Rudolf Kempe、Bamberg Symphony Orchestra、Royal Philharmonic Orchestra、Pilar Lorengar、Fritz Wunderlich - The Bartered Bride - La fiancée vendue - Japan 2 SACD Hybrid Digipak

Credits:

Rudolf Kempe、Bamberg Symphony Orchestra、Royal Philharmonic Orchestra、Pilar Lorengar、Fritz Wunderlich

Description:

＜Smetana's bicentennial commemorative project The masterpiece of Smetana's opera, conducted by Kempe in the past and celebrating the bicentennial of his birth in 2024, is finally available on SACD! Four orchestral works from this work conducted by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1961 are also included in the margins! Newly reissued at 192kHz/24bit from the original analog master tapes in Japan for this release. New commentary and rare bilingual lyrics are included. First SACD release! Celebrating the 200th anniversary of Smetana's (1824-84) birth and 140th anniversary of his death in 2024, "The Sold Bride," one of his most famous operas, has been reissued on SACD for the first time! This disc was recorded in 1962 with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra in a German language version conducted by Kempe, and is famous as one of the best recordings of the past. In addition to the wonderful sound of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, which still retains its Eastern European color, Kempe's lively conductor brings the characters vividly to life through the great singers such as Lorenger, Wunderlich, and Fricke. Four orchestral works from this work, which he conducted with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1961, are also included in the margins.The master was digitized at 192kHz/24bit from the original analog master tapes in the original country for this release, and mastered separately for the SACD and CD layers. New commentary and bilingual lyrics are included. This is a permanent preservation disc. The second of Smetana's eight completed operas, the comedy "The Sold Bride" was first composed in 1866 and revised several times before its definitive premiere in 1870. Since its first performance in Czech, it has been performed in many foreign countries, and after the German translation by Calbecq was performed again in Vienna in 1893 and received a favorable reception, it is said that the number of performances of the play spread rapidly. This Kempe disc also uses the German version of Calbeck's translation, and many of the recordings made outside of the composer's home country are in the German version. Kempe not only excelled in Austro-German music, but also in Slavic music such as Tchaikovsky and Dvořák. He also made several recordings with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, and this "Sold Bride" is a rare collaboration on the old EMI label, but he also made several session recordings, mainly on Oirodisc.As an opera conductor, Kempe has made many session recordings and live recordings of Wagner and R. Strauss, but this Smetana is the only one, and it is a rare recording of the complete work. However, since there are few recordings of this work, the Kempe disc has been popular for a long time, and it is the first disc other than the original recording to be mentioned when the complete "The Sold Bride" is mentioned. The singing of each singer in accordance with the content of the work is a must-hear, and not only are the roles suitable for each singer, but the conditions and Kempe's conductor who guides the singers are superbly suited to their roles, and there is no doubt that this is the best recording of the work. Please refer to the new commentary by Mr. Junshin Kishi for details of the singers and their special features in this recording. The Bamberg Symphony Orchestra accompanies the singers with exquisite accompaniment, and the unforgettable sound of the time has been beautifully restored in this high-quality recording. The voices of each singer can be heard in excellent quality, and as in our previous reissues of the opera, the sound quality has been dramatically improved compared to past CD recordings. The 92-page commentary, which now includes a rare bilingual translation of the lyrics, is the best part of the package. (1/2)