Repertoire: The IDEAL Strauss Operas

Here are great performances of the seven most iconic Strauss operas--a list with no weak links and a perfect way to get started on your Strauss opera collection. All of the most popular works are hear, along with a couple of less familiar pieces: Salome, Elektra, Der Rosenkavalier, Ariadne auf Naxos, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Daphne, and Capriccio. Go forth and listen!

[@NYCOPERAFAN]

As a Wagnerian, I also find Frau ohne Schatten among the greatest compositions in all of opera.

[@UlfilasNZ]

Thanks for including Daphne! A gem of an opera.

[@shawnhampton8503]

I have a theory that the whole trio at the end - which is some of the most glorious music ever imo - was something Strauss had been working on, even though the themes were used earlier in the opera, and he needed a way to set it with a huge slow burn crescendo and harmonic tension to resolution. My favorite sung version is not a CD sadly - Claudio Abbado live with the Berlin Phil on New Year's eve in a Richard Strauss Gala from the early 90's. The final trio is sung with a stage above the orchestra. Octavian: Frederica von Stade, Sophie: Kathleen Battle, and the Marschalin: a very young Renee Flemming!!! God almighty is so beautiful.

[@johnpickford4222]

Shawn Hamilton: The trio was the conclusion of a New Year’s Strauss celebration. The evening can be found on a Sony CD.

[@donaldjones5386]

Also, the three ladies with Abbado were on You'Tube when I last checked. I'm not in agreement that in Strauss the opera is over and then the characters "sing on and on". Rather, Strauss's operas lead up to wonderful musical climaxes. In pieces like 'Elektra", "Salome", and "Daphne", the piece would mean very little without the conclusion. The "tree that Daphne turns into" is a laurel tree, a symbol of something--constancy, if I recall. So, there is a point. This makes it difficult to stage, but at Santa Fe, many years ago, they brought it off. Caballe had a great disc of Strauss songs, although only selections.

[@dgmelvin]

Der Rosenkavalier has been my favorite opera for years. I didn't know why for a long time, but now I realize that is has a fun story and the best trio for women in all of opera. It is so wonderful! I like all the choices you made, but the 2018 video from the met that was Renee Fleming's final run in the role is astounding.

[@franco7905]

Frau ohne Schatten war meine erste Oper. Ich versuchte 3 Stunden lang verzweifelt zu verstehen, was die da alle sangen. Und ich bin Deutscher. Ich fand es verrückt, mir ein Stück anzuschauen und mir vorher die story und den Plot durch zu lesen. Nach über 3 Stunden und sehr großen Kopfschmerzen weiß ich jetzt warum man das so macht. Trotz der Kopfschmerzen war es ein grandioser Einstieg in die klassische Musik. Ich bin Ihnen sehr dankbar für Ihre Videos! Thank you! 🙏

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

My pleasure! I'm glad you survived your first FroSCH experience, Kopfschmerzen und alles!

[@xxsaruman82xx87]

I'm so so glad you recommend the Leinsdorf Salome! It's utterly fabulous. And the Kleiber is also my recommendation for Rosenkavalier - while the playing under Karajan in his recording is gorgeous, I find Schwarzkopf is very affected. Reining is much closer to my taste. Thank you for the video!

[@judsonmusick3177]

Wonderful job, Dave! Your plot synopses are hilarious but accurate, which makes them even funnier.

[@peterdonnellan5497]

Thoroughly enjoyable discussion, greatly enhanced by Mr Hurwitz’s deep affection for these works. It’s encouraged me to stray from the canonical Strauss Operas, something I’m looking forward to...many thanks 🙏

[@ExxylcrothEagle]

I agree Frosch is his greatest opera. So many amazing musical ideas in there. I have had many transcendent experiences listening to that

[@ermesdezan7147]

Great comments . I agree that Frau is a fabulous opera . Thanks for your lively witty talk

[@anwla]

This was hilarious, thanks!

[@artistsf1]

I'm loving your opera series.

[@artistsf1]

OMG! Your plot line for Frau is one of the greatest monologues I have ever heard. David - just wonderful. lolol

[@artistsf1]

and Arabella !

[@ClearLight369]

Thanks for this hilarious overview!

