Richard Strauss – Der Rosenkavalier (1954, Decca LXT 2956 & 2967)

This one had a couple of things going against it, which meant it didn’t even make it onto the turntable tonight.1) We picked out a recording of Der Rosenkavalier yesterday and didn’t feel the need to keep it2) We first thought it was another abridged version of the opera, but no it’s worse than that – it’s discs 2 & 3 of a 4 LP set. Why oh why did my dad have the middle Continue Reading

Richard Strauss – Der Rosenkavalier (highlights) (1971, Decca SET487)

I don’t quite get the “highlights” thing – why not buy the whole opera? It seems a bit strange to only get the singing bits (arias?) – I mean, I don’t decide to buy a Pink Floyd album and buy a version without the long intro to Wish You Were Here, do I? So why aren’t the musical bits a key part of an opera? As for the album, it’s OK – we only listened to Continue Reading