"An absolutely stunning performance although della Casa - or anyone else for that matter - will never ever beat the one and only Marschallin, Règine Crespin, in Solti's studio recording.GALA provides excellent notes as they have done on all their later issues, although a slight mistake occurs on page 14 of the booklet: The proper title of the Marschallin is: " Die Marschallin Fürstin Werdenberg", and not as stated Prinzess von Werdenberg. The word "Prinzess" does not exist in German......it is called "Prinzessin" if anything.Still: definately worth your while!"
Fabulous Recording
12/21/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is one of the great Rosenkavalier recordings. The sound is of decent broadcast quality, (it's from a live performance) but it's the performance that is special. And the price ain't too bad either!Top honors go to Sena Jurinac for her compelling and gloriously sung Octavian. The way she brings the drama to life purely through her singing is amazing, and it's not something that one hears very often these days. There are several other recordings around of her Octavian, but I think this is the greatest of them. Listen to the duet that closes Act I and you'll hear what I mean.Lisa Della Casa is a lovely Marschallin (if a bit bland) and Hilde Gueden (one of the great Sophies--supposedly Strauss' favorite) is as charming as ever."
Simply exquisite!
Mr. DAVID Geer | 01/29/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Not only is this only copy of the Salzburg Festival- 1960 recording of "der Rosenkavalier" available to the American market; the price is positively delightful. The tonal quality is not the best; the recording equipment then available may be compensated for by slightly boosting the mid-range on the stereo equaliser...other than a desire to hear how this might sound were it run through the CEDAR process, one cannot complain.Hilde Gülden is quite fine, and Karajan does (to my mind typical for him) another superb labour with a Strauss piece."
Fine deeply satisfying performance
Mr. DAVID Geer | Sydney Australia | 10/18/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Great singing Jurinac especially good but also Della Casa & Guelden not far behind. Liked the pace Karajan sets and presume it has been cut as it seems unusually cohesive. One caution is the sound quality which you do get used to and ignore when the Dames strutt their stuff. At this price it is certainly worth it! Good helden tenor also in act one. Would have given 5 if sound a bit better!"
Ouch!...some serious squawking here....
Edward R. Oneill | San Francisco, CA | 04/16/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This set is a mixed bag: an interesting historical relic, some excellent music-making, some truly awful singing, and some fun extras.
In interest of "full disclosure," as they say, von Karajan is not my preferred conductor for this opera. Solti's recording with Crespin is all sublime luxury--big downy pillows of sound on which we eat decadent chocolate sounds, to mix metaphors a bit. Von Karajan emphasizes the extremes of sweetness and dissonance in Strauss's score in a way that makes sense in my mind but is not enjoyable as a listening experience. Szell hits the perfect balance of sweetness and rhythmic drive. He doesn't overemphasize the more dissonant or fragmentary aspects.
But the big problem here--aside from Edelman's exaggeratedly 'comic' Ochs--is some truly awful squawking noises made by more than one of the leading ladies in this live performance. I really could not believe the dreadful straining and pitch problems these otherwise wonderful singers have from time to time. And no other reviewer mentions this!
Now that is one of the up's and down's of a live performance. No retakes. People have bad days. In a weird way, it becomes part of the theme of the work--forgiveness, accepting time, change, impermanence, the fact that love fades, people change, and we must accept this aspect of human nature and human life, or resign ourselves to a tragic view of life.
So let it be said that some sour notes can be forgiven, and these counterbalance one of the sublime pleasures of a live performance: the completeness and unity of a whole work performed from start to finish with coherence and that special kind of unity imposed by time.
Thus this set makes an interesting contribution to the recordings of this fascinating if problematic opera.
But what makes these disks worth the price is not just the live aspect but some extra tidbits of Della Casa and Jurinac performing various roles with various partners, including each other. It makes one long to go back in time and see each performer at different moments in her life essaying the different roles with a rondelay of partners."