MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2023
Approaching 60,000 reviews
and more.. and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             


CD REVIEW

Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

Unavailable in the USA

AVAILABILITY Crotchet   AmazonUK

Johann STRAUSS II (1825-1899)
Eine Nacht in Venedig (A Night in Venice) (1883)
Track details at end of review
Nicolai Gedda (tenor); Erich Kunz (baritone); Karl Donch (bass-baritone); Peter Klein (tenor); Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (soprano); Emmy Loose (soprano); Hanna Ludwig (contralto); Hanna Ludwig (contralto); Karel Stepanek; Hanna Norbert  and Anton Diffring (speakers)
Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus/Otto Ackermann
rec. 25-28, 31 May, 25 September 1954, Kingsway Hall, London. ADD
First issued on Columbia 33CX 1224 and 1225
NAXOS HISTORICAL 8.111254 [78:51]


Johann Strauss II (the Younger) composed his operetta Eine Nacht in Venedig in 1883. The story was based on the French novel Chateau Trompette (by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré), and the text was provided by F Zell and Richard Genée, the latter having collaborated with Strauss to great success on a number of occasions. It sports a typically convoluted plot involving cooks, barbers, lady’s maids, fisher-girls, Senators, and a masked ball hosted by an amorous Duke, at which all the women disguise themselves as each other. But the various impending disasters are averted and all live happily ever after.
 
It was premiered in Berlin where both text and music were heavily criticised. Strauss and his librettists were forced to revise it – the ensuing Austrian production enjoying 44 performances. The composer Erich Korngold then revised it further, for another Berlin performance in 1923, and it underwent significant cuts, additions, re-orderings and re-working of material.
 
This Naxos Historical re-issue features a recording made in the Kingsway Hall in 1954, and the sound is reasonably good. The cast are, as one might expect, all of top quality, and there is some stunning singing in particular from Nicolai Gedda as the Duke - listen to the start of track 17, for example.
 
I do find it a shame, however, that the dialogue has been included, despite the fact that some highly rated actors take some of the speaking parts - including Karel Stepanek (from Sink the Bismarck, amongst many other films. There is a fair amount of this, and it does not come across particularly well. It sounds rather awkward in fact and can become rather tedious for non-German speakers.
 
On the whole, the music is pleasant and ebullient. It could be called generally unremarkable, but, in its favour, there are some meltingly tender and beautiful moments. A charming operetta, and excellent cast. Worth a listen.
 
Em Marshall

see also review by Göran Forsling

Track listing
Overture [6:32]
Act I [35:42]
Wenn vom Lido sacht [1:05]
Ihr Venezianer hort...Drum sei glucklich, sei selig, Venezia!        [1:11]
Makkaroni, Makkaroni di Napoli!  [ 0:50]
'S ist wahr, ich bin nicht allzu klug ... Wenn du dich krankst  [1:44]
Oho! ... Seht, o seht!... Frutti di mare! [2:10]
O, Annina, ich errate was Euch herfuhrt  [1:51]
Evviva, Caramello!... WHlkomen, Hebe Freunde! [2:07]
  Ja, Pappacoda, alter Makkaronikessel  [ \ :01] 
Annina'. Caramelto! ... Pellegrina rondinella! [ 2:45]
Hi, hi, hi ...Ja, Pappacoda, was hat sie denn [0:20]
Alle maskiert, alle maskiert [2:12]
Sei mir gegrufit, du holdes Venezia! [2:22]
Nun, Caramello, hast du Barbara gesprochen?  [1:42]
Hier ward es still... Der Mond hat schwere Klag' erhob [2:59]
Hast du mir ein Kostiim gebracht [0:56]
Komm' in die Gondel, mein Liebchen [2:27]
Messer Delacqua! [0:58]
Zur Serenade! [5:23]
Kaum, dafi mein Liebchen die schaukelnde Gondel enlfiihrt [1:29]
Act II [24:28]
Wo bleibt nur Caramello?... Venedigs Frauen herzufuhren [2:54]
Wasfuhrtdie Damen hierher [0:28]
Was mir der Zufall gab [1:35]
Ach, Gott sei Dank [0:49]
Hor' mich, Annina, komm in die Gondel! [1:47]
Caramello, ich bin mil dir zufrieden [0:27]
Sie sagten meinem Liebesfleh 'n [1:56]
Soldi' ein Wirtshaus lob' ich mi... Marietta, come va? [3:21]
Komm, Barbara [0:41]
Ninana, Ninana, hier will ich singen        [2:55]
Alles geht gut    [0:36]
Lasset die Andern tanzen da! Tra la la la! [3:20]
Jetzt ist's Zeit zur Lustbarkeit... Horch! von San Marco der Glocken Geldut  [3:42]
Act III [12:09]
Karneval ruft Each zum Ball! [0:59]
Die Tauben von San Marco [3:34]
Ach, wie so herrlich zu schau'n [3:09]
0, mein Weib 1st mir geraitbt warden! [ 0:49]
Tacke, tacke, tacke ... Aber wenn man erst gekostet hat [1:56]
Ciboletta, weiflt du nicht wo deine Herrin ist?[1:08]
Wie sich’s gebuhrt, hat er’s gespurt [0:34]

 


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools




Return to Review Index

Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.