is not memorable, and the plot contrived. A baby girl (Marie) is picked up and raised by a French army regiment, but recovered by a rich Tyrolean couple who think that she is their long-lost daughter, and arrange a marriage for her though she is love with a Tyrolean Toni who she met in the regiment and who joined the French regiment in order to marry her. Eventually Tonio and Marie resolve the issues that hold them apart. Yawn! Ho-hum.

Les Contes d’Hoffman is opera at its best, and this is a superlative performance of that opera. Domingo makes a perfect Hoffman. This performance utilized different opera stars for each of the women in Hoffman’s life, as well as a different “evil man” for each act. The story starts and ends in a tavern adjacent to an opera house, and Hoffman is led to tell the story of the lost loves in his life, all of which are based on short stories by ETA Hoffman. The first is Olympia, a young girl that Hoffman falls deeply in love with, only to discover that she is a mechanical doll. The next act, Hoffman falls in love with a courtesan in a harem, only to end up losing his shadow. The third is a young musician, told not to sing by her father, but encouraged to her death by Dr. Miracle. The music in each act of this opera, as well as the prologue and epilogue are unforgettable and often copied by later composers. This is one of the desert island operas that one would wish to watch many times over, and this is a wonderful performance of that wonderful opera.

This is an opera that has been recorded for DVD at least 5-6 times, and usually gets a 5-star rating. This performance by the composer himself has the highest reviews of all. Yet, both Betsy and I sat entirely bewildered for at least 2 hrs. and 15 minutes. This piece did not appear to have any remarkable creativity at all. It is exactly the sing-songy type speech one would make if one chose to satirize an opera. The story line also was entirely incoherent. It was quite obvious that Britten wished to make strong anti-Christian statements, but did so quite poorly, the story line showing hypocritical Christian leaders condemning Peter Grimes, and not showing sympathy for him. Yet, it was Peter Grimes that was money-grubbing, resulting in driving a child to death at the beginning of the opera and then the end of the opera again. No wonder the “Christian” folk were upset! Britten was a flagrant homosexual, and his lover was Peter Pears, thus, he wrote many pieces supposedly for Peter Pears. Perhaps his utilization of a boy-servant for Peter Grimes was not quite appropriate in such a setting. All in all, this work had no consistency for music, there were no musical episodes that one could call great composed music, the plot was horrible, and if a statement was attempted to be made, it was made quite poorly. This is an opera that I would never waste my time watching again. Don’t waste your time.

This opera production has received mixed reviews with Amazon.com, being that it was a filmed version and not a staged version of the opera, and that there were short deletions in the full performance of the opera. I can appreciate criticisms regarding deletions, but not on objection to the opera being filmed in life-like circumstances. I consider the opposite of film versions, to be minimalist opera, which seems to be exactly fly in the face as to why composers wrote operas rather than oratorios–because they expected the staging/scenery to contribute to the statement of the opera. To change the scene from what the composer wrote is (in my not so humble) opinion similar to changing the musical script itself. Meanwhile, back to this opera. First, the musical performance was superb. Both McIntyre and Ligendza have superb voices, and the supporting vocalists were all first class. The live scenery was more effective at conveying the opera story than a staged version would have ever done. Of the two things that have made opera accessible to modern populaces, undertitles (supratitles at the opera) and filmed versions have been the most effective at spreading the appeal of opera to normal folk. I would certainly like to see more productions like this, especially with the Wagner operas, such as Tannhäuser or der Meistersinger. While playing this opera, I asked Betsy to guess the composer, and she was quite surprised to learn that it was Wagner. She had thought that Wagner did not write melodious opera that could appeal to all. This opera, and this production in particular, is a wonderful way to begin entry into the world of Wagner, before tackling his more mature works.

Sadko used to be quite strong in the Russian repertoire of opera pieces, and one of the most recognized of RK. This production by Gergiev is very well done, with superb conducting, and awesome and expensive staging sets. No expense was spared on the number of performers/singers, ballet dancers, costumes, visual effects, etc. Unfortunately, the opera story is just plain boring, with a ridiculous plot. The music is delightful, but no pieces stand out as extraordinarily remarkable. It is superb R-K with a bad plot. There are other Russian works far more worth watching. This opera is best for those who have exhausted the standard repertoire and wish to explore the lesser known Russian works.