[@jacobmuskal7755]

Dave,. You just educated me on Straus opera thanks Jake

[@ThankYouKiwi]

Great! I love the way you talk about opera. I excitedly await a video about the Berg operas :)

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Yes all eight of them!

[@stevenault2839]

Concerning recordings of Elektra and Salome, I must admit to a bias derived from attending performances at the Met in the early 1970s. I can still clearly recall being thrust into the back of my seat and having my breath taken away by Birgit Nilsson at the climax of the Elektra - Klytemnestra scene. What a voice that woman had! But agree re Frau as number one and relish the memories of Böhm's fantastic performances at the Met.

[@ford9125]

I'm glad to see you mention Sinopoli so many times. I've found him to be a masterful Strauss conductor.

[@jessebrennan7130]

😂 I love how you say, 'it goes on and on and on...'

[@raycatellier2079]

Really enjoying your videos, David. Keep 'em coming! I'm only fairly familiar with Salome. I really, really enjoyed the performance of Maria Ewing as Salome, conducted by the late Edward Downes.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

She was a maniac (in a good way), no doubt about it.

[@OuterGalaxyLounge]

You've convinced me that Salome is comic opera, based on your reenactment of Naraboth's death, lol

[@alexanderweissvontrostprug4945]

I believe Capriccio can substitute "tons and tons and tons and tons and ... tons " of books about opera history. Great review as always, thank you David!

[@lchtrmn]

This is a wonderful show. There's a world of ineffable beauty awaiting listeners who have not given these works a serious shake:. enchantment will ensue, that is guaranteed. I also lament Böhm's persistence in cutting Die Frau, but what remains is unbeatable. I like the recent recording (uncut) with Sebastian Weigle and the Frankfurter Oper on Oehms, although I can't hear the Chinese gongs in the Act I scene change. In spite of this peeve, the overall performance is splendid and vibrant. I concur that Frosch is Strauss's masterpiece, and seeming no iteration in listening dulls its sweep.

[@BVcello]

Great video, Dave... I especially agree with Elektra. Sinopoli is marvelous indeed. And I perfectly know what you mean with the ending. Trance is the only description I can give of it. Having performed it in the pit, it's the single most thrilling experience I ever had of any piece in music. And if corona were never to end, this is the only memory I want to cherish above all others... Sorry for letting myself go a bit

[@donaldjones5386]

This is why the current Met staging that turns "Elektra: into a simple revenge tale, is so misguided. The "trance" helps make this a Greek tragedy. The exchange of letters between Strauss and Hoffmanstahl shows their struggle over the murders of Klytaemnestra and Aegisth. They were not to be effected entirely before the audience. Of course, they do a wonderful job with the musical score. Strauss's best piece, I agree.

[@mogmason6920]

For someone who wanted to write comedies and nothing else, I always refer to Strauss as the inventor and king of the “Horror Opera” I’ve always loved the blend of comedy, tragedy and just pure shock factor that many post-Wagner German operas have. Even The Ring Cycle has many comic moments that are ignored, in the name of seriousness and “nationalism.”

[@saltcots8985]

0:00 10:21 Love the description of the performance with the VPO which you attended. The Memorex advert! I recall a quote from somewhere online in response to “Conduct Salome and Elektra as if they were by Mendelssohn: fairy music.” (R.Strauss) = "Seriously, how often has that happened? The average performance of Strauss’ Elektra reaches a decibel level akin to the landing deck of a fully functional aircraft carrier."

[@hhk01]

Just a quick note. Clemens Krauss was married to Viorica Ursuleac, not Sena Jurinac. Ursuleac was also a famous soprano, and can be heard on some of his recordings, such as Holländer. Jurinac was indeed quite wonderful. Love your vids!

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Yes, thanks. I always get to two confused--sopranos with last names ending with "...ac". Life is so complicated....

[@duncanrichardson2167]

Arabella, "the trailer trash version of Der Rosenklavier". I love it, the comment and opera.

[@simondavidsmith]

100% the best synopsis of FroSch available! Love it.

[@dennischiapello7243]

"Barak's special needs brothers" made me guffaw (and I'm thoroughly ashamed)!

