[12/31/2011] New Year's Eve edition: "In the fiery sap of the vine, there sparkles a life divine": The King of All Wines, Champagne! (continued)

For our musical New Year's Eve, we're going to hear the entire Gala sequence from Act II of this famous 1960 recording of Die Fledermaus conducted by Herbert von Karajan.

FIRST LET'S HEAR THE CHAMPAGNE TRIO IN THE ORIGINAL

And in our first recording we're going to hear something extraordinary in the Orlofsky of the young Brigitte Fassbaender, not just a ripely characterful performance but from a vocal standpoint quite staggering, managing the tricky melodic hopping in full, radiant voice and making perfect sense of the words.

J. STRAUSS II: Die Fledermaus: Act II, Champagne Trio

PRINCE ORLOFSKY: And now let us drink to Champagne,
king of all wines! Champagne!
ALL: Champagne!

ORLOFSKY: In the fiery sap of the vine, tra la la,
there sparkles a life divine, tra la la!
Kings and emperors all
love the sprig of the laurel.
They also love, besides,
the sweet juice of the grape!
A toast! A toast!
And pay homage all together
to the king of all wines!
ALL: A toast! A toast! A toast!
ORLOFSKY: Its majesty's acknowledged
and acclaimed throughout the land!
Jubilantly it is named
Champagne the First!
ALL: Its majesty's acknowledged
and acclaimed throughout the land!
Jubilantly it is named
Champagne the First!
Long live Champagne the First!

ADELE: The nations all pay homage, tra la la,
right down to the remotest regions, tra la la,
and sometimes champagne drowns
all manner of cares --
wise princes, therefore, never let
their peoples go thirsty!
A toast! A toast!
And pay homage all together
to the king of all wines!
ALL: A toast! A toast! A toast!
ADELE: Its majesty's acknowledged
and acclaimed throughout the land!
Jubilantly it is named
Champagne the First!
ALL: Its majesty's acknowledged
and acclaimed throughout the land!
Jubilantly it is named
Champagne the First!
Long live Champagne the First!

EISENSTEIN: The monk in his quiet cell, tra la la,
partakes of refreshment at this spring, tra la la!
To moisten his lips,
he has to sip often and much
and from lifting the glass
he acquires a ruby nose!
A toast! A toast!
And pay homage all together
to the king of all wines!
ALL: A toast! A toast! A toast!
EISENSTEIN: Its majesty's acknowledged
and acclaimed throughout the land!
Jubilantly it is named
Champagne the First!
ALL: Its majesty's acknowledged
and acclaimed throughout the land!
Jubilantly it is named
Champagne the First!
Long live Champagne the First!

-- translation by Peggie Cochrane for the Decca Record Co.

Brigitte Fassbaender (ms), Prince Orlofsky; Renate Holm (s), Adele; Nicolai Gedda (t), Gabriel von Eisenstein; Vienna Volksoper Chorus, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Willi Boskovsky, cond. EMI, recorded 1971
Regina Resnik (ms), Prince Orlofsky; Erika Köth (s), Adele; Eberhard Wächter (b), Gabriel von Eisenstein; Vienna State Opera Chorus, Vienna Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan, cond. Decca, recorded June 1960

NOW LET'S HEAR THE 1960 DECCA FLEDERMAUS GALA

It still rattles me to realize that the 1960 Decca Fledermaus conducted by Herbert von Karajan (already his second recording of the operetta, and a huge improvement), which was issued first with a Decca all-star gala sequence and then also without it, and which I'm accustomed to thinking of as the basic Fledermaus recording and also an enduring souvenir for the Gala sequence, is now a vaguely and rather confusedly known historical relic. True, it's now more than 50 years old, but still . . .

Anyway, I thought an obvious way to celebrate on New Year's Eve would be to hear the whole of the Gala sequence. I hope the singers don't need any introduction, despite the passage of all this time, but I don't know. Just for our listening convenience, I've broken it down into three chunks.

(1) LEHÁR: The Merry Widow: "Vilja Song""
Renata Tebaldi, soprano
(2) FERRARI-PLATTE: "Domino"
Fernando Corena, bass
(3) LERNER and LOEWE: My Fair Lady: "I could have danced all night"
Birgit Nilsson, soprano
speakers including Regina Resnik (Prince Orlofsky); Vienna Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan. Decca, recorded June 1960

(4) TAGLIAFERRI: "Passione"
Mario del Monaco, tenor
(5) LAVILLA: "Lullaby"
Teresa Berganza, mezzo-soprano
(6) ARDITI: "Il Bacio" ("The Kiss")
Joan Sutherland, soprano
speakers including Regina Resnik (Prince Orlofsky); Vienna Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan. Decca, recorded June 1960

(7) LEHÁR: The Land of Smiles: "Dein ist mein ganzes Herz" ("Yours is my heart alone")
Jussi Bjoerling, tenor
(8) GERSHWIN: Porgy and Bess: "Summertime"
Leontyne Price, soprano
(9) BERLIN: Annie, Get Your Gun: "Anything you can do, I can do better"
Giulietta Simionato, mezzo-soprano; Ettore Bastianini, baritone
(10) SIECZYNSKI: "Wien, du Stadt meiner Träume" ("Vienna, you city of my dreams")
Ljuba Welitsch, soprano
speakers including Regina Resnik (Prince Orlofsky); Vienna Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan. Decca, recorded June 1960

OR IN ONE FELL SWOOP . . .

I started by putting all ten Gala selections in a single music file. Since the file is already made, I thought some listeners might enjoy having the whole thing available for continuous listening.

speakers including Regina Resnik (Prince Orlofsky); Vienna Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan. Decca, recorded June 1960


IN TOMORROW'S SUNDAY CLASSICS POST

As promised, more about Die Fledermaus,


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