Lehár: Frühling

"Master Lehár has dedicated a small but extremely melodious operetta to Hell, which, judging by the stormy reception of the audience, can no doubt expect to be performed for a very long time," wrote the critics on 23 January 1922 on the premiere of the one-act operetta "Spring". Die Hölle was a musical cabaret housed in the basement of the Theater an der Wien, which enjoyed great popularity, since the pieces performed there boldly left the well-trodden paths of the operetta genre. This suited Lehár, who throughout his life feared nothing so much as being congealed into a template. The restriction of the external means obviously inspired him very much: "Frühling" is an almost chamber-musical jewel, the like of which is unlikely to be found again in operetta literature. The unusually original book of the 4-person piece has almost Schnitzlerian format and has been wrapped by Lehár in a completely enchanting, gossamer impressionistic atmosphere. Our recording with the Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss under Johannes Goritzki is in keeping with this. Soloists are Stefanie Krahnenfeld, Alison Browner, Robert Wörle and Markus Köhler. Encores include Lehár's first concert waltz Elfentanz and the Hungarian fantasy Magyar Abránd.