BEETHOVEN: FIDELIO - KNAPPERTSBUSCH, BAYRISCHER STAATSORCHESTER (2 CDS)

After a spell of recording with Decca, the legendary Wagnerian conductor Hans Knappertsbusch recorded for Westminster, and among his best recordings for this label is this 1961 recording of Fidelio, boasting a cast of great singers at the Austrian and German opera houses, including the much-loved Sena Jurinac.

BEETHOVEN
Fidelio

Don Fernando: Frederick Guthrie
Don Pizarro: Gustav Neidlinger
Florestan: Jan Peerce
Leonore: Sena Jurinac
Rocco: Dezsö Ernster
Marzelline: Maria Stader
Jaquino: Murray Dickie
Zwei Gefangene: Georg Paskuda & Paul Neuner
Chor der Bayerischen Staatsoper
Bayerisches Staatsorchester
Hans Knappertsbusch

“Sena Jurinac gives a deeply affecting performance in the Prison Scene … Jan Peerce was an unexpected but good choice for the hero. His singing is strong and clear; both words and musical phrases are firmly moulded; ardour and the ring of conviction inform his singing.” Gramophone