Description:

The last place you would expect to find an impeccable performance of Der Freischütz is Naples, however the Napolitani have created just that with the help of an excellent international cast. Max is a role, like Florestan in Fidelio, which demands all of the technical precision of Mozart with the romantic heft of Wagner. This combination would prove lethal to many tenors but James King seems to relish the challenge. Margaret Price brings ethereal grandeur to the role of Agathe spinning the long lines effortlessly. Helen Donath offers a chipper (yet not chirpy) Ännchen and Karl Ridderbusch is a sonorous Kaspar. Wolfgang Sawallisch leads an energetic performance, inspiring some terrific choral singing.

In Stereo

OD 11413-2