[@barryguerrero7652]

In a parallel universe, there's a filmed "Salome" with the younger Sophia Loren doing the "Dance of the 7 veils". I want THAT version. I love FROSCH. It makes soooo much lovely noise and makes zero sense. Bohm for me in FROSCH, cuts and all.

[@anwla]

Looking forward to your reviews of recordings of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, with the new Jacobs recording, I’m keen to learn how that holds up against the rest of the bunch!

[@JackJohnsonNY]

Thanks!

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Thank YOU very much!

[@michaelirons1609]

I went to see Daphne years ago enjoyed it very much. Unfortunately, the stage trap door opened prematurely and she started to transform before her time! So, the door was shut and we picked up again! Almost as good as the fire bell in the middle of Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, just as the magic of the piece was weaving its spell.

[@djquinn4212]

I love the Leonie Rysanek Bohm video of Elektra, Marton and Sawallish is great too. No one sings John the baptist better than Sherrill Milnes. It's fantastic singing. Rosenkavalier, I love the Te Kanawa recording w with Haitink, also Evelyn Lear wwith Edo deWart is glorious. There's a great Carlos Kleiber DVD as well. Solti's Frosh is glorious, Domingo brings an ensemble intelligience to the quartet that you don't always get from people singing the emperor. Snopoli is another great Ariadne, Voigt, Heppner, Von Otter, it's amazing. Great singing. I love te Renee Fleming recording of Daphne, she's stunning. The tenors aren't as good as King and Wunderlich, but the playing is great and Bychkov is a truly underrated opera conductor.

[@djquinn4212]

@Frank Panny This is when Domingo's German is getting better than it had been. This is 91-92, so he was preparing his first Siegmund and he'd been singing Lohengrin on stage for a few years and the Tannhauser recording was 10 years earlier and he'd just done the Parsifal recording with Levine. Unless you're a native German speaker I don't think the differences are that noticeable at this point.

[@markfarrington5183]

RE: Strauss's two FRAUs: Thanks to your FROSCH plot summary, I no longer have to pine for what is not...Because it's worthy of what Anna Russell would do with it. Absolutely agree with you on DIE SCHWEIGSAME FRAU...In many ways THIS is the opera Strauss always wanted to compose. The post-mock-wedding "Wunderbar" ensemble in Act II, and the ending of that Act are both top-drawer Strauss - moving beyond words. Between the Nazis AND all those snotty post-war attitudes toward Strauss, the work never had a chance until maybe our time. It didn't help that, apart from the extreme-even-for-Strauss difficulties of the vocal writing, not every opera house had a Dresden orchestra in its pit that could really DO it. As usual, Strauss was right, when he described it as a comic opera "if only for the 21st century."

[@christianstark2381]

There's this famous spot-on bonmot by Strauss regarding Salome being a "Scherzo with a fatal ending". I have recently listened to a few recordings including Nilsson/Solti which I hadn't known before. And I must say the recording I was imprinted on stays my favorite. It's the 1970 Karl Boehm live recording from Hamburg State Opera with Gwyneth Jones (stunning), Fischer-Dieskau (very fine if you don't mind his style) and a fantastic Richard Cassilly as Herod that I even prefer to Gerhard Stolze. Other than that I do like Elektra with Borkh/Boehm and the Behrens/Ozawa recording as well, Rosenkavalier with both Kleibers, Ariadne with Sinopoli in Dresden and "Frosch" with the Solti recording recommended by you. But I really want to underline your statement regarding "Schweigsame Frau": Apart from Frau ohne Schatten this is Strauss' real post-Rosenkavalier masterpiece. An opera saturated with beautiful melodies as well as a neoclassical, almost "Neue-Sachlichkeit"-like aesthetic with dry humor and funny dialogue. It needs a little work and most recordings are cut. The classic (and very good) choice for an unabridged version is Janowskis Dresden recording.

[@kedemberger8773]

BTW DG has an unsanctioned Elektra (by MMe Norman RIP who sang Elektra) with Studer and Abbado. I wonder if it will ever see the light of day.

[@terenceollerhead3680]

Capriccio. If you don't get around to it, you must, before you die, hear the most beautiful entr'acte music in all opera. just before the final scene, the Mondscheinmusik.