Johann Strauss, Wiener Blut, made for tv ???

I am reviewing both operettas together, as I watched them together, and they share similarities. I would have given them only one star each, except that the music was truly wonderful, and well sung and performed. The problem with the operettas is their plots, which are almost the same, the main personality being a prince-philanderer who flirts with multiple women, three of whom through disguise or mistaken identity carry on the operetta to its conclusion when the ladies true identity is revealed and the prince gives in. Obviously, one operetta takes place in Venice, and the other in Vienna. I appreciated the film style of the operetta, which is so much better than watching a stage, though one could occasionally tell that the singers are lip-synching. The plots of both operettas tended to identify the sumptuous though trifling lives of aristocratic persons in Wien. Perhaps this is an unintended statement of Strauss in satirizing the ruling class. Whereas Strauss’ Fledermaus is a must-see, these two operettas are worth watching only if you are either an avid fan of opera or if you are intensely bored with absolutely nothing else to watch.

This opera is about the country of Santa Maria that started as a peaceful, happy country, until corruption encouraged the leaders into an arms race with a neighboring country, resulting in oppressive taxation and brutality to its citizens. The staging was not totally minimalistic, and so was endurable for a European produced production, and the singing/acting was well done. The opera was interesting in that if one simply closed their eyes and listened to the music, they would imagine that they were listening to a modern American move-musical, such as a Rogers & Hammerstein musical or the Wizard of Oz, etc. I am sure that Kurt Weill had a major influence on later composition of musicals.

So, why the poor rating? Weill was a Jewish composer that had to flee Germany during the Nazi years, eventually dying at age 50 in NYC. His political leanings tended toward Communism, and this opera represents a very strong leaning toward the same. Yet, it represents highly confused thinking, possible attributing to why the opera never really became popular. The corrupt government is the source of evil. Simple, primitive life is good. The government is hell-bent on destroying your life, while living themselves a life of luxury. Unfortunately, all of these traits were present in virtually all of the socialistic or communistic regimes of the 20th century. When Weill protests capitalism, he also glorifies capitalism by extolling the virtues of owning private property (a cow, which is the peasants means of producing a living). Such muddled thinking is so true of most liberals today, shooting a “capitalist” straw man. Weill seems to protest moral decadence by having the fat government officials relishing in a brothel, yet, had the brothel maidens dancing in the forefront at the end of the opera. Perhaps Weill needs better direction as to a real (I actually mean, only) system of morality.

Known in English as “The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny”, this opera by Kurt Weill rates among the worst of the Euro-trash operas. Though Weill has had occasional lapses of reasonable music that he has written, his ideologic drive for communism has clouded his thinking and produced a piece of trash that would not survive the kindest of the Soviet years. To be fair to this opera, I will critique separately 1) the musical performance, 2) the stage performance, and 3) the opera itself. First, the musical performance was not too badly performed. The only problem is that there was little the was overtly demanding, including no demands on the singer, save to sing weird, no lengthy segments, no  music that could even be thought of as likable. The stage performance represented a complete lapse of ingenuity. Isn’t one tired of the suitcase on stage carried by a Zoot-suited individual, as is now seen in just about every European opera production? I could wax eloquent about how virtually every scene lacks in creative imagination. The minimalist staging suggested that the producer really didn’t care enough for the opera to put much into it. And, that is quite understandable, because it was not an opera to enjoy or appreciate as a work of art. Brecht (via Weill) at the end of the opera spewed out a vindictive against capitalism, the stage designers and Brecht not-so-subtly implying that the greatest sinners of their communistic ideology are the Americans. A leading character named Jimmy is sentenced to death for a lack of money. I presume that Weill was attempting to make some sort of profound statement against greed and monetary avarice, but he fails dismally. Any thinking person finds the philosophical statements of this opera to be poorly developed non-sequitors with a forced conclusion, believed only by Brecht and Weill, and perhaps a few of the performers and audience. Such go the warm and fuzzy statements of the new art, promoting the warm and fuzzy sentiments of the new philosophy and the new politic. It’s one thing to have wasted one’s money on this opera, but even a worse crime to have wasted one’s time watching it.

