RARITÄTEN: Eine musikalische Entdeckungsreise ins Traumland der Operette • Various • DOCUMENTS LC21181 (10 CDs: 755:56)

Several German-based companies—Cantus Classics, T.I.M. (The International Music Group) AG, and Membran Music—have over the years issued numerous boxed sets of historic recordings on various labels—Line Music, History, Hommage, Documents—at super-budget prices of $1 to $2 per disc. It is hard to tell how much, if any, of this material is licensed, especially given the current “50-year and out” rule in the E.U. for releases entering the public domain. Consequently, sources, sound quality, and degrees of remastering (if any) vary considerably. These sets have tended to be difficult to obtain outside of Europe and to disappear fairly quickly. For collectors aware of their offerings, however, they present opportunities to obtain some extraordinary items at equally extraordinary prices.

Here is one such set, with some materials in this instance noted as being licensed: 10 well-filled CDs of excerpts from mostly obscure operettas, selling on German websites (try jpc.de) for a mere 10 euros. If I have not miscounted (a distinct possibility, of course), the set contains 215 excerpts (virtually all solo arias or duets) from 137 operettas by 42 different composers, performed by 115 different singers under 25 conductors. Unfortunately, the set is extremely skimpy on documentation. Conductors are listed by last names only; despite an extensive Internet search I could not find first names for three of them. (I trust that some knowledgeable Fanfare reader will write in to provide the missing information.) Neither recording dates nor original sources are provided; however, the vintage of most of the selections is clearly from German LPs of the 1950s, though the earliest (Ernst Herbert Groh) go back to the 1940s and the latest (Julia Migenes) to the 1980s or even 1990s. The sound quality of various items ranges from fair to excellent.

Herewith is a detailed list of contents. French and English titles are given in German, as they appear in the set. Singers marked with an asterisk appear with noteworthy frequency (many of the rest appear in only one or two selections); the indefatigable Franz Marszalek is the conductor for almost half of the items.

Composers and Operettas:

Paul Abraham (Pál Ábrahám), Ball im Savoy, Die Blume von Hawaii

Leo Ascher, Der Soldat der Marie

Francisco Barbieri, Lamparilla

Ralph Benatzky, Bezauberndes Fräulein, Meine Schwester und ich

Hans Carste, Lump mit Herz

[First name unknown] Clarmann, Die beiden Liesel

Nico (Nikolaus) Dostal, Der Kurier der Königen, Die Vielgeliebte, Extrablätter, Manina

Edmund Eysler, Brüder Straubinger, Der lachende Ehemann, Die Schützenliesl, Pufferl

Leo Fall, Brüderlein fein, Der liebe Augustin, Der süße Kavalier, Die Dollarprinzessin, Die geschiedene Frau, Die Rose von Stambul, Die spanische Nachtigall, Die Studentengräfin, Madame Pompadour

Richard Genée, Rosina

Jean Gilbert, Die Kinokönigen, Katja die Tänzerin

Walter Goetze, Adrienne, Der goldene Pierrot, Ihre Hoheit, Die Tänzerin, Liebe im Dreiklang, Schach dem König

Bruno Granichstaedten, Der Orlow

Joseph Hellmesberger Jr., Das Veilchenmädel

Richard Heuberger, Der Opernball

[First name unknown] Jäger, Babett

Georg Jarno, Die Försterchristl

Sidney Jones, Die Geisha

Emmerich Kálmán, Arizona Lady, Das Hollandweibchen, Das Veilchen vom Montmartre, Der Zigeunerprimas, Die Bajadere, Die Faschingsfee, Die Zirkusprinzessin, Herbstmanöver, Kaiserin Josephine, Wir reisen um die Welt

Rudolf Kattnigg, Balkanliebe, Der Prinz von Thule

Walter Kollo, Marietta

Eduard Künneke (or Künnecke), Das Dorf ohne Glocke, Der Tenor der Herzogin, Die lockende Flamme, Glückliche Reise, Hochzeit mit Erika, Lady Hamilton, Liselott, Traumland, Zauberin Lola

Franz Lehár, Der Rastelbinder, Die blaue Mazur, Die lustige Witwe, Eva, Frasquita, Friederike, Giuditta, Schön ist die Welt, Wiener Frauen, Wo die Lerche singt, Zigeunerliebe

Paul Lincke, Casanova, Grigri, Frau Luna, Im Reiche des Indra, Lysistrata, Nakiris Hochzeit

Carl Millöcker, Der arme Jonathan (with Rixner), Gasparone, Die Dubarry

Edmund Nick, Das Halsband der Königen, Das kleine Hofkonzert

Jacques Offenbach, Die schöne Helena, Fantasio

Fred Raymond, Flieder aus Wien, Saison in Salzburg

Willy Richartz, Die tanzende Helena, Kölnisch Wasser

Josef Rixner, Der Vagabund von Wien

Ludwig Schmidseder, Die oder keine

[First name unknown] Schmidt, Anouschka und der Walzerkönig

Friedrich Schröder, Hochzeitsnacht im Paradies

Mischa Spoliansky, Alles Schwindel

Robert Stolz, Das Glücksrezept, Der Favorit, Der verlorene Walzer, Die Tanzgräfin, Frühling in Wien, Frühjahrsparade, Himmelblaue Träume, Ich liebe alle Frau’n, Lang, lang ist’s her, Liebeskommando, Mädi, Signorina, Trauminsel, Venus in Seide, Wenn die kleinen Veilchen blühen, Zauber der Bohème

