From 1953-1968 the Swiss lyric soprano Lisa Della Casa was a Met mainstay whose radiant voice and presence graced the Strauss and Mozart operas that made her fame. She recorded often, her Arabella with Solti close to perfection, her Countess Almaviva with Kleiber a classic rendition. While her voice was generally admired, some observers felt her too cool an interpreter, a view from which memory and recordings force me to dissent. Taken from Decca originals made in 1956 and 1962, these lieder interpretations don’t fit that “cool” profile, but they do present a voice that sounds thinner than it actually was–most likely due to the original engineering, further compounded by distortion that sometimes puts a silvery halo around her upper register, which can be attributed to tape wear. Her interpretations, though, hold up as exemplars of committed singing in a style bereft of the narcissistic mannerisms of the Schwarzkopf school.
Best here is the Schumann Frauenliebe und Leben cycle, whose von Chamisso poems render it grossly politically incorrect these days, although the politically inspired discovery of “values” may change that. Whatever its textual exaltation of submissive womanhood, Della Casa makes it into a fervent affirmation of the wonders of enduring love. She expertly traces the cycle’s trajectory from enchanted discovery to the breathless ecstasy of “An meinem Herzen, an meiner Brust” and the utter desolation of “Nun hast du mir den ersten Schmerz getan”, whose closing stanzas are sung in a voice drained of color. She makes this cycle so powerful and moving exclusively through the voice, varying colors and dynamics, and phrasing with subtle emphases on the words that carry the narrative and the emotions. The stereo engineering in these songs also gives more body to the voice, making it less thin than its disc partners, though there’s still upper-register tape distortion, if to a lesser degree. Della Casa also is helped by the positive playing of her pianist, Sebastian Peschko.
Karl Hudez accompanies her in 1956 monophonic sessions that suffer from constricted sound. Her flowing tempos benefit all the songs. Four by Brahms are nicely characterized, but the four Schubert selections fit the voice more naturally, highlighted by a spontaneous “Im Frühling” and a soaring, long-lined “Du bist die Ruh'”. The Strauss set of four also suits Della Casa’s bright tone and easeful high notes. These songs inspire her to bring out the wit of “Schlechtes Wetter” and to endow “Befreit” with a deeply felt, intense interpretation. Four (again!) Wolf songs include three miniatures from the Mörike Lieder, including a “Begegnung” where she’s downright funny.
