Search - Giacomo Puccini, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Julia Varady :: Puccini - Der Mantel / Varady, Fischer-Dieskau, Bayerische Staatsoper, Sawallisch

When sung in German, Puccini's compact, cloak and dagger (all puns intended) thriller about lower-middle-class jealously emerges more like film noir than verismo. This live 1973 performance finds Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and his recent paramour (soon to be wife) Julia Varady in gripping form as the troubled protagonists. If Friedrich Lenz's dry, underpowered tenor undermines