This is probably the best of the Lehár works, but also the most expensive. The music is a bit more memorable, notably some of the late pieces in the operetta. Lehár uses a mix of speaking, singing, dancing and ballet in this work. The plot is not so crazy as many of his other works, with a plain-jane Viennese lady returning from Paris, whose very wealthy husband died on her wedding night, leaving her a supremely wealthy person, and now suddenly attracting many Viennese suitors. Ultimately, the Graf (Count) wins out, but only after many false moves and deceptions. This performance is a stage performance, nicely done, and worth having in one’s collection. Lehár will never be in my top ten composers, though he successfully creates a minor work of art in this operetta.

Translated the Land of Smiles, this operetta represents late 19th century Viennese “pop” art, similar to the Gilbert and Sullivan works in England. Like Gilbert and Sullivan, Lehár creates an operetta with a mix of song and spoken text, a profusion of catchy melodies, and a very lame story line. This operetta is the epitome of truly lame story lines, with a Viennese  lady of aristocratic descent falling in love with a Chinese prince, marrying, and then going back to China with him, only to discover that he intends to marry many women. The opera ends as a quasi-tragedy, though many tears are not generated. The singing is superb, so it’s hard to be too tough on the entire operetta. I wouldn’t keep it in my desert island collection, Lehár deserves a rightful audience, just as one needs to watch the Mikado at least once.

Emmerich Kalman wrote this light operetta in 1915, a precursor to the current day musical that we all know of. This is a filmed version, staged in Budapest, and well done, with first class acting and singing as well as filming. The plot was very trivial, but then, what do you expect out of an operetta? It is the story of class identification for the nobility in marriage, and how that was overcome with a prince desiring to marry a Vaudeville chorus girl. It is a light operetta, not one that would become one’s favorite, though certainly of more demanding singing than the current musical scene as we know it.  Two stars for the operetta and 4 for the performance gives a three star average.

Rigoletto – with Luciano Pavarotti, Edita Gruberova, Ingard Wixell, Riccardo Chailly conducting the Wiener Philharmoniker ?????

This is my favorite Verdi opera, so it is hard for me to be easy in criticism of a production of this opera, yet, both of these productions receive 5 stars, though they are much different operas. The first was filmed in 1977 with Domingo, Cotrubus, and Levine in the early years of their career. Domingo is magnificent. Cornell McNeil wins the day though, as a first-class Rigoletto, with excellent acting, and a superb voice, blending perfectly with Cotrubus.  The second film was recorded in 1983, though is presented as a film, that is, it is filmed in Mantua, the actual site of the opera, with the opera singers lip-synching. Some Amazon reviewers can’t get past that, yet, I think that is what 19th century opera composers would have had if the technology had existed back then. This technique does produce a clearer sound track, since the sound is recorded in a studio, and the audience applause is eliminated. After having seen the Domingo version first, Betsy and I both thought that Domingo would be a tough act to follow, yet, Pavarotti actually was in many ways the better actor and the better voice. La Donna Mobile was meant for the voice of Pavarotti. Wixell was a very convincing Rigoletto, and Gruberova had the voice of an angel, absolutely in control, and clear. Either opera would be quite appealing to the novice to operas, though the Pavarotti version could persuade some to take up opera-watching as a life’s secondary passion.

Regarding the opera itself, this is one of Verdi’s middle operas, which include some of his greatest operas, such as la Traviata and il Travatore. His early operas are to me a touch tedious, and his late operas, including Othello and Falstaff, while masterpieces, are not the lovable gems of his middle-years.  If you are deeply interested in the life of Verdi and his music, I recommend the Greenberg series on Verdi by the Teaching Company .This opera is similar to many Italian operas, especially the newer Puccini works, manifesting verismo, or realism, rather than the German tradition in opera of depending on myth and the miraculous. This opera has a tragic ending for several reasons, in that the innocent or deformed people suffer the curse, and the rich, wealthy and wise person escapes the curse though manifesting the most flagrant violations of moral behavior. Unlike German opera, nobody is ever saved in Italian opera. Tannhäuser experiences redemption in the last few moments of the opera and dies together with his lover in her arms. Rigoletto is not so lucky, and dies of tragic heartbreak in a boat with his slain daughter.  Such are the Italians, always mushy, gushy and brutal to the end. I only regret that nobody has done a filmed version of Tannhäuser. In summary, either of these operas is a must-see, and should be in every music aficionado’s collection.

