Mozart - Die Zauberflöte - Wunderlich - Haitink, Hilversum 1958CD - ADD - 71'23
Intermusic 1997
Fritz Wunderlich (Tamino), Albert van Naasteren (Sarastro, Sprecher), Juliana Farkas (Königin der Nacht), Maria van Dongen (Pamina), Jan Derksen (Papageno), Nel Duval (Papagena), Elly Ameling (Erster Knabe) a. o., Het groot Omroepkoor, Het Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, cond. Bernard Haitink
In an opera with as many musical riches as "Die Zauberflöte" it seems self-defeat-ing to seLect parts for a "highlights" collection for the inevitable omission of other highlights. This recording focuses on the contributions of the young German tenor Fritz Wunderlich as Prince Tamino and the less well-known Dutch baritone Jan Derksen as Papageno. To many, Wunderlich (1930 -1966) was the Mozart tenor of the Century; one listen to his commercial recordings of "Die Zauberflöte" and "Die Entführung aus dem Serail" will quickly demonstrate why. Wunderlich's voice was, quite simply, stunning in its warmth, liquidity, and youthful virility. The Mozart bicentennialin 1956 produced a renewed interest in the composer's operas and a spate of new recordings, but to ears accustomed to hearing light crooning tenors in roles like Tamino and Belmonte, Wunderlich's voice was a revelation. He first sang Tamino at the Freiburg Musikhochschule 1954 and was engaged by the Stuttgart Opera in 1955, making his debut in the same role. He joined the Frankfurt Company in 1958 and sang at the Salzburg Festival for the first time in 1959.
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