Júlia Varady J. Strauss II Die Fledermaus

Carlos Kleiber's bat from 1975 is a discographic highlight. Inspired by an unforgettable production at Munich's Staatsoper, where Kleiber conducted almost all the performances of this bat production up to 1988, the recording from the Herkulessaal presents an unrivalled degree of presence and stage magic, also in the dialogues.

Vintage symphony “Die Fledermaus” (The Bat), conducted by the charismatic conductor Carlos Kleiber, who continues to fascinate audiences even today.

Julia Varady is a highly respected soprano who has had a major European career and considerable success elsewhere. She comes from a fabled part of Rumania that used to belong to Hungary and is home to most of Rumania's ethnic Hungarian population. She studied at the Conservatory in Cluj (formerly Klausenberg), then at the conservatory in the capital city of Bucharest. She returned to Cluj and in 1960 gained a contract with the Cluj Opera and quickly was given the leading roles in the lyric-dramatic repertory, including Judith in Bluebeard's Castle, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Butterfly in Madama Butterfly (after originally playing the short part of Kate Pinkerton), the Marriage of Figaro (in which she sang, at various times, all three soprano roles), Turandot (as Liù), Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana, and Desdemona in Verdi's Otello. During this period she also made guest appearances at the National Opera of Bucharest and in Budapest, Hungary.