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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fabulous ensemble feel, excellent singing, 9.25 out of 10, 30 Dec 2004
Overall though I highly recommend this disc for its fabulous ensemble feel, excellent singing and not least because as my wife said, "it sounds like a Broadway musical!"Any modern recording of an Operetta has to be welcomed, so long as it's not another Fledermaus or Widow and this one particularly so as Kálmán is lesser known, though Die Csárdásfürstin is already represented in the catalogue. The performing edition used here is tight and does not labour or wallow, as the booklet says, every number counts. This is a typical Naxos disc, excellent orchestral playing, unusually well cast, exemplary conducting and a genuine ensemble feel. However the recording does not always catch Kenny (and the others, especially the other soprano) quite as we all know she (they) should sound, rather than her pure toned, shimmering vibrato, close miking makes her sound somewhat uncharacteristically hard and bright on some of her high notes especially in the ensemble Lied: O, jag' dem Glück nicht nach. Typically Naxos, there is also the feeling of no real sound below 100 Hz. My other gripe is that in spite of excellent diction (the work is performed in clear German, no Viennese accents thankfully) the booklet synopsis is hard to follow and the web site libretto only has the German text rather than a side by side translation, hence you miss the oft referred to humour! In addition to the 85 minutes of Csárdásfürstin Naxos gives you 5 orchestral excerpts from other Kálmán works lasting about 28 minutes bringing the whole to 1:53:37 So very nearly 10 out of 10 but in the end I rated this as a slightly severe 9.25 due to the occassional bright miking and the libretto but otherwise a real find and a bargain to boot!
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~ Imre Kalman
~ Robert Schumann
by Ivan March
~ Daniel-Francois-Esprit Auber
~ Wagner/Bruckner
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