[@walterbenjamin1386]

I love Rimsky-Korsakov's operas - all of them - happy peasants and all! But only sung and conducted by Soviet era artists. Two greatest Ariadne auf Naxos for me were both performed for Strauss's birthday. The first performance was incomplete, only the Opera, but the Bacchus is unsurpassed - Helge Roesvange, truly god-like. Next greatest Ariadne, another Strauss birthday broadcast, was conducted by Böhm with my other most magnificent Bacchus, Max Lorenz.

[@irinadragos]

Hi David you have been source of great information and laughter since the lockdown . Die Frau is one of my favourites, regarding your reference to bohm. Do you mean Keilberths or is it Bohm and if so which recording .

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

No, the Bohm/Vienna on Decca with Rysanek and Goltz, etc.

[@user-gt7xs1fc6g]

Here is a small piece of personal information from my family for your perusal. My great-uncle Neal Moran was one of the three wealthy investors who helped persuade the Met to present Salome and helped fund the first performance there. He was also an openly gay man who left America to live openly with his lover who was a native of the Netherlands. We think they died during WWII in the concentration camps but have no ultimate proof. My mother always said that my love of opera must have been in part in the genes.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Thank you for sharing that very touching story.

[@Sulsfort]

12:49 Elektra / VPO / Sinopoli - I just listened to this. Alessandra Marc as Elektra has her failures with swallowing syllables and so on. But in the second half with Orest, when the speed of the music is slower, she is really great. She reminds me of Montserrat Caballe in the Leinsdorf recording of "Salome". In a way you might think, Marc's failures fit to the plot of "Elektra", but that doesn't work totally. For a "no mistake" experience I have Sawallisch with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Eva Marton as Elektra (EMI / Warner). Also there are some cuts, that Sawallisch is playing. For more detail and passion in the orchestra Sinopoli is better.

[@hwelf11]

Elektra is almost always cut in the theater, because the demands of the title role are so extreme that it is usually thought necessary for the sake of diva-preservation. However, I agree with Mr. Carmona's where he points out that it's too bad about the cuts in the Sinopoli recording. The Solti has vivid sound (though some would call it gimmicky in spots), it is absolutely uncut, and it has Nilsson in her prime; for those reasons alone I would call this set indispensible, even though the Chrysothemis is something of a liability. Voigt in the Sinopoli is superior. Nilsson's Elektra can also be heard in two exciting live 1965 performances (around the time when the Solti studio version was made ), under Bohm, from Vienna (Orfeo) and Montreal (in the Sony box entitled "Birgit Nilsson; the Great Live Performances"). Since you praised Caballe's wisdom in opting out of Salome's dance in staged performances, I will mention that one of my earliest opera-going experiences was hearing Nilsson in Salome live in the theater. (1965, the last year of the Old Met - arrgh). She did the dance herself, in a Black leotard with black tights, waving around a bunch of garishly colored scarves. She was not obese by any means, but, owing to the fact that hers was the physique of a dramatic soprano and not that of an exotic dancer, the effect was somewhat bizarre.

[@josecarmona9168]

Thanks for this fantastic talk about one of my favourite opera composers. I agree with all your choices, they all are terrific, although perhaps not my very first choices. But I'd like to add a note: as I can't understand why recordings have cuts (I can somehow understand it in the theatre, but not in recordings) , I think it's fair to say that Sinopoli's Elektra has all of the custom cuts (this, for me, is tragic, as the cut music is exciting as hell) and Böhm's Daphne is also slightly cut. So, for a complete Elektra, you must go to the classic Solti, the very solid Sawallisch, or the more modern Bychkov, a recording I quite like.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Yes, that's true, but I often make exceptions regarding "standard" cuts--in those cases it's not really a great deal of music, and I don't believe that the original published version is necessarily the work's final form--but there are exceptions, such as with FroSch. The Bohm Daphne, being a live performance, would naturally reflect the specifics of that production.

[@josecarmona9168]

@@DavesClassicalGuide , you are right. I hate the cuts in Frosch, as I agree with you that every note is necessary in this masterpiece. And for me it's almost the same with Elektra. I have measured and the customary cuts last some fifteen or twenty minuted in a bare two hours opera!!!!

