Strauss, R: Es gibt ein Reich (from Ariadne auf Naxos)

Taken from live performances from the period 1952-1960, this disc showcases the legendary singer Elisabeth Schwarzkopf singing iconic repertoire.

Multi-award winning opera singer Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, praised for the ‘pristine beauty of her lyric soprano’ (The Guardian), was revered in opera houses worldwide and is perhaps most famous for her Mozart roles. However, she was also at home on the concert stage and this collection combines her acclaimed portrayals of Donna Elvira, Countess Almaviva and Richard Strauss’s Marschallin, among others, with her affecting interpretations of lieder and song-cycles.

Ondine is pleased to announce the new release from legendary Straussian soprano Soile Isokoski. A multiple award-winner, her recording of the Four Last Songs won a Gramophone Award in 2002.

The rarely recorded Three Hymns are coupled with arias from Ariadne auf Naxos, Der Rosenkavalier and Capriccio. Soile Isokoski performs those (and other) operas regularly at opera houses across the world including Vienna State Opera, Royal Opera House, Milan’s La Scala, the Semperoper in Dresden, Paris and at festivals including Salzburg, Edinburgh, Orange and Savonlinna.

Three Hymns is a major work, and places considerable vocal demands on the soloist. These atmospheric concert pieces show Strauss’ orchestration in full bloom.

It is often said that Richard Strauss had a lifelong love affair with the soprano voice, and it is certainly true that many of his finest operatic roles were written with that voice in mind. In addition, the quality of his writing for sopranos regularly shows their instruments off to maximum advantage. Sopranos have genuine cause to the grateful to him.

Collected here are some of Strauss’s greatest heroines – whether regal (the Marschallin in Rosenkavalier), demented (Salome and Elektra), or crafty (the Empress in Frau ohne Schatten). These highlights feature not only great solo scenes (the final scene of Salome, Elektra’s monologue) but also some sublime ensembles (Arabella, Ariadne auf Naxos, the closing scene of Rosenkavalier). The singers represent some of the leading Strauss sopranos of their day – Della Casa, Guede, Crespin, Söderström, Silja and, of course, Nilsson – as well as some of the great Strauss conductors: Solti, Böhm, Dohnányi. Many of the recordings were made by the Wiener Philharmoniker in one of Decca’s iconic recording venues, the Sofiensaal, over a period of some twenty years

Elisabeth-Maria Wachutka trained as an opera and concert singer at the Richard Strauss Music Conservatory and at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Munich. The focus of her repertoire is the works of Wagner and Richard Strauss.

The dream team: Renee Fleming and Christian Thielemann, today's foremost interpreters of Richard Strauss, in a brand new recording of the Four Last Songs, plus other arias and songs by R. Strauss.

Renee Fleming, the world's leading lyric soprano, records the exquisitely beautiful Four Last Songs by Richard Strauss in a brand new recording. Fleming recorded these songs once before, ten years ago before she had ever sung them live. Since then, these enduringly popular showcases for the soprano voice have become signature pieces for Fleming and a regular and much-loved part of her concert repertoire. With years of experience of live performances behind her, Fleming is ready now to revisit these works, bringing more insight, fresh interpretations and greater maturity.

She is conducted by Christian Thielemann, a renowned interpreter of Strauss. The disc also includes other Strauss scenes from his operas Ariadne auf Naxos and Die Agyptische Helena as well as Richard Strauss's songs Freundliche Vision, Verfuehrung, Winterweihe and Zueignung, several of which Fleming has sung live to critical acclaim.

Acclaimed and cherished as one of Australia’s finest operatic artists, Nance Grant had a voice possessed with beauty and power, an ease of technique, a perfection of phrasing and taste that cemented her place in the hearts of Australian music lovers. This long overdue tribute presents one of the great sopranos from down under - in recordings previously thought lost.

Nance Grant chose to stay close to her family in Australia rather than pursue an international career, even though Sir Edward Downes insisted he could ‘fill her books’ with performances in Britain and Europe. So this double album offers those who never had the opportunity to hear her, the gift of discovering a voice of magnitude and generosity, and for those who grew up hearing her on stage, the chance to reacquaint themselves with her artistry.

The original tapes from radio broadcasts of the 1960s and ’70s have been carefully restored to give more than a hint of the majesty of Nance Grant in a characteristic range of repertoire. The recordings represent significant landmarks in the development of opera in Australia: the emerging Victorian State Opera’s enormously successful Idomeneo, re di Creta, and Maria Stuarda under the direction of Richard Divall; Australian Opera’s Ariadne auf Naxos, Fidelio and Tannhäuser with Sir Edward Downes; and one of the first of the Australian Opera/ABC collaborations presenting concert performances of Wagner operas, with Grant as Sieglinde in Die Walküre conducted by Leif Segerstam.

The programme also pays homage to Nance’s considerable concert career, including a complete song recital - Greig, Richard Hageman and Richard Strauss - with pianist Geoffrey Parsons, Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, and an excerpt from Mendelssohn’s Elijah.

Ana Mikolaj sings a selection of popular works by Richard Strauss and Mozart on this CPO recording. The prize-winning Polish soprano has been a student of Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, who worked closely with her on the preparation and interpretation of certain roles and of certain composers, notably Mozart and Strauss. Mikolaj has performed at Glyndebourne and many of the world’s opera houses and is currently performing in Carmen with Jonas Kaufmann at the Bavarian State Opera.