When Fritz Wunderlich died in a fall in 1966 at age 36 the opera world lost a masterful lyric tenor whose voice was tonally beautiful (a honeyed timbre with a tough backbone) and notable for its open, direct sound, unusual in German tenors traditionally trained to produce a throaty quality. And Wunderlich was more than just a voice: he could characterize well, lightening or darkening the voice to suit the dramatic situation. He always phrased with elegance and his legato singing was breathtaking, as we easily hear in virtually every selection on these well-filled discs recorded in the early 1960s when his natural gifts blossomed to enable mature interpretive insights. Put succinctly, if you love Björling, you’ll love Wunderlich.
All of the items but one, a gorgeously sung Handel “Ombra mai fu”, are in German. Since many of these selections are from French and Italian operas, singing them in guttural German often is a downer, or at best forces the listener to make mental adjustments not always to the benefit of the music. Not to worry–despite accurate German diction, Wunderlich makes the music sound totally idiomatic, so much so that for the most part you don’t even realize he’s singing in the “wrong” language. In fact, he sounds like a great French tenor in the French arias that open Disc 2, complete with the slightly nasal sound and melting soft phrases that distinguish the best of that breed.
Wunderlich’s Mozart is nothing short of fabulous; in “Il mio tesoro” and “Dalla sua pace” from Don Giovanni he negotiates the high tessitura comfortably, adding muscle to the tone to transform Don Ottavio from wimp to concerned lover. Similar timbral qualities make “Un’aura amorosa” from Cosi fan tutte, and Die Zauberflöte’s “Dies Bildnis” irresistible. Welcome too, are some German arias from operas rarely heard these days by Cornelius, Lortzing, Kienzl, and a melting “Lensky’s Aria” from Eugene Onegin.
Much of the second disc is given over to operetta, where Wunderlich shows himself the natural heir to Richard Tauber. He has more voice than Tauber though, compensating for the older singer’s infectious charm. Not that Wunderlich is charm-challenged; just hear his “O frag mich nicht” from Fall’s Der Fidele Bauer for a healthy dose of it, complete with a smile in the voice. But then, any of the Lehár, Kalman, or Strauss selections also prove the point. Too bad EMI didn’t take this opportunity to remaster these transfers since some of the tracks reissued more than a decade or two ago could have benefited. But this isn’t serious enough to deter. Wunderlich’s star shone briefly, but none shone more brightly. Get this! [6/14/2003]
