I saw this at the Royal Opera House a couple of weeks ago, and really enjoyed it - very different to Salome or Electra, with almost a Wagner-like sound to it. Anyway, I wondered whether anyone could recommend a recording. I know there is supposedly an excellent recording by Solti with a starry cast. I'm not a great fan of Solti, and certainly can't put up with his Wagner. Also newer recordings tend to get favour over older ones in things like the Penguin guide, so any advise appreciated.

David

Try Decca 1955: VPO/K. Böhm!

I also love this Opera...

Regards, Jun

This is one my favourite operas too.

I do not normally like Solti's recordings, but his Frau is pretty good, particularly as he has the wonderful, and under-recorded Julia Varady as the Empress. Placido Domingo makes a surprisingly good Emperor, more convincing in this role than he normally is in German opera. There is also a good video version under Solti with a different, but excellent cast, including Cheryl Studer as the Empress.

I agree about the 1955 Bohm recording, it is very good, although I don't much like the one he made in the 60s.

The other extremely good recording is Sawallisch on EMI. If I had to have one recording, it would be a toss-up between this one and Solti.

There is also the live Karajan recording re-issued by DG recently. Although from the 60s, it is mono and the sound is awful. The performance, however, is fantastic, with an outstanding cast including Leonie Rysanek, Jess Thomas, Lucia Popp and Fritz Wunderlich.

If Solti is not to your taste, and you only want one recording, I would recommend the Sawallisch set.

Ross

......after some of the antics on this forum recently, it's nice to see some positive contributions. I think I might start with the video and go from there.

Cheers

David