One of the reasons I like this performance so much will be the reason others don’t – there are cuts in each act, with the final act being reduced by about 25%. Some call it blasphemy, I call it a fine decision leading to good home listening. That having been said, can anyone afford to miss out on Lotte Lehmann’s Marschallin? It is the exact obverse of Schwarzkopf’s: Where the latter is arch and analyzes her feelings, Lehmann is all woman, giving all she has, all the while keeping her perspective. She lives both for the context she finds herself in and the larger picture – it’s an astoundingly insightful portrayal (perhaps this comes from having also sung both Sophie and Octavian earlier in her career!). Some claim her voice was in decline here; I don’t hear it. Risë Stevens is wonderful as the Chevalier too; her mugging as “Mariandel” is acceptable because she’s so dignified and earnest elsewhere. Marita Farrell’s Sophie is not in the same class – she hits all the notes, but lacks charm or grace. Emanuel Lists’s Ochs is vivid – he, like Lehmann, has remarkable “face.” Friedrich Schorr offers a rich Faninal, and the remainder of the cast is up to the Met’s highest standards. Artur Bodanzky’s tempi are occasionally breakneck, but you won’t get an argument out of me there either. As a bonus, we get a Strauss recital by Lehmann from l948, with Ormandy conducting. Though sonically challenged, this is an important release. [Editor’s Note: This recording is not available for sale in the U.S.A.]
