Listen to a Sample:

Pros:

• In 1979, Carlos Kleiber would reassemble this cast in Vienna and create a now legendary video. This performance finds the trio of ladies in slightly fresher voice, which gives the entire performance a youthful energy that wasn't as present in the video.
• Gwyneth Jones is mesmerizing as the Marschallin. She manages to convey all of the nuances of the the text with care, and there are moments of incredible music-making between her and Kleiber that are nothing short of perfection.
• Brigitte Fassbaender was Kleiber's Octavian of choice for decades and you can hear why. Like Jones, she approaches the lyrics with a conversational quality without sacrificing the opulence of her voice.
• Lucia Popp is weaves magic into Sophie's soaring lines.
• The only complaint you could make about Karl Ridderbusch's Ochs is that the natural timbre of his voice is too elegant for this boorish Baron.

Cons:

• None to mention.

OD 11974-3