Josef Krips, Wiener Philharmoniker, Wilma Lipp, Emmy Loose, Endre Koreh, Peter Klein, Walther Ludwig - Mozart: Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail; Overtures (CD DOUBLE (LARGE CASE))

Josef Krips, Wiener Philharmoniker, Wilma Lipp, Emmy Loose, Endre Koreh, Peter Klein, Walther Ludwig - Mozart: Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail; Overtures (CD DOUBLE (LARGE CASE))

The supreme exponent of Viennese Mozart and his first recording of Mozart's 'rescue opera' set in a Turkish harem, coupled for the first time with a superbly stylish collection of overtures.

Weber's verdict on Die Entführung–'the victory of youth in all its freshness' –has hardly been challenged since he handed it down in 1821. In it he perceived the genius of the 26-year-old Mozart in full flower, full of an irrecoverable lightness of spirit that has made it irresistibly attractive to audiences even if its vocal challenges, especially in the central role of Constanze, continue to tax all but the most poised and fearless of singers.

First performed at the Burgtheaterin Vienna, Die Entführunghas always held a beloved place in the repertoire, frequently performed alike in the State Opera, the more informal Volksoperand the city's true home of Singspiel at the Theater an der Wien, which put on the premiere of The Magic Flute. This performing tradition may be relished in the opera's first properly Viennese recording, made by Decca in 1950. Conductor Josef Kripsand most of the principals were Viennese born and bred. It was Kripswho (with the intendant Egon Hilbert) rebuilt the ensemble of the State Opera out of the rubble in 1945, and created its famouspostwar Mozart style. This was the first more-or-less complete Entführungon disc, and it was hardly superseded in vocal quality by the conductor's stereo remake.

From 1950 to 1954, Kripswas principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. With them he made a studio album of overtures in the winter of 1951-52 that was welcomed at the time for its easy, authentically Mozartian flow and vivid sense of drama in both performance and recording. The set makes an essential complement to other Eloquence tributes to the art of Kripssuch as the 1951 Viennese Mozart Requiem (4826530) and his equally underrated recording of Elijah with the LPO (4804334).

Tracklistings:

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

CD 1

Overtures

1Die Entführungausdem Serail

2Die Zauberflöte

3Cosìfan tutte

4Le nozzedi Figaro

5Don Giovanni

6Der Schauspieldirektor

London Symphony Orchestra

Josef Krips

Die Entführungausdem Serail

7–14Act I

CD 2

1–8Act II

9–14Act III

BassaSelim……………………………………………………….Heinz Woester

Belmonte………………………….…………………………….Walther Ludwig

Konstanze……………..…………………………………….…………Wilma Lipp

Blonde…………………………………………..…………………..…Emmy Loose

Pedrillo…………………………………..……………………………….Peter Klein

Osmin…………………………………………..……………………….EndreKoréh

Wiener Staatsopernchor

Wiener Philharmoniker

Josef Krips