Erich Kleiber — Richard Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier, Naxos Historical (3CD Box Set)

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Product Details

• UPC: 747313301126
• Label: Naxos Historical
• Composer: Richard Strauss (1864–1949)
• Performers: Maria Reining (The Marschallin), Ludwig Weber (Baron Ochs), Sena Jurinac (Octavian), Alfred Poell (Herr von Faninal), Hilde Gueden (Sophie), Judith Hellwig, Peter Klein, Hilde Rössel-Majdan, Anton Dermota, Walter Berry; Vienna State Opera Chorus; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; Erich Kleiber, conductor
• Catalogue Number: 8.111011-13
• Original Recording: 29 May–28 June 1954, Musikvereinsaal, Vienna
• Genre: Classical — Opera
• Country of Producing: European Union (EU)

Product Features

• Format: 3CD Box Set, factory sealed
• Recording: ADD (analogue original, digitally remastered)
• Total Playing Time: 3:16:30
• Reissue producer and restoration engineer: Mark Obert-Thorn
• Cover Photo: Erich Kleiber (Tully Potter Collection)

Overview

This 1954 recording is the first-ever complete recording of Der Rosenkavalier, made in Vienna while the city was still under Allied occupation — a detail that matters as much historically as musically. It has held classic status ever since: Erich Kleiber's wonderfully integrated conducting is treated as a benchmark against which other Rosenkavalier recordings are still measured, and the central trio of Sena Jurinac (Octavian), Hilde Gueden (Sophie), and Ludwig Weber (Baron Ochs) is widely regarded as outstanding even among the opera's many strong recordings.

Part of what makes the ensemble work is that the smaller roles were all sung by regular members of the Vienna Staatsoper company rather than assembled guest singers — a genuine house cast, and the teamwork shows in how the piece hangs together. Strauss's comic-romantic opera, built around the Marschallin's aging and Octavian's shift in affection toward the younger Sophie, needs exactly this kind of ensemble cohesion to land its mix of comedy and melancholy.

This Naxos Historical reissue, remastered by Mark Obert-Thorn, restores the original Musikvereinsaal sessions for a recording that's been called one of the gramophone's major achievements since it was first released.

Interesting Facts

• This 1954 recording was the very first complete studio recording of Der Rosenkavalier ever made, at a time when Vienna was still under post-war Allied occupation.
• Erich Kleiber's conducting on this recording is widely treated as a benchmark interpretation, still referenced as a comparison point for later Rosenkavalier recordings.
• The smaller roles were filled entirely by regular members of the Vienna Staatsoper ensemble rather than imported guest singers, a factor the liner notes credit for the recording's overall cohesion.
• The recording sessions ran across a full month, from 29 May to 28 June 1954, in Vienna's Musikvereinsaal — one of the world's most acoustically celebrated concert halls.
• Anton Dermota, credited here in the smaller role of "A Singer," was one of the leading Viennese tenors of his generation, illustrating the depth of the Staatsoper roster used for even minor parts.

Track Listing

CD1 — 71:26 1–15. Act I

CD2 — 59:59 1–14. Act II

CD3 — 65:05 1–14. Act III

Publishers

Released by Naxos Historical, catalogue 8.111011-13, © & ℗ 2005 Naxos Rights International Ltd. Reissue producer and restoration engineer: Mark Obert-Thorn.

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