You know, I frequently tend do not listen operettas on LP.  Operas are serious, dramatic, requires attention and dedication. Operettas are much lighter genre, no less wonderful but light and less “loaded”. I love operettas and I frequently listen them as background music whale I working or busy by something else. I do not want to send a message that operettas are only for a light listening but operettas have that none-abusive quality that is very useful for some situations…

What could be more wonderful them Emmerich Kalman, while you humiliate yourself in office:

http://www.goodsoundclub.com/GetPost.aspx?PostID=769

So, doing “something else” I do not what to flip the records each 20 minutes listening the LPs. Therefore, although I own and love to listen at my dedicated time some my precious operettas on LPs, I always also look for better operettas on CD

Talking about the better operettas it is imposable do to mention the Everest of operettas repatriate: the Johann Strauss’ “Die Fledermaus”. The “Die Fledermaus” is hugely popular operetta, translated on zillion languages and well performed around the words.  I own a few wonderful productions of “Die Fledermaus”:

1) Karajan and Philharmonia in 1955 with Gedda and Schwarzkopf. This probably a reference rescoring for “Die Fledermaus”

2) Karajan and Vienna with Birgit Nilsson. It was a New Year Concert-performance, I like it less

3) My beloved opera guy - Karl Bohn in 1972 with Wiener Philharmoniker and Wachter – as beautiful as it could be.

4) The Carlos Kleiber's in 1975 Bavarian State Opera – OK, but slightly less exiting then other versions…

5) The Strauss’ specialist Willi Boskovsky in 1960 lead Gala performance with Vienna Symphony Orchestra with a very cool cast: Fischer-Dieskau, Walter Berry, Rothenberger, Holm – very good play

6) Robert Stolz with Vienna Staatsoper from 1962 with my beloved Rudolf Schock  - is it possible to find a better Viennese cust?

7) The same Boskovsky in 1972 with Gedda  and Rothenberger  - even better production then with Fischer-Dieskau

8) Otto Ackermann – another Strauss’ specialist took in 1959 London Philharmonia  on his trip in Die Fledermaus – probably the finniest performance ever...

And of cause the subject of my post: the Clemens Krause’ 1950 recording with Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and Vienna State Opera Chorus. This is mine the most beloved despite that it is Studio recording – this perfomance has everything - humor, charm, singes, the Krause’s kink…

The CD fate of this magnificent performance was horrible. I own Decca and Perl CDs – both were very poor. Today I reccived the Andrew Rose’s re-mastering - much better recirding of the Krause’ “Die Fledermaus” I heard on CD. It is very slightly too “#” for might taste, but when I play it I use that fat sounding SPU MONO needle and RIAA corrector  with air capacitors in - it hard to beat. Still, the Andrew Rose version is the very best CD version of Krause’s 1950 production and if you are in operettas then it is well worth to have it.

Andrew Rose owns PristineClassical.com and could be found at:

http://www.pristineclassical.com/More/About.html