New-Generation Cast in ‘Die Frau ohne Schatten’

STRAUSS: “Die Frau ohne Schatten.” Cheryl Studer, Ute Vinzing, Hanna Schwarz, Rene Kollo, Alfred Muff; Orchestra and Chorus of the Bavarian Radio conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch. Angel CDCC-49074 (three compact discs). If this release possessed no other virtue, it would still be the first uncut recording of the alternately sublime and muddled Strauss-Hofmannsthal allegory. It is also the first issue of “Frau” in 30 years conceived strictly as a recording project. Digital technology permits the conjuring of sonic vistas of incredible spaciousness, aptly recreating the three symbolic realms of the work. The casting too makes news, breaking with the small group of singers that dominated major opera house performances for more than 20 years. Studer’s Empress soars with a radiant, youthful lyric gift. Kollo’s heroic tenor allows the Emperor a measure of credibility. Muff’s noble baritone lends Barak the requisite humanity, and Schwarz delivers the Nurse’s misanthropic rantings with a richly ironic attack. The only disaster is Vinzing’s unremitting shrill Dyer’s Wife. One could wish for more sentiment from him, but Sawallisch here confirms his stature as one of the world’s leading Straussians. The Munich orchestra acquits itself with its accustomed lusciousness.