[@charlesedwards5302]

Jose, I agree about 'Elektra', despite the fact that you won't find a (sane) woman on the planet prepared to sing the whole of Elektra (the role) ON STAGE - yes Gergiev did the whole thing in concert in London which got recorded (despite the fact that you can hear the score's spine binding cracking as he opened it for the first time just before giving the first down-beat...only joking). So, if you're trying to guide a newcomer to this amazing piece, perhaps a CD version of the music you are likely to get to hear if you dare go to see it in the theatre might be a good starter. But, my big problem is with the choice of the Sinopoli recording! (Oh, God, I know what's coming - I'm an opera nut who has opinions about voices and must therefore be an insanely dogmatic partisan loony who speaks his mind in an internet-fuelled diva-rage outburst.... I'm terrible) BUT I'd just warn the prospective purchaser that Madame Marc doesn't enunciate a SINGLE moment of AUDIBLE TEXT in the title role and shows not the faintest knowledge of what she is singing or, rather, vocalising about; Ramey sounds as if he has sleepwalked into the studio in the middle of recording Assur in 'Semiramide', and the usually great Hanna Schwarz manages the impossible - a boring Klytaemnestra. No, go for Solti on Decca for completeness or the amazing sounding Böhm 1960 DG studio set with Borkh and Madeira and the under-rated Schech (plus DFD and a few other people who knew their roles inside out, and the genius (if unfriendly) Böhm who got this opera right every time he did it. You'll be blown away with the sound on both of those sets - the Dresden Staatskapelle for DG and the VPO in its glory days for Solti. Perhaps the Nilsson ban - she only did three of Strauss's opera on record as far as I know - was a tad hasty..... I know she frightens the hell out of all of us on the Decca LP cover for 'Salome' and was a bit past her best on the DG 'FROSCH' but really she did Elektra like none other. I will keep listening...

[@josecarmona9168]

@@charlesedwards5302 , well, I don't think either that Sinopoli's Elektra is SO great. But as many people do, I've always thought it was just me. But I agree with you that Solti's or Böhm's recordings are universes away from Sinopoli's. And if you add Mitropoulos', Böhm's or Karajan's live in Orfeo d'Or, you have the Elektra pentalogy in which all of the singers AND the conductor absolutely understand and LIVE the opera (although only Solti's is complete). And as for completeness, I think Sawallisch in EMI (now Warner) and Bychkov in Profil are quite great if not really outstanding recordings. And with very good sound.

[@charlesedwards5302]

@@josecarmona9168 Totally, totally agree!! It's an opera, and one of the best libretti Strauss ever set. You really have to hear the text and it's always better when the singers who record it have had experience of singing the role on stage. I have worked with three of the best singers of the role in recent years, and they all knew that you project over the massive band best only if you make the text work for you and those German consonants are great for that. If you just pump out sound then you'll not get through the thing. Also, the conductor has to understand that there are mere human beings up there on the stage singing and he or she has to support them as if it were Bellini and not merely wallow in what the orchestra is up to, even if it's nice to be doing that in front of the Vienna Phil. who know the score better than most conductors ever did. For that reason every one of the recordings you mentioned are way ahead of the ghastly faked-up Sinopoli. Christel Goltz was also fantastic in her understanding of the character... live in Munich in 1955.... amazing. There's also Reiner from the Met with Varnay, who was probably the greatest of all Elektras.... There's a staggering and fascinating range of recordings of this piece.

[@williamhicks2299]

Terrific, informative, and often amusing review. Your ideal list is also my ideal list; so happy you included the Sinopoli Elektra!

