Search - Suppe, Bartz, Erdmann :: Pique Dame

Early Von Suppe, but just as great!

Brett Farrell | Cape May, NJ USA | 03/01/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Like all of Franz Von Suppes pieces (at least in my opinion) this is an intensely entertaining piece. From the to be expected wonderful overture, to the delightful numbers that follow, this will become a very popular piece to listen to once you own it. It is addictivly great. You do not need to be a Von Suppe fan to appreciate this work, but in truth, to listen to any of his works will make you a fan.

this is one of Von Suppes earliest works and the earliest to be recorded and I am surprised that it has taken this long. It is an equal to anything I've heard of his to date. The only thing I can hope for now is that the recordings keep coming. As has been proven by the few recorded operetta's out there by Von Suppe (Boccaccio, Fatinizta, and Die Schone Galathee) and now Pique Dame, Von Suppe is a very talented and consistent composer. As you listen to Pique Dame you can even hear snippets that Von Suppe would use later.

Von Suppe is the first to start the golden age of Vienesse operetta but unlike J. Strauss jr. who would take the baton (and share it with Carl Millocker) his works have a more martial sound and no waltzes. But prior to Von Suppe, Vienna was mostly importing Offenbach works. Offenbach's influence is felt in all of Von Suppes works but he always mantains his own unique style though.

This charming piece is sung and performed brilliantly. It is recorded with out the dialogue but comes with a complete book (libretto in german and english as well synopsis and history) as one can expect with CPO. I recommend this to any fan of addictive operetta."