AN EXCELLENT LIVE PERFORMANCE OF RICHARD STRAUSS'S OPERA "DER ROSENKAVALIER" SUNG IN ENGLISH... A REAL TREAT... HIGHLY RECOMMENDED... A MUST!

What may not be known about this lovely performance is that it is uncut - Maestro Gibson and his forces play the entire score. The English translation is good, but I had difficulty understanding much of what is sung, rather defeating the purpose of singing this long score in another language.That aside I have nothing but praise for the singers. Janet Baker and Elizabeth Harwood are as well-matched here as they were in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte (also available from Opera Depot). They blend exquisitely in their duets. Dernesch is a fine Marschallin though some of her top notes, even this early in her career, are tight and uncomfortable. She doesn't quite make the G on "silberne Rose" at the end of Act One. Noel Mangin manages to croak out a low C on his exit in Act One and still sing Ochs' high notes. He is very funny and the audience loves him. The other singers are all good and bring character to their roles. The sound is very good, but there are some minor glitches along the way (some clicking in the last track of Act One, a brief pause in the second Sophie/Octavian duet, a repeat of some music in the Marschallin/Ochs confrontation in Act Three) though nothing that should deter one from hearing this performance.The Ponto label had this available once spread over four discs with the Ariadne prologue and some Schumann songs both with Baker as filler. The entire Ariadne is also available on Opera Depo.

So happy to find this here. This was my first Rosenkavalier and I remember the evening well. Memories of a great performance. Thank you Opera Depot!

I really wanted to hear something live outside of the classic Shwarzkopf/Ludwig/Stich-Randall which I have always listened to at home - and this was really interesting to hear