The Best of Operetta, Vol. 3

Delightful Hungarian voices, very romantic record

I loved the romantic Hungarian voices in this record, and the quality of the recording was excellent January 9, 2007

A Must For Operetta Lovers

This is the third volume of a trio of CDs containing songs and melodies from some of the most popular operettas from famous composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The operetta had its roots in Vienna, where it was brought to popular recognition by such musical giants as Johann Strauß, Jr.; Franz Lehár; and Emerich (Imre) Kálmán. The three volumes of The Best of Operetta, available through Amazon.com, contain some of the most beloved melodies by these great composers, plus works of Robert Stolz and Carl Zeller. No operetta collection would be complete without all three of these volumes. Operetta lovers will recognize such works as Die Fledermaus, Gräfin Mariza, The Merry Widow, The Land of Smiles, The Gypsy Baron, and others which are found in the three volumes of The Best of Operetta.

Volume 3, which is the subject of this review, contains 14 beloved operetta melodies from the pens of Johann Strauß, Franz Lehár and Emerich Kálmán, interpreted by the magnificent voices of sopranos Ingrid Kertesi and Zsuzsa Csonka and tenor János Berkes and accompanied by the Hungarian Operetta Orchestra under the baton of László Kovács.

All three volumes are accompanied by a booklet with bountiful information about the operetta in general, the composers represented in these CDs, and the songs contained in each volume. You will find the English translations very helpful.

A knowledge of German is not required to appreciate the beautiful music contained in these three volumes. You will enjoy the fine operatic voices that interpret such songs as The Voices of Spring and Gern hab' ich die Frau'n geküßt, as well as the catchy melodies of Ob blond, ob braun and Komm mit nach Varasdin. And you can't help but be deeply moved by the haunting melodies of Franz Lehár's Wolgalied and Kálmán 's Komm Zigany.

If you have not yet done so, now is the time to purchase these three volumes of operatic masterpieces which you can enjoy for many long hours of relaxing entertainment. And remember: If there are music lovers on your Christmas list, this is the perfect gift for them!
November 3, 2006

Wunderbar!

A superlative collection of music & song for any lover of Viennese music. It includes the words to many songs that people hum, but these songs are even more wonderful if you know the marvelous words! They are clever, sentimental, and delicious! They're also in the original German and in good English translations. We bought our copy of Volume III in Vienna a few weeks ago and were delighted to find that Volumes I and II are available from Amazon.com for a song--so we've just ordered them! The performances by young artists and the recordings match the great content! February 20, 2000

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