Oskar Straus, Bozena, Der letzte Walzer, Die lustigen Nibelungen, Die Teresina, Eine Frau die weiß was sie will, Jabuka oder Das Apfelfest, Rund um die Liebe

Johann Strauss Jr., Ballnacht in Florenz, Cagliostro, Casanova, Eine Nacht in Venedig, Karneval in Rom, Prinz Methusalem, Wiener Blut

Heinrich Strecker, Ännchen von Tharau

Franz von Suppé, Banditenstreiche, Boccaccio, Die schöne Galathée

Bernhard Triebel, Pfälzer Wein

Carl Zeller, Der Kellermeister, Der Übersteiger, Der Vogelhändler

Karl Ziehrer, Das dumme Herz, Die Landstreicher, Die verliebte Eskadron, König Jerôme

Singers:

Otto Albrecht, Peter Alexander, Peter Anders, Arno Assmann

Valerie Bak, Oda Balsborg, Sari Barabas, Rita Bartos, Christo Bawej, Reinhold Bartel, Fred Bertelmann, Kurt Böhme, Ruthilde Boesch

René Carol, Hans Clarin, Jean Cox

Adolf Dallapozza, Elisabeth de Freitas, Anton Dermota, Murray Dickie, Helen Donath, Erna-Maria Duske

Kurt Equiluz

Otto Falvay, Franz Fehringer,* Hans Fidesser, Hans Herbert Fiedler, Wendy Fine, Harry Friedauer, Peter Fröhlich

Philipp Gehly, Elisabeth Glauser, Rupert Glawitsch,* Christine Görner, Beate Granzow, Herbert Ernst Herbert Groh, Kurt Großkurth, Ferry Gruber, Horst Günther

Ingeborg Hallstein,* Georg Hann, Heinz Hellberg, Karl Hellmer, Hedda Heusser, Helga Hildebrand, Lore Hofmann, Willy Hofmann, Melanie Holliday, Renate Holm, Richard Holm Carl Hoppe, Heinz Hoppe*

Harald Juhnke, Sena Jurinac

Ursula Kerp, Dagmar Koller, René Kollo, Peter René Körner, Erika Köth,* Helmut Krebs, Anja Kruse, Helmut Kummer, Evelyn Künneke, Erich Kunz, Benno Kusche

Gitta Lind, Heinz Maria Lins, Colette Lorand, Lore Lorentz, Jean Löhe, Liselotte Losch, Bruce Low

Liselotte Maikl, Erich Majkut, Josef Metternich, Adolf Meyer-Bremen, Julia Migenes, Peter Minich, Brigitte Mira, Käthe Möller-Siepermann, Maria Mucke, Armin Münch

Hans Hermann Nissen

Joseph Olah, Lisa Otto

Hermann Prey, Josef Protschka

Karl Ridderbusch, Annaliese Rothenberger*

Friederike Sailer, Heinz Sailer, Karl (also Kurt?) Schiebener, Anny Schlemm,* Hannelore Schmidt, Manfred Schmidt, Willy Schneider, Rudolf Schock,* Sonja Schöner, Gretl Schörg, Hugo Schrader, Karl-Heinz Schroth, Rosl Schwaiger, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Rita Streich

Herta Talmar,* Karl Terkal,* Grit van Jüten, Udo Vietz

Franzi Wachmann, Kurt Wehofschitz, Albert Weikenmeier, Gerhard Wendland, Margot Werner, Fritz Wunderlich

Ruth Zillger

Conductors:

Otto Ackermann, Erich Börshcel, Paul Burkhard, Curt Cremer, Nico Dostal, Wolfgang Ebert, Helmut Frohschauer, Heinz Geese, Hermann Hagestedt, Franz Marszalek, Rudolf Moralt, Richard Müller-Lampertz, Edmund Nick, Hansgeorg Otto, Werner Schmidt-Boelke, Heinz Schröder, Max Schönherr, Wilhem Schüchter, Emmerich Smola, Willi Stech, Hans Steinkopf, Wilhelm Stephan, Robert Stolz, Fried Walter, Gert Wilden

As one can gather from this list, the operettas themselves cover a wide stylistic gamut, ranging from 19th-century pieces dominated by waltz meters to works from the mid 20th century that are more akin to jazz, Broadway musicals, and Hollywood film scores. All of the selections are sung stylishly, and most of them quite well; of the major singers, Anny Schlemm is the one disappointment, as most of her items were recorded when her voice was on the decline and it had lost some sheen and steadiness. A special treat is to hear individual turns by great singers, such as Georg Hann, Josef Metternich, and Hans Hermann Nissen, who were not normally associated with the genre. Quite simply, if you love operetta, you can’t afford to pass this up (and at the price you certainly can afford to buy it); get it now before it disappears. James A. Altena