Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg gave detailed (at least more detailed than mine)
remarks on Strauss operas recordings (thanks a lot!).  I would like to add
some words to my message on this subject.

1.  Elisabeth Schwartzkopf.  I have the same problems as Andreas.  Her
Ariadne is very good, in some sense sounds perfect *because* her singing is
mannered.  Her Primadonna/Ariadne is more Primadonna from the Prologue than
Ariadne from the Opera, but that's what makes Karajan's recording connected
and logical.  Her Marschallin is also good.  But I do not like her Countess
- not only her singing is mannered, *she* is mannered.  Compared with
Janowitz - not good at all.  Other problems with Sawallisch Capriccio
are listed below.

2.  Lisa Della Casa.  Perfect voice and artistry for Ariadne, Marschallin
and Countess.  [Her Four Last Songs are absolutely perfect.  Janowitz is
among my favorite, but Della Casa gives something more - her voice is
human of angel quality - that's what FLL need!].

3. Gundula Janowitz. Perfect Ariadne and Countess. Absolute opposite of
Schwatzkopf's mannerism. Very good in video Ariadne with

4.  Edita Gruberova, my favorite Zerbinetta.  Not a singer, not an actress.
Zerbinetta alive.  Magnificent voice [I know, some of you may hate her, I
know her voice is to-be-liked or to-be-hated.  I like it - not from the
very first time I heard her!].  Her recording of unabridged Zerbinetta's
aria (Orfeo) is a jewel.

5.  Gwyneth Jones.  Her fascinating voice is something I cannot accept.
It seems to me she used to sing too forte and that is why her vibrato was
not of first quality, adding to her unbelievable steel-timbre some kind
of wobbling.

6.  Ljuba Welitsch.  I do not know her complete Salome recordings, but two
recordings of the final scene I have are real treasures.  She really must
have been one of best Salome in the world ever.

7. Wolfgang Sawallisch. It is hard to believe he could conduct many Strauss
operas so successfully and make such a poor recording of Capriccio.  This
was my first Capriccio and I could not understand what this music is about
until I bought it under

8.  Karl Bohm.  I think his position among Strauss conductors is similar
to Rubinstein's among Chopin pianists or Schnabel among Beethoven pianists.
(Or Karl Bohm's position among Mozart conductors!!!).  Strauss scores seem
to be too complex for most conductors, they have to make choice from almost
infinite possibilities these scores offer.  Bohm had no such problems.  His
Strauss is always transparent, precise and lets *us* make a choice or embed
totally into *whole* music.  His Capriccio is the best example - it is an
incredible never-ending music, an opera-fugue from the Prelude (sextet) to
two octets, Laroche aria, moon-music and Countess final scene.  One of most
continuous opera recordings I know and continuity is something very
important here.

9.  Friedenstag.  One of underrated Strauss operas.  Worth listening to
for its compactness and beautiful finale being an evident pastiche of (or
rather answer to) Beethoven 9th.  Bass '89 has very good Marie - Alessandra
Marc, and Sawallisch '89 - an excellent Kommandant - Bernd Weikl.

10.  Intermezzo.  Another underrated masterwork.  Lucia Popp is such a
marvelous Christine and the whole Sawallisch '80 recording is so good it
is not difficult to understand this is the only one available (AFAIK).  And
how nice the roots of this opera are!  Well, if you do not like gossips...

11.  Die Frau ohne Schatten.  If I had to save only one of Strauss operas,
there would be a great problem and I would probably get mentally ill.
Would it be Ariadne, Rosenkavalier, Daphne, Capriccio or Die Frau? Perhaps
Capriccio, but the choice may vary and Die Frau is a good candidate.  Bohm
'77 recording with Rysanek as Kaiserin and Nilsson as Barak's Wife is a
monument of both singers.  Two excellent voices and two strong
personalities opposed.  Incredible impression.

12.  Some myths and bad strategy.  I try to understand why there are
so many Strauss-haters.  Perhaps because Strauss is almost automatically
compared and connected with Wagner and there are many Wagner-haters.  No
reason, because Salome and Elektra are more similar to Rosenkavalier than
to the Ring.  Wagner connections should not be exposed so much, this would
do much good to opinions about Strauss.  I would never recommend a novice
Salome as the first Strauss opera to hear, because in most cases this
would be the last one.  Start with Ariadne (as I did, the Opera first,
the Prologue second!) or with excerpts from Rosenkavalier and Capriccio.
Instrumental works would also be good, but not tone poems, they are a
little 'out-of-fashion' and make a novice sleep.  What about Oboe Concerto,
Burleske (Janis/Reiner) or Metamorphoses (I have tested this on my friends
- it works!)?.  It is time for Arabella, Daphne and Friedenstag.  Then
Salome and Elektra with their colours and smells, connected rather with
German expressionists cinema than with XIX-century opera.  Four Last Songs
will be easy now even for Lieder-enemies.  No chronological order, please!
Perhaps the plan is too long.  A friend of mine let me once listen to
Zerbinetta aria (Gueden from Bohm '54) and that was enough for me.  A year
after I had about 40 complete Strauss operas recordings.

13.  It was a hard September for me: I had to pack all my CDs and
thought I would not be able to listen to them for 3 or 4 months (never,
never move!!!).  Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Bach, Callas, Haskil, Schnabel,
Gieseking - all of them lost.  The last one was Four Last Songs.  That was
too much for me.  CDs are unpacked now in my temporary one-room apartment
(what a mess!) and Della Casa keeps singing.  Hello Andreas!

Krzysztof Lorentz
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