Romantische Arien [Romantic Arias]

Romantische Arien [Romantic Arias] cover $27.00 Out of Stock
 add to cart

WAGNER / SCHUBERT / NICOLAI / SCHUMANN / von WEBER
Romantische Arien [Romantic Arias]
Christian Gerhaher (baritone) / Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks

[ Sony Classics / CD ]

Release Date: Wednesday 20 March 2013

On his first-ever aria recital album Christian Gerhaher makes a strong case for the fascinating early-Romantic operatic repertoire. His illuminating selection draws a stringent line from lyric gems of great melodic beauty by Schubert and Schumann to more dramatic scenes by Weber and Nicolai and to Wolfram's famous monologues from Wagner's Tannhäuser, an opera in which the baritone has won particular international acclaim.

GRAMOPHONE AWARD FINALIST 2013: Vocal

"Gerhaher's Wolfram has followers travelling all over Europe in its wake, so uniquely moving, honest and profound is his response to Wagner's role...[the Wolfram arias] display that simple integrity of an artist who conceals a great deal of art. A sense of wide-eyed innocence is incarnate in Gerhaher's delectable enunciation and perfection of phrasing and technique...Absolutely essential listening." (Five Stars) BBC Music Magazine Awards 2014 - Opera Finalist

"All are in Gerhaher's best style, immaculately phrased and breathed, with considerable thought given to the text which is then fully characterised without mannerism....a great source for dipping into the history of this period." (Gramophone)

"It is no surprise that this great Schubertian would want to break a lance for his favourite composer's neglected operas: he lavishes his immaculate diction on arias from Alfonso and Estrella and the unfinished Count of Gleichen, savouring the banal texts with the same care for verbal detail he would for a Schubert setting of a Goethe or Heine poem, maintaining seamless legato lines with his grainy yet beautiful baritone" (Sunday Times)

"Gerhaher invests such music with the same exquisite rendering of every expressive nuance that make him the greatest Lieder singer of our time.The standard is set by the first Tannhäuser aria, which opens the disc - in everything that follows...his singing never loses its tonal beauty or any of its musical poise." (Guardian)

Tracks:

Nicolai, C O:
Norton! Du bist es, der mit Frevler Wuth (from Die Heimkehr des Verbannten)

Schubert:
Sei mir gegrüßt, o Sonne (from Alfonso und Estrella, D732)
O Sing mir, Vater (from Alfonso und Estrella, D732)
O Himmel! Kannst du mir so freundlich lächeln? ... Mein Weib, o Gott, mein süßer Knabe (from Der Graf von Gleichen, D918)

Schumann:
Ja, wart' du bis zum jüngsten Tag (from Genoveva)

Wagner:
Blick ich umher in diesem edlen Kreise (from Tannhäuser)
Wie Todesahnung...O du, mein holder Abendstern (from Tannhäuser)

Weber:
Wo berg ich mich? (from Euryanthe)