R. STRAUSS: FOUR LAST SONGS; “DIE HEILIGEN...

R. STRAUSS: FOUR LAST SONGS; “DIE HEILIGEN DREI KOENIG AUS MORGENLAND”; FINAL SCENE FROM “CAPRICCIO.” Anna Tomowa-Sintow, soprano; Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Herbert von Karajan. Deutsche Grammophon 419 188-2 (compact disc). The absence of instrumental purity in the Bulgarian soprano’s voice and her inability to soar above the staff conspire to render her Four Last Songs strictly uncompetitive. Tomowa-Sintow fares better when engaged by a dramatic situation, both in the charming 1906 song about the three wise men and in the countess’ soliloquy from Strauss’ last opera. Yet even here, the vocal gearshifts fall far short of the ideal. Karajan catches the autumnal glow of the material with a canny ear for textures and a serene indifference to the theatrical impulse.