Beethoven: Fidelio (Excerpts) Rysanek, McCracken, Hotter, Kreppel, Lo. Rysanek, Dickie, Schöffler; Krips. Wien, 1965

$4.95

Listen to a Sample:

Despite its short-comings as far as the sound goes, this recording offers a dream-cast for lovers of this opera.
In the title role, Leonie Rysanek is radiant.
James McCracken's burly tenor was remarkably secure when it came to lyrical singing (it is a shame his aria is not included in this recording.)
Hans Hotter offers an understated yet terrifying Pizzaro.
Despite being put in the awkward position of having to pretend to be in love with her sister, Lotte Rysanek nonetheless delivers the vocal goods as Marzelline.
Paul Schöffler makes an impactful cameo as Don Fernando.

As alluded to before, the sound is far from ideal.
To make matters worse there are two patches of skipping. Normally I would have excised the offending sections, but the singing is just too good.

In Mono

OD 11659-1