I want to thank you for your very positive review and your praise of the recording and singing. The stridency that you mentioin is wanted by Strauss I believe. This belongs to the "Truth" in the composition. Her frustration with Barak is coming to a climax of pent-up emotions and her pending agreement to forfeit her shadow. I must however, point out that I do observe all piano markings of Strauss that gives the role softness and tenderness and deep wishes and dreams. I do think that the 3rd Act will change your mind about "stridency" other than belongs to the interpretation. One more thing, in the beginning of the role, the Färberin does sing much on the F and G sharps. Isn't that the purpose of composition?

Luana DeVol is (pardon the pun) one of the great unsung singers of recent operatic history, at least in her home country. This Mannheim performance of the Empress shows all her virtues: immediacy of involvement, shining femininity, a gorgeous 'blonde' voice, gleaming top notes and more. Fortunately, she's flanked by colleagues of comparable merit. Brenda Roberts is a sympathetic Dyer's Wife in the Janis Martin vein (or is it the other way around?). There's some stridency, almost unavoidable in this shrewish role. In the even more difficult part of the Nurse, Mannheim has an excellent mezzo (whose name I do not have at hand). Wolfgang Neumann is a sturdy Emperor, Anthony Raffell a bluff, vocally engaging Barak. In a luxury touch, Franz Mazura offers a demonic cameo as the Spirit Messenger, more authoritative than any on records. One would say nicer things about Friedemann Layer's conducting were it not for his savage truncation of the score, made worse by lacunae in the recording, which otherwise captures the voices clean. A must for "Frau" enthusiasts.

Thank you for the posted excerpts and the remark of my “finesse”. I always searched for the truth in music. So often Strauss and Wagner are sung forte no matter what the composer wrote. I tried to sing my Elektra, Frau, Bruennhilde, etc. with the intended dynamic markings, even if it was difficult and, of course, dangerous! Elusive is how to sing Mahler's “Fahrende Gesellen” with phrases beginning in pp and decrescending to pppp! What IS pppp? Have always wanted to figure that out!. Thank you, Opera Depot for publishing this recording! Our GMD Layer was great. Sang Elektra, Frau, Ortrud with him for years. He took me to Dresden with Elektra as “his singer”.