Lehár: Fata Morgana - Suiten, Tänze & Intermezzi

The fact that Franz Lehár still has a lot of unknown things to discover has been pointed out emphatically by cpo with five publications to date. And it goes on in quick succession: This month you can make the acquaintance with ravishing orchestral music by Lehár. The focus is on four great ballet pieces: Gypsy Festival, Suite de Danse, the Chinese Ballet Suite and the truly enchanting character dances from the children's operetta Peter and Paul in Schlaraffenland, by the way Lehár's first work after the Merry Widow. Hearing this incredibly imaginative music, masterfully orchestrated as always, one still regrets today that Gustav Mahler's following idea never became anything: The ballet master of the Vienna State Opera reports that Mahler "wanted to invite Lehár to compose a ballet for the court opera. He believes that Lehár will also exert traction in the opera, especially when he offers finer music and peculiar rhythms." As I said, unfortunately, it never came to this full-length ballet. Other rarities include the Preludium religioso from Lehár's first opera Rodrigo, the orchestral version of Resignation from the Princely Child, March and Palotas from "Where the Lark Sings" and very early compositions from Lehár's military days: Coral Lips, A Fairy Tale from 1001 Nights and the Gavotte with the exotic title Fata Morgana. Michail Jurowski serves all this with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin in an inimitable way.