This is a traditionally staged and performed opera. I’m not sure if it’s the Dresden or the Paris version of the opera. Sometimes, the staging leaves something to be desired, such as the re-use of the scene from the second part of the first act for the third act. The Venusberg scene was not terribly convincing in the first act. Having been in Thüringia and the Wartburg, the scenes were not terribly reminiscent of the places Wagner was attempting to represent. Even still, few dvd performances nowadays are available with traditional staging, and most are offered as minimally staged, which, I think, does Tannhäuser an injustice.  The entire production is very well staged, the video operation well done, and audio comes through always well with excellent voice to orchestra balance. Thus, in spite of its problems, this is probably the best dvd Tannhäuser available today.

People often ask me why I like Wagner, especially in terms of his anti-semitism. Such anti-semitism doesn’t seem to cause Levine too much of a problem, as well as many other Jewish conductors, who are quite masterful at the works of Wagner. It is like many composers. I see nobody protesting Tchaikovsky because he was a child molester, or Britten, because he was fond of little boys. We overlook Shostakovich’s anti-capitalism, Beethoven’s anti-social behavior, and Schumann’s psychosis, and Bach’s penchant for perfection, frequent anger fits, and probable addiction to alcohol. He also had a criminal record. Most composers, in spite of their life, produced a transcendental music, and Wagner is no exception. Certainly the prudishness of many anti-Wagnerites competes with Wagner’s own arrogance. Nobody competes as well as the Brits with the ability to be racist. so, we appreciate Wagner’s music for what it is. Wagner does an excellent job of representing various human emotions and traits, though this portrayal of Christianity is that of a very medieval Roman Catholic sort, the Pope being the sole source for salvation from certain sins. This is probably how many, even Christians, view the faith, and that is sad. This opera is early Wagner, and, over time, we see improvement in both his musical expression as well as his thematic choices. The Tannhäuser music is quite addicting, most of it very catchy, and makes for a first Wagner opera to listen to if you are unfamiliar with his works.

This is definitely a fin-de-siecle opera, with modernistic approaches to staging, music, and story line. It tells of a goldsmith who would murder all people who purchased products from him, being unable to part with his creations. It supposedly is symbolism for the artist and rejection while still alive. The staging was a trifle worn from other operas, with moving leaning buildings on stage, and suitcases and trench coats, but also with some innovation, such as the Parisian populace presenting with unusual masks and black lipstick. The music was distinctly 20th century, with the absence of classical tonal progression, yet it all seemed to work okay in this opera. Hindemith avoids much of the monotonous repetitiveness of other 20th century composers, such as Britten, which I recently reviewed. I tend to appreciate Hindemith’s chamber works more than his opera, yet this was not an opera like MSND of Britten,where I couldn’t wait until the end to arrive.

Midsummer Night’s Dream, By Benjamin Britten ??

I am growing weary of reviewing trashy operas published by elitist opera houses of Europe. This opera, produced by the Barcelona Opera in Aix-en-Provence, stunk of Euro-trash. The scenes were minimalistic of a bed motif. Many of the performers/singers were also flagrantly gay, not fitting to the story line of this opera, but fitting only for the composer himself, who was a homosexual. Boy-children in the opera were perhaps a reflection of Britten’s infatuation, like Tchaikovsky?  The orchestral scores were quite nice, though usually drowned out by highly non-creative singing, a mixture of song and Sprachstimme. A child missing a few pertinent chromosomes and of lower mental strength could have written an equally compelling piece of music. This is not an opera to cherish or delight in. Britten follows the Shakespeare story line okay, but the opera looses the charm of the old Bard.

Reviewers on Amazon.com gave the opera performance 4-1/2 stars, with the lowest rating a 3-star. Much was commented on the brilliant performance and sumptuous arias.  I found none of this to be true. First, Händel is a very monotonous composer, and there is minimal brilliance in his operatic style. Why the English loved Händel eludes me, save that their taste is food is equally dismal. Secondly, I am continually annoyed by his staging of males with females, but to stage Serse as a female with a soprano role really seemed to go a bit too far. In fact, there were only two male roles in the entire opera. I agree that the performance itself was rather faultless, and soloists quite talented, but even their skills could not make up for an otherwise dreadful opera.

