Die Zauberflöte

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)

DESCRIPTION

This performance of Die Zauberflöte captures the magic and mystery of Mozart’s fairy tale with a cast of distinguished Mozart singers, each bringing style, warmth, and humor to the work. Elisabeth Grümmer is radiant as Pamina, offering the vocal control associated with this repertoire alongside the fullness of tone that made her Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg so memorable. Anton Dermota brings reserved grace to Tamino, while Gottlob Frick lends Sarastro both fatherly warmth and magisterial bearing.

Erich Kunz’s Papageno brims with humanity and charm, and Erika Köth’s Queen of the Night dazzles while radiating menace. Georg Solti, unconstrained by the stylistic expectations that often shape Mozart performances today, offers a reading grounded in the text and attentive to the opera’s dramatic arc.

CAST

Sarastro – GOTTLOB FRICK
Tamino – ANTON DERMOTA
Sprecher – PAUL SCHÖFFLER
Erster Priester – GEORGES MÜLLER
Zweiter Priester – GEORG MONTHY
Königin der Nacht – ERIKA KÖTH
Pamina – ELISABETH GRÜMMER
Erste Dame – GERDA SCHEYRER
Zweite Dame – CHRISTA LUDWIG
Dritte Dame – HILDE RÖSSEL-MAJDAN
Papageno – ERICH KUNZ
Papagena – HANNELORE STEFFEK
Monostatos – PETER KLEIN
Erster Geharnischter – HELMUT MELCHERT
Zweiter Geharnischter – FRANZ BIERBACH

DETAILS

Location: Salzburg Festspiele
Date: July 25, 1955
Conductor: Georg Solti
Catalogue Number: OD 12369-3
Label: Opera Depot
Number of Discs: 3
In Mono