Strauss

Arabella

Varady, Mathis, Fischer-Dieskau; Sawallisch
München, 1977

Regular price $17.95
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Arabella

Anna Tomowa-Sintow was supposed to have sung the title role in this 1977 performance from Munich, but fell sick. Luckily Julia Varady was in town and stepped in between performances of Eugene Onegin to give a nigh-definitive performance of Strauss' flighty heroine. She has great chemistry with her Mandryka (and real life husband), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau who is a charmingly clumsy suitor. Edith Mathis is the tortured Zdenka and Kurt Böhme is a thundering, seedy presence as Arabella's reprobate father. The Fiakermilli is rather ungainly, but as if to make up for it, Martha Mödl is on hand as the fortune teller.

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Customer Reviews

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4.5 Based on 2 reviews
5 ★ 1
4 ★ 1
3 ★ 0
2 ★ 0
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David R.✓ Top Reviewer

United States

Overall rating

Terrific Performance in Excellent Sound!

This performance was available on the Golden Melodram label for awhile about twenty years ago. There was also a studio recording made about this time with Varady and Fischer-Dieskau in the leads and Sawallisch conducting, but with a different supporting cast that was licensed to EMI before it finally emerged on CD on the Orfeo label.Varady is a dream as Arabella. She sounds lovely and captures the spoiled, fantasy-driven young woman to perfection. One hears her audibly mature emotionally in the last act. Her final scene with her husband is glorious. Fischer-Dieskau sounds a little bumpy here and there (not inappropriate to the character), but he too matures before our ears. Mathis is an enchanting Zdenka, her first act duet with her sister one of the highlights of the performance. It is a luxury to have Töpper and Böhme as the parents. Hopferwieser is a very good Matteo. Uhrmacher is a more raucous Fiakermilli than usual, but she makes it work. Sawallisch knows just where to push forward and hold back in this opera.The sound is from a stereo broadcast with no glitches that I heard.Highly recommended to all Strauss fans!
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Frank L.✓ Top Reviewer

United States

Overall rating

Fine performance

This is a fine performance of an opera with some meltingly beautiful arias. Varady is particularly fine in her touching arias and so Mathis as her sister. Sawallisch gives the performers time to breathe in their key moments and that is important in this opera. The sound is much better in this Munich production than in the Vienna production with Janowitz and Popp. Fischer Dieskau sounds a little dry and gruff here, but he will do. I wasn't familiar with the singer playing Matteo but he is serviceable. All in all this is a nice live performance in good opera house sound. I will return to it again and again to hear Varady and Mathis.
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