[@ExxylcrothEagle]

Kai-ko-bad. Isn't that borrowed from a timpani theme in one of Mahler's symphonies? I'm blanking on which one

[@Barbirollifan]

Thanks so much! I am also a fan of that Daphne. So glad you mentioned it. Wish you would have mentioned the TERRIFIC recent Daphne with Fleming in sumptuous sound (you usually highlight something recent if it is worthy). Hoped you would draw attention to how great the Bohm Capriccio is with Janowitz's glorious singing at the end (I feel it is underrated by many). The Sawallisch with Schwarzkopf is still wonderful, though (and good that she had her name mentioned somewhere). So may I now request a followup video for those of us who ARE Strauss opera fans? Mostly curious about the recordings I might have missed or recommendations that go against the standard. As a die hard fan of the operas, I will admit that many of the plots are a mess and the action on stage sometimes is uninvolving. However, the MUSIC...the MUSIC is so glorious. Totally worth it. There is a strange double standard with orchestral music VS opera. If a composer writes a tone poem about some strange mythological tale that is uninvolving or silly, it doesn't matter. People will still hear it and listen to the music. If an opera contains a nonsense plot or was considered a failure because it didn't play well onstage, people will skip it entirely and never hear the music. This is tragic with Strauss. So much great music in these lesser known/'failed" operas! You mention Die Agyptische Helena and the glorious music in it, so I feel like maybe you understand where I am coming from.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I do understand, and I would go further--I worry less about stupid plots than stupid stagings. As the revival of Baroque opera seria shows, most of these theoretically hopeless stories can work wonderfully on stage if they are produced with insight and imagination--both in terribly short supply.

[@Barbirollifan]

@@DavesClassicalGuide Yes. I have a few DVD's of imaginative Handel stagings. I suppose Strauss's music would be well-served by some new stagings that are given this kind of thought.

[@neilmccalmont1143]

Loved this video, Dave! I'm young, just out of Conservatory, and am looking for great recordings of die Liebe der Danae, Arabella and die ägyptische Helena to add to my collection, any recommendations?

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

There aren't many choices, particularly in modern sound. For Arabella, go with the classic Solti on Decca (at least it's available). For the other two, you'll have to get what you can. The two Telarc recordings of those works aren't bad, or Dorati on Decca for Helena. Good luck!

[@neilmccalmont1143]

@@DavesClassicalGuide Thank you so much!

[@Cor6196]

I wonder if any major opera house has put on Salome as an over-the-top comic opera. I mean with clownish outfits and makeup in a three-ring circus. I can certainly imagine Herodias with bright red circles on her cheeks and Herod in a clown outfit, his crown a cone topped by a fur ball. John the B swinging in and out on a trapeze! Salome originally a member of the audience lured onto the stage only to be crushed by J the B falling on her head!😅

[@johns9624]

Bang-on overview of the Strauss operas, although I'd be a little kinder to Arabella. Gorgeous music. For me, the Solti Frosch video is as good as the cd, for the most part superbly cast apart from the Emperor. It's hard to match Domingo. As for Daphne, William Mann hits the nail on the head, "an enjoyable opera to listen to, rather more tedious to watch". I'd apply a similar comment to Fleming in Strauss.

[@wookinooki9023]

Is there any good scene or good solo for a baritone in Strauss operas?

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Yes.

[@davidaltschuler9687]

Different topic, if I may: You mentioned in 2020 that DG and Philips MARKEVITCH boxes were coming out 2021. Any verification or sense of when that will happen? Thanks.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

It's supposed to happen, but I don't know exactly when.

[@edwinbaumgartner5045]

Great talk! Your choices are mine with very small exeptions (I would prefer the Sawallisch-"Frosch" and my most beloved "Rosenkavalier" is Bernstein's, of course, but that's just a question of taste, I think, and your choices are extremely good). But I would add also one more opera to the list of the best, i.e. "Die schweigsame Frau". I think, this is a witty and full blooded comedy with a glorious text by Stefan Zweig; it has moments of modernism, when Strauss must create "loud noise", there is a wonderful ouverture, many fine moments, and a gorgeous final monologue of Sir Morosus, which goes on and on and on and on and... But it's great! Moreover, I think that in "Capriccio" Strauss does give an answer to the question: He writes the Moonlight-Interlude and the final scene, which is necessary just for the music. It's like the "Jenufa"-finale: The plot is finished, but the music grows further. And in my opinion, this is the answer: The music doesn't need the plot to go on. The question mark at the end is, I guess, just a final joke after the answer has been given. N'est-ce pas?

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I agree completely regarding Die scheigsame Frau (I think I said that, didn't I?), but it's still a rarity, sadly.

