~ ~ ~
I
started the Vinyl LP series because I have a collection of over 20,000 vinyl record albums I am
selling; each blog entry is about an album from my collection. The 101 Reel-to-Reel Tapes series is an extension of that collection. Inquire
for information here.
~ ~ ~
Yesterday was the birthday of
Austrian composer and conductor,
Erich Wolfgang Korngold, born on May 29, 1897. He was a child prodigy who became one of the most important and influential composers in
Hollywood history and a noted pianist and composer of classical music, along with music for
Hollywood films, and the first composer of international stature to write Hollywood scores.
I will write about his many accomplishments for his
Hollywood films in later posts (
so much for that). But I felt his serious work is not as well known, so, I've focused on one of his operas; in this case,
Die Tote Stadt.
Tracklist:
Die Tote Stadt
A Act I (Part I)
B Act I (Concluded)
C Act II (Part I)
D Act II (Concluded)
E Act III (Part I)
F Act III (Concluded)
Credits
Baritone Vocals – Benjamin Luxon, Hermann Prey
Choir – Tölzer Boys Choir*
Chorus – Bavarian Radio Chorus*
Chorus Master [Director, Bavarian Radio Chorus] – Heinz Mende
Chorus Master [Director, Tölzer Boys Choir] – Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden
Composed By – Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Conductor – Erich Leinsdorf
Engineer [Recording Engineer] – Alfons Seebacher
Libretto By – Paul Schott
Mezzo-soprano Vocals – Rose Wagemann
Orchestra – Munich Radio Orchestra*
Producer – Charles Gerhardt
Producer [Produced For Radio By] – Theodor Holzinger
Soprano Vocals – Carol Neblett, Gabriele Fuchs, Patricia Clark
Tenor Vocals – Anton de Ridder, René Kollo, Willi Brokmeier
Notes
WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING
includes libretto
Label: RCA Red Seal – ARL3-1199
Format: 2 × Reel To Reel 4-track 7-1/2 IPS Stereo Audio Tape
Box Set
Country: US
Released: 1975
Genre: Classical
Style: Opera, Modern
Viewfinder links:
Net links:
YouTube links:
The opening reviews for Tosca were mixed. One critic described act 2 as overly long and wordy; another, that the rush of action did not permit
enough lyricism (really?), to the great detriment of the music. A third called the
opera "three hours of noise".
Ah, but what beautiful noise!
The Renata Tebaldi ~ Tosca, reel-to-reel tape is for sale on eBay
