Search - Emmerich Kalman, Steven Byess, Ohio Light Opera Orchestra :: Kálmán: Autumn Maneuvers

Another Kalman Beauty from Ohio Light

02/17/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One wonders where the research staff from the Ohio Light Opera Company out in Wooster, Ohio, get their hands on the scores (much less the orchestral parts and lyric???) for so many delicious, little known and hard-to-find operettas, and then bring them so wonderfully to light. This is possibly their fourth or fifth CD discovery of a work by Imre Kalman, the Hungarian Turn of the Century (the last one) romantic contemporary of Strauss and Lehar whose works were created in German and then sometimes re-worked in English. This latest, Autumn Maneuvers, is recorded in a fine, heartfelt translation by the OLO general director, Stephen Daigle. The cast and performance is even stronger than Albany's recent Kalman release, Der Zigeunerprimas ("the gypsy virtuoso") from last year's Ohio season, and the story and central characters are more poignant as well.
Kalman's Middle European roots bring more pathos and bittersweet flavor to this idiom than, say, the frothier results of his Viennese contemporaries. There are some truly gorgeous moments here, sung wonderfully by Jacqueline Lengfelder whose soprano is reminiscent of the young Scotto or Ileana Cotrubas. The chorus and orchestra are excellent as well. Kuddos again to Albany Records for their customary courage in bringing us new material at a time when everyone else is heading for the hills."