Current CD:

Beethoven: Fidelio/ Klemperer, Ludwig, Vickers, Frick, etc
Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus; Christa Ludwig, mezzo-soprano (Leonore); Jon Vickers, tenor (Florestan); Gottlob Frick, bass (Rocco); Ingeborg Hallstein, soprano (Marzelline); Walter Berry, bass (Don Pizarro)

EMI Classics #56211 / released 9-16-97 (recorded 1962, Kingsway Hall, London) / 2 disks, ADD

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Reviews:

The Record Shelf Guide to Classical CDs and Audiocassettes:
No one ever made a stronger case for Fidelio both as music and as musical theater than Otto Klemperer, whose legendary recording from the early 1960s features some of the noblest conducting ever captured on records. With a monumentality and scope that literally dwarfs the competition, the Klemperer Fidelio is also a gripping dramatic experience. Leonore's Abscheulicher!, Florestan's second act aria, the Dungeon Scene, and the exultant Finale, all crackle and pop with an immediate and vivid realism, beside which almost all other recorded performances seem flaccid and pale.

Simon Trezise for Classic CD:
Beautifully produced by Walter Legge in London's Kingsway Hall in 1962, Klemperer's recording of Beethoven's only opera is one of the few totally satisfying opera sets in existence. The elevated tone of the performance is magnificently adumbrated in the overture, and the great set pieces of both acts have never been more emotionally charged. Christa Ludwig sings Leonore with moving sincerity; Jon Vickers is the dark-toned Florestan.

Edith Eisler of Amazon.com:
(Amazon.com essential recording)
Under Klemperer, a maestro with roots in a great operatic tradition, this is a monumental, authoritative performance. From the very beginning of the Fidelio Overture, tempi are slow, deliberate, expansive: every note is important and vibrantly alive; every vocal and instrumental line stands out; there is time for poised changes and transitions. Chorus and orchestra are splendid; not only do all the soloists sing fabulously, but using all their vocal resources to bring out the character of words and music, they create real people and situations, mood and atmosphere. With a mostly German cast, even the spoken dialogue seems to aid rather than disrupt the drama. Berry is a wonderfully venomous villain, yet he sings every note accurately; Vickers, darkening his voice, makes Florestan more resigned than heroic, breathless in his ecstatic hallucination. Ludwig's voice is flawless over a huge range, warm yet gloriously radiant; she is an ideal Leonore in style, expression, and characterization. --Edith Eisler

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