[@edwinbaumgartner5045]

@@DavesClassicalGuide You said, but I wanted to point out this wonderful opera as a must; in my opinion, Zweig's the best libretto Strauss ever had. And the music is fantastic. I never understood, why this work is so rarely played; but there are two good recordings, one by Janowski and one by Pinchas Steinberg. Sawallisch suffers in my opinion from Kurt Böhme. But at last, I'm not so much a fan or foe of certain singers, I just want an opera to be good sung.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

@@edwinbaumgartner5045 But the Steinberg is long out of print, and it's the best one...

[@edwinbaumgartner5045]

@@DavesClassicalGuide You're right, the Steinberg deserves a re-issue. The Janowski is okay, but not really good. I get always the impression, well, nicely played, but one could do better. But Steinberg is a true pleasure!

[@ftumschk]

Apart from the "FROSCH" abbreviation, I like to mistranslate Die Frau ohne Schatten as "The Constipated Woman" ;)

[@sveinlarsen4275]

What happened to "I am not fo historical recordings" I wonder?

[@anwla]

Recommendations for going deeper on Strauss. Which recordings to get? Feuersnot Arabella Der Liebe der Danae Die Ägyptische Helena Die Schweigsame Frau Friedenstag

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Check out my book on Strauss.

[@patrickcrowley9523]

Have to ask: What do you think of Ljuba Welitsch' Salome?

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

It's fine. Very enjoyable. There's a girlishness to her timbre that makes the closing scene all the more horrifying.

[@igorgregoryvedeltomaszewsk1148]

Great thanks for mentioning Inga Nielsen's Salomé @@DavesClassicalGuide I met her late in her career when she was still performing a very applauded Salomé (a 50+ soprano with teenage looks and voice - beat that!) and it seemed to me that her peculiar introvert character somehow was a perfect match for that of the mentally off track Salomé.

[@monteclavis8033]

Fun fact: on the cover of the Kempe Ariadne the Choir of the Staatsoper Dresden is featured.. but as far as I know there is no choir in the piece..

[@TheScottishoats]

I attended Cappricio at the Met., years ago. Kiri Te Kanawa was singing. As an advertising and marketing professional, Strauss's libretto was Copywriters vs. Art Directors. I still think it would make a good stage production: "Madmen-the musical!" Interested, David?

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Uh, not really...

[@TheScottishoats]

@@DavesClassicalGuide I was afraid you might say that. How about my remake of the Charlton Heston classic? I'm calling it "Ben Hurwitz" There's bound to be Tam-Tams in the score (!)

[@JohnFrederickFurth]

OMG, you're funny. But I'm thrilled that I guess every recording you recommend right before you mention them! I agree with your suggestions for Gurrelieder, both of which I have (Ozawa and Chailly) and thank you for the Caballe recommemdation for Salome. It is absolutely stunning. I'm going to keep listening but I'm pretty sure I can guess which recordings of Elektra, Rosennkavalier, Die Frau and Daphne you're going to recommend. Less certain about Capriccio and Ariadne. They're also my least favorite of ALL his operas.

[@JohnFrederickFurth]

I forgot to mention I was at the performance of Elektra in Carnegie Hall with Marton. It blew me away. I loved hearing the whole original play, but in English, before that performance. Man, we are so on the same page!

[@ermesdezan7147]

mind you I can't see the comic aspect of Johkannan

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

You aren't alone.

[@josepholeary3286]

Act III of Rosenkavalier is junk, until the magic entry of die Marschallin. The Trio is incredibly, mysteriously beautiful. It was only 54 years old when I first heard it and now it's 110 years old, but its agelessness if confirmed,

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Now, now. Junk can be fun.

[@charlesedwards5302]

@@DavesClassicalGuide The prelude to Act 3 is the wildest Schlagobersy-Waltzy-Alptraum.... Like Elektra arrived in Vienna with her axe and went hunting for Ochsen. Gorgeous and VERY kinky (I'm a Brit so I know about kinky.... don't get me started on Elgar 2)

[@NYCOPERAFAN]

The presentation of the Rose (and the preceding music in Act 2) is also exquisite.

[@josepholeary3286]

@@charlesedwards5302 Elgar 2 is kinky? Please say more!

[@bolemirnoc604]

Compare the Abstieg nach Nibelheim from Rheingold with the "Abstieg zu den Menschen" from FroSch. I think it's the most terrific, hair-rising horror music by Strauss, Wagner sounds almost harmless in comparison.

[@stevenmsinger]

I tend to agree with Klemperer on Strauss's operas. I love Salome and Elektra. Heck! I even love Der Rosenkavalier. But after that I find them sappy, boring and tired.

[@respighi3]

Agree on the Sinopoli ELEKTRA. The orchestral sonics are stupendous!!!

[@charlesedwards5302]

Thank God for the orchestra. But it's an OPERA

[@Nikolay76Gogol]

Why "Die Schweigsame Frau" is missing from your review? It's one of the funniest operas next to Verdi's "Falstaff", in my humble opinion.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

That's not the point.

[@randywolfgang4943]

Mrs Clemens Krauss was Viorica Ursuleac. Sena Jurinac was Mrs Sesto Bruscantiti

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Same difference.

[@2906nico]

Excellent choices. I have a bit of a thing about Caballe, I really don't like the sound she makes, but I'm very intrigued to know what she makes of Salome. II'd give a shout out to the Haitink Daphne with Lucia Popp, but alongside the Bohm rather than instead of it. I gave my copy of the Sawallisch Capriccio away - Schwarzkopf at her most mannered and arch. It's Janowitz for me.

[@charlesedwards5302]

The Böhm Capriccio is the favourite in my household. Yes, it's THAT sort of household. Dinner is served....

[@scotttisdel138]

You picked the Solti FROSCH partially because it is uncut, a valid point. But you picked Böhm's Daphne, which has four completely unnecessary, infuriating cuts. Haitink's recording has better sound, an equally great Daphne (Lucia Popp), better orchestra playing, AND it is uncut. This is the better option.

[@barbaricyawper14]

Hear hear for the Caballe/Leinsdorf Salome!

[@johnoleary5293]

Totally agree with you re Caballe - such a sex kitten and the voice is glorious.

[@bolemirnoc604]

The only problem with the Sinopoli's Elektra could be your neighbours.

[@josecarmona9168]

Neighbours' opinion is overrated.

[@richardmarkel9695]

Every time that Mr. Hurwitz recommends a cd or set that is out of print the price goes up exponentially! Why doesn’t he recommend the stuff he doesn’t like and, through telepathy, give us the good stuff. That way we can afford to go first class!

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I'll work on that.

[@marioveglia1815]

Jurinac was not married to Krauss, that was Ursuleac. Greetings from the city of Vienna, Austria.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Yes, that has already been pointed out. It's the "ac" opera ladies--always get them confused.

[@dennischiapello7243]

Salome is notorious for being shocking--in its story, sensibility, and musical dissonance. Equally shocking to me was discovering, after two or three listenings, that most of the tunes were essentially Viennese waltzes and gallops!

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

No, they aren't.

[@dennischiapello7243]

@@DavesClassicalGuide You're right, of course. I meant to describe a point of fascination, but I strained for a joke instead. I came to Stauss' operas many years after Wozzeck, Lulu and a bit of Schoenberg imprinted themselves on me. I knew Strauss' music wasn't atonal, but it nevertheless surprised me when I heard moments of pure Straussian lyricism emerge from these violently dissonant scores, so notorious for their shock value. I know at least ONE tune in Salome could be repurposed as a waltz without difficulty, but I won't overplay my hand! BTW, great to have your take on Strauss' career as well as the available recordings. It makes me more likely to search out the comedies.

[@jimslancio]

0:27 As the old saying goes, to a German a joke is no laughing matter.

[@thomasbirkhahn9616]

You forgot to mention Intermezzo. Otherwise excellent talk!

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

No, I didn't.

[@thomasbirkhahn9616]

@@DavesClassicalGuide Must have missed it then. Makes your talk even more excellent!😀

[@sashakindel3600]

Every performance of the Dance of Seven Veils I've seen so far has been at least a little embarrassing to watch because the singers are, I assume, not also trained dancers. I wish having a ballet dancer do it were standard practice.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Well, Salome herself was probably not a trained dancer, and it wasn't the choreography that Herod was interested in seeing.