Und Das Soll Liebe Sein

A brilliant and radiant performance of Lehar's valedictory composition, his only operetta written for the august Vienna State Opera, which premiered the piece in 1934. Edith Moser and Nicolai Gedda head up a good cast in this work, which is more serious and profound than most of Lehar's music. The music is as attractive as in any Lehar work, but at times more self-consciously dramatic than in any piece except The Land of Smiles, despite the relatively straightforward subject, about the unhappy romance between the married title character and the officer she has run away with.

A brilliant and radiant performance of Lehar's valedictory composition, his only operetta written for the august Vienna State Opera, which premiered the piece in 1934. Edith Moser and Nicolai Gedda head up a good cast in this work, which is more serious and profound than most of Lehar's music. The music is as attractive as in any Lehar work, but at times more self-consciously dramatic than in any piece except The Land of Smiles, despite the relatively straightforward subject, about the unhappy romance between the married title character and the officer she has run away with.

"Rejoice, rejoice, up, praise the days!" - What Bach presents here cannot be summed up in criteria of masterful orchestral treatment and skilful text adaptation alone. The music-making of this opening chorus, unleashed by pithy kettledrum beats, directly grips the heart, belly and not least the legs of the listeners before any rational reflection, who want to jump up spontaneously from pews and desk chairs and do not have the slightest chance of escaping the contagious jubilation.