Such a beautiful casting!!!!!Montserrat Caballé singing Richard Stauss in 1965 it is pure happiness. How much Richard Strauss suits to her... i was so lucky as once i saw her singing on stage Ariadna auf Naxos in Paris...my dream was to see her in Rosenkavalier.... but we have that fantastic recording...thank you so much .

The story goes that Caballe arrived for these Rosenkavalier performances not knowing the role. The producers were in consternation, but Caballe with her superior musicianship not only learned the role, but turned it into a triumph. She returned to it only rarely (a 1984 Barcelona performance is also extant) which is a pity. She should have sung more Strauss than Puccini, but hindsight is always 20/20. Here she is playful, sexy, maternal, and loving. She begins the final trio with a heavenly "Hab mirs gelobt" and then caps it with a stunning high B. There are other Marschallins who bring more detail to the role, but few who sing it as beautifully. Zylis-Gara makes a lovely Octavian and Hammes an exquisite Sophie. Edelmann is a terrific Ochs; there's a reason he was so well-known for this part and he provides ample justification here. The supporting singers are all excellent and include Anna Reynolds as Annina. Pritchard conducts a very satisfying performance preserved in excellent monaural sound. There are a few editing errors in the original tape (one of Octavian's phrases in the second act gets repeated and Ochs' exit in Act Three likewise is heard twice.)Incidentally, Glyndebourne released another recording from this run on its own label though that one has Edith Mathis as Sophie and Manfred Jungwirth as Ochs (they claim Edelmann is the Ochs, but it is unquestionably Jungwirth.)If you love Rosenkavalier, you need this performance!

A very fine live performance recording! It casts great singers and Richard Strauss singers (Teresa Zylis-Gara, Otto Edelmann), but the great surprise here is Montserrat Caballe's Die Marschallin. One can therefore regret she didn't sing more Strauss roles and more frequently. The orchestra and John Pritchard in the pit are also at their best. Thank you very much for this wonderful gift, dear friends at Opera Depot and dear friend Andy!

Hearing this performance makes one wish Montserrat Caballé had sung less Puccini and more Strauss. She is a born Marschallin, delivering Hofmansthal's text with petit-point precision and wit that never descends into fussiness. Compared to Caballé's pointillistic approach, Teresa Zylis-Gara's legato-heavy treatment of Octavian suffers, as does the text, gorgeous as the sheer sound may be (and is). Liselotte Hammes is an aptly girlish Sophie, John Modenos supplies a stylish Faninal and only Otto Edelmann (Bürger als Edelmann indeed!) seems out of place with his reptilian interpretation of Baron Ochs. John Pritchard's conducting has plenty of snap and a lightness of touch that keeps sentimentality at bay. The sound is only average but the pleasures of the performance outweigh that reservation.

hehe! Since I don’t speak German and don’t understand more than a few words when I hear them, I won’t mind a bit! Besides, when SHE’s singing it’s like Sutherland or Horne – It’s the telephone book?? So what???