Donizettis’ opera L’elisir d’Amore is a wonderfully tuneful opera, that is quite enjoyable to watch. The Metropolitan Opera does a fairly well staged production, though sometimes slightly lacking in the charm that other productions of this opera have been able to produce. Pavarotti, the world’s best voice that you love to hate, does a predictably stellar job as lead tenor in the opera. This production was done in 1981, and is a live opera. It is slightly annoying to hear the New Yorkers slubbering over Pavarotti by giving a prolonged clap every time he sings. Also, there is not the best sound mixing, in that the orchestra always comes in stronger than the voices, so that the voices are not the easiest to hear. Pavarotti is much younger in this opera than what we remember him, and had better ability to act than when he got older and quite more obese. Betsy and I both enjoyed this opera, and it should be a part of an educated opera buffs’ library.

Wozzeck, with the Hamburg Opera ???

This is the last of the Cult Opera series that I will be reviewing, and one of the only operas that I gave less than 4 stars. The series is actually quite worth the expenditure, being 10 operas for less than $100. All of the operas are filmed outside of the opera hall and then dubbed, and they were meant for television. They are optionally undertitled, and are quite accessible to children. The entire series gets a 4-5 star rating by me.

Back to Wozzeck. The production was well done, and performers superb. It is one of the better performances of the opera. The only reason for the 3 stars is that Berg tends to be inaccessible as a composer. He is one of the serialists, and tended to use scripts from the fashionable communists of the contemporary scene. These philosophical bents come out in the opera. The entire flow of the opera revolves around Wozzeck murdering his prostitute-lover and mother of his only child. These are not exactly themes that I could warmly offer personal empathy toward. There are other serialist operas that I have taken a liking to, but this is not one of them.

I’ve never seen nor heard this opera before, but apparently it is quite popular in Germany. The title means the Czar and the Carpenter, based very loosely on the historical Peter the Great while living in Holland. This is a playful opera, with quite simple music, used in a delightfully extraordinary manner. The performance of Lucia Popp is absolutely extraordinary, with superb acting complementing a most beautiful gentle voice. The plot of the opera is comic, with confused identities, resolving in an expectable sort of way. The opera is sung in German, but the under-titles are fairly accurate in translation. I’m told that Wagner was heavily influenced by this piece written in 1837, and I’m not surprised. Recommended for viewing.

The Marriage of Figaro, Mozart, Hamburg Opera, (Cult Opera) ????
11DEC09 – This opera is a wonderful classic, performed in traditional style in the 1970’s by the Hamburg Opera company. The recording is not perfect in technique, yet the performance is very compelling, and well done. This is a version of Figaro worth having in any musical repertoire. The singing was actually performed in German, rather than Italian, the way Mozart originally scripted the opera. This doesn’t seem to distract from the performance. Tom Krause and Edith Mathis are the two true stars in this film, both with superb acting and voices to make the opera a true success.

Help, Help the Globolinks, by Carl Menotti ???

This is intended to be a children’s opera, written by the same person who wrote Amahl and the Night Visitors. This story is about a space invasion by aliens, who can only be destroyed by playing musical instruments. The message of the opera is quite clear. The story was somewhat akin to Mars Attacks! without Jack Nicholson. The opera is short and thus bearable, the story line a touch contrived, the music clearly 20th century though in good taste. I’ll need to try the opera on a child someday to see if it works.

Fidelio, Hamburg Opera, Cult Opera Series ?????

Though the music is absolutely spectacular and fitting of Beethoven at his best, the opera also shows the problems that Beethoven had at writing opera, in that the staging is quite awkward, making it challenging for any opera company to produce. This opera is a “reality” opera filmed in a real Spanish prison rather than on the stage. The singing is absolutely spectacular, with an awesome cast, including a very young Lucia Popp as Marcelline. The recording has a slightly tin-ny ring to it, as though you were listening to an old RCA recording from the 1950’s. This opera was produced in 1968. In spite of all the faults, it was so well done, that it deserves 5 stars.