Composer: Franz Lehár
Performer: Vincent Schirrmacher, Rupert Bergmann, Laura Scherwitzl, Chor des Lehar Festivals
Orchestra: Franz Lehar-Orchester
Conductor: Vinzenz Praxmarer
Number of Discs: 2
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: CPO
Catalogue: 777592-2
Release: 2011
Size: 615 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Frasquita
CD 01
01. Prelude
02. Lied. Gib mit dem Fächer ein Zeichen mir (Juan, Pedro, Sancho, Chorus)
03. Zigeunerchor und Frasquitas Auftritt (Frasquita, Sebastiano, Chorus)
04. Scene. Hier konnt ihr nicht bleiben (Juan, Sebastiano)
05. Abgang der Zigeuner (Sebastiano, Chorus)
06. Scene. Papa, Papa, sag mir (Dolly, Girot)
07. Lied. Sag mir, sag mir (Armand)
08. Scene. Holla! Grüß dich Gott, Onkel! (Armand, Girot, Hippolyt, Dolly)
09. Duet. Wenn ganz sacht, über Nacht (Dolly, Armand)
10. Scene. He, du wilder Teufel (Pedro, Frasquita, Sebastiano, Sancho)
11. Lied. Fragst mich, was Liebe ist? (Frasquita)
12. Scene. Heda, mein schönes Kind (Girot, Frasquita, Armand)
13. Valse espagnole
14. Scene. Ich tanz’ nicht mehr (Louisa, Frasquita, Hippolyt, Girot, Armand, Juan, Sebastiano)
15. Terzett. Mädel, Mädel, suchst Du einen Mann? (Dolly, Hippolyt, Girot)
16. Scene. Onkel! Hippolyt! (Armand, Frasquita)
17. Finale (Frasquita, Armand, Hippolyt)
18. Tanzlied. Geh mit mir in die Alhambra (Ines, Lola)
19. Scene. Seh’n Sie sich um, lieber Freund (Girot, Hippolyt, Franconi, Chorus)
20. Lied und Tanz. Wüsst’ ich, wer morgen mein Liebster ist (Frasquita)
21. Scene. Schau, schau, das hatte ich dem Weib gar nicht zugetraut (Girot, Dolly, Franconi, Armand, Diego, Chorus)
22. Duet. Weißt du nich was ein Herz voller Sehnsucht begehrt? (Frasquita, Armand)
CD 02
01. Scene. Ich kann nicht mehr! (Hippolyt, Dolly)
02. Polka. Ich gab’ was drum, wenn ich ein Mäderl hatt’! (Dolly, Hippolyt)
03. Scene. Er ist immer noch nicht da (Frasquita, Sebastiano)
04. Lied. Hab’ ein blaues Himmelbett! (Armand)
05. Scene. Der Kellner hat mir verraten (Girot, Armand, Lola, Ines)
06. Marsch. Kinder, heute fühl’ ich mich wie zwanzig Jahr (Girot, Inez, Lola, Chorus)
07. Scene. Jetzt wart’ ich aber nicht länger auf Armand (Dolly, Hippolyt, Armand, Frasquita, Diego, Chorus)
08. Finale (Frasquita, Armand, Dolly, Girot, Sebastiano, Franconi, Jose, Diego, Paolo, andere Gaste)
09. Entr’act
10. Karnevalszug (Chorus)
11. Scene. Geben Sie ihm nur meine Karte (Hippolyt, Armand, Frasquita)
12. Duet. O glaub’ mir, mein Freund (Frasquita, Armand, Chorus)
13. Scene. Wie soll man da noch länger grollen (Girot, Armand, Hippolyt, Dolly)
14. Walzer-Duet. Du, küss’ mich immerzu (Dolly, Hippolyt)
15. Scene. Er lässt uns warten (Dolly, Hippolyt, Armand)
16. Finaletto (Armand, Frasquita, Girot)
For Franz Lehár 1919 was a productive and most highly inspired year during which he worked concurrently on three operettas: Die blaue Mazur (7773312), Die gelbe Jacke (from which Das Land des Laechelns (7773032) would later emerge), and Frasquita.
Frasquita has been recorded at the Lehar Festival and adds to CPO’s growing collection of Lehar operettas.
This world-premiere recording of Frasquita should be of interest to anyone who loves The Merry Widow and Viennese operetta. Lehár’s operetta is set in Spain, so the score is a mélange of Viennese and Spanish idioms, flavored by the Eastern European influence of the composer’s roots. The novel by Pierre Louÿs on which Frasquita is based was deemed too racy for operatic treatment by Puccini, but the libretto by A.M. Willner and Heinz Reichert eliminates all the sex and violence, and what is left is pretty tame stuff. What’s left, in fact, comes off as essentially trivial, and the lack of much real drama probably accounts for the operetta’s obscurity in the composer’s oeuvre. Lehár’s writing is consistently melodious and tuneful, revealing the composer in strong form, and while it might seem silly on-stage it makes for a pleasant listening experience. There is some spoken dialogue, but not an inordinate amount. This performance comes from a 2010 performance at the Lehár Festival Bad Ischl, featuring the Franz Lehár Orchestra and Chorus, led by Vinzenz Praxmarer. The festival draws its talent from young singers in the early stages of their careers, so the performances are not always world-class, but that’s more than compensated for by the youthful energy of the performers. The soloists are strong, clearly invested in bringing their characters to life. Laura Scherwitzl and Robert Maszl as the secondary couple make a stronger impression that the leads, Romana Noack and Vincent Schirrmacher. The sound of the live concert recording is surprisingly clean, with good balance and ambience.