Rossini - Il Barbiere Di Siviglia - Wunderlich, Prey - Keilberth 1959DVD9 - NTSC - 4:3 - b&w - Mono - Sung in German - All Regions
Subtitles: German, Italian, English, French, Spanish, Chinese
Deutsche Grammophon 073 4116 2, released 2005
Fritz Wunderlich - Graf Almaviva, Hermann Prey - Figaro, Erika Köth - Rosine, Max Proebstl - Bartolo, Hans Hotter - Basilio, Ina Gerhein - Marzelline, Karl Ostertag - Fiorillo, Adolf Keil - Offizier
Der Chor der Bayerischen Staatsoper · Das Bayerische Staatsorchester
Joseph Keilberth
Wunderlich sings Count Almaviva superbly, negotiating this difficult tenore di grazia role with relative ease. His Italianate lyric tenor voice, almost Schipa-like in it's clarity, is beautifully present even in this old television recording. His acting is similarly superb, reflecting the intensive lessons he'd had in Stuttgart as a young singer. Videos of Wunderlich in complete operas are a comparative rarity so that this DVD is undoubtedly important for that reason alone.
A youthful Hermann Prey solidifies his position as the finest Figaro in the German speaking world with a sparkling performance. He was an incomparable comedic actor as well as singer and I treasure every performance of his I own. The most interesting cast member is the Wagnerian bass-baritone and THE great Wotan in the Ring cycle at Bayreuth after World War II, Hans Hotter, who died in 2003 at age 94. He sings Don Basilio brilliantly and he's funny! Max Proebstl plays Rosina's dull-witted guardian Don Bartolo, generally hamming it up with slapstick humor and over-the-top sight gags. Rosina is sung by Erika Köth, an excellent bel canto soprano famous in Munich as Lucia di Lammermoor. --Amazon customer
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