Bronsart: Jery und Bätely, Libretto by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

A native of St Petersburg, Ingeborg von Bronsart studied with Liszt in Weimar, her striking appearance earning her the nickname Ingeborg die Schöne. Goethes libretto for Jery und Bätely is a charming and bucolic tale of unrequited romance between a pretty Swiss milkmaid and an eligible bachelor who are ultimately brought together by some farcical matchmaking. Bronsart brings life to this story with exquisite music, from an exciting overture through an uninterrupted evolution in melody and harmony to a spine-tingling finale, delivering a Singspiel that helped establish her reputation as a successful composer for the stage.

Despite the current increasing interest in female composers, Ingeborg von Bronsart is almost entirely absent from the record catalogues. This recording of the opera/singspiel Jery und Bätely is therefore a special event, and one that conductor Dario Salvi considers to be 'one of the operatic revelations of the decade… Imagine Hänsel und Gretel with a woman's touch to it. Put on top of it a text by Goethe, some inspired performers and a fully dedicated conductor who is completely in love with the work. Can it get any better?'