Dear All, I am thinking of spending some birthday money on Der
Rosenkavalier.  But which version? I am put off the EMI Karajan by
Schwartzkopf over enunciating and by the Solti by the heavy handed
conducting.

Am attracted to the remastered Eric Klieber, but concerned about Maria
Reining as the Field Marshall's wife.  I heard her breathtaking 1944 live
Ariadne auf Naxos (one of the best opera recordingas I have ever heard)and
it doesn't take a genius to notice the deterioriation in her voice by the
time she recorded Rosenkavalier 10 years later.  However there is the
understanding and beautiful sincereity of her portrayal ...

Is the 1933 Lehman/VPO/Heger abridged set worth investing in? Should I
try the 1949 VPO/Szell Salzburg performance first? Perhaps I must see the
Carlos Klieber video?

Perhaps it is the 1954 Kleiber supplemented by the stunning 1962
Crespin/VPO/Varsivo DECCA excerpts CD also on Decca.

I hope this stimulates some opera discussion as there is too little of it
on the mailing list.

Regards + thanks,

David Harbin
Nottingham, UK