Gramophone Magazine
January 2024
Editor's Choice

Presto Recording of the Week
15th December 2023

Diana Damrau (soprano), Jonas Kaufmann (tenor), Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Ernst Theis

Stolz, R: Du sollst der Kaiser meiner Seele sein (from Der Favorit)
Lincke: Schlösser, die im Monde liegen (from Frau Luna)
Lehár: Eva: Wär es auch nichts als ein Traum vom Glück
Kalman: Liebe, ich sehn’ mich nach dir (from Die Faschingsfee)
Ralph Benatzky, Robert Stolz: Im weißen Rößl: "Mein Liebeslied muss ein Walzer sein" (Doktor Siedler, Ottilie)
Carl Millöcker, Theo Mackeben: Die Dubarry: " Ich schenk' mein Herz nur dem allein" (Jeanne)
Heuberger: Gehen wir ins Chambre séparée (from Der Opernball)
López, Francis: Ça fait tourner la tête (from Andalousie)
Lehár: Friederike: Warum hast du mich wachgeküßt?
Strauss, J, II: Wo die wilde Rose erblüht (from Das Spitzentuch der Königin)
Messager: Rossignol (from Monsieur Beaucaire)
Lehár: Paganini: Liebe du Himmel auf Erden
Lehár: Hör ich Cymbalklänge (from Zigeunerliebe)
Abraham: In meinen weißen Armen (from Ball im Savoy)
Christine: Bien chapeautée (from Phi-Phi)
Messager: L'Amour masque: 'J'ai deux amants'
Straus, O: Ich bin eine Frau, die weiß, was sie will (from Manon)

he German coloratura soprano is on sparkling form on a whistle-stop tour of seven decades of operetta history - taking in Berlin, Paris and Vienna along the way, and including classy cameos from Jonas Kaufmann and Emily Sierra.

Soprano Diana Damrau, dazzling in the operas of Mozart, Donizetti, Verdi and Richard Strauss, also has operetta in her blood. With this album she tours three capital cities of operetta – Vienna, Berlin and Paris – and covers nearly seven decades of musical history. En route she relishes the romance, wit and melodies of numbers by such composers Johann Strauss II, Franz Lehár, Emmerich Kálmán, Robert Stolz, Paul Abraham, André Messager, Henri Christiné, Oscar Straus and Francis Lopez. Her star guest is tenor Jonas Kaufmann and conducting the Münchner Rundfunkorchester is Ernst Theis, as expert in operetta as he is in symphonic repertoire. “For me, operetta is the most all-embracing genre of music theatre,” says Damrau, “Its indulgence, its yearning, its joyousness and its comedy all touch the heart and show the positive side of life ... It rarely fails to work its magic on audiences.”

"The natural clarity and sweetness of Damrau’s soprano is a huge asset here...The results touch the heart as well as ravishing the palate: it’s early days, but I wonder if I’ve already found my record of the year?" - Gramophone Magazine, January 2024.