Korngold: Arias and Duets. Gundula Janowitz, Hildegard...

Korngold: Arias and Duets. Gundula Janowitz, Hildegard Hillebrecht, Ilona Steingruber, Rosl Schwaiger, sopranos; Heinz Hoppe, Anton Dermota, tenors; Alfred Poell, baritone; Austrian State Radio Orchestra conducted by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Wihelm Loibner, Gotfried Kasowitz and Joseph Strobl. Cambria CD-1032. This most inviting survey of Korngold opera highlights, which comes from the archives of the composer’s family, concentrates on five works--”Der Ring des Polykrates,” “Violanta,” “Die Tote Stadt,” “Das Wunder der Heliane” and “Die Kathrin,” all written before the late 1930s, when Korngold emigrated to America and took up a distinguished career in film scoring. The post-Straussian writing often achieves moments of irresistible lyricism, though a distinctive style is elusive. The seasoned Viennese performers range from the wonderful (Janowitz, Dermota) to the appalling (Hillebrecht). The printed date of these radio air checks, 1949, is incorrect; Janowitz would have been 12 at the time.