This performance of Die tote Stadt, given while the composer was still alive, is an exquisite example of late Romanticism at its best. The interpretation, conducted with distinction by Fritz Lehmann, captures the pathos of the story without lapsing into sentimentality, while also realizing sweeping climaxes that alternate with moments of delicate refinement.

Maud Cunitz as Marie/Marietta is divine, offering shimmering tone and exquisite legato. She finds an excellent partner in Karl Friedrich as Paul. Previously unfamiliar to me, this tenor reveals a voice well-suited to Korngold’s expansive melodic writing, handled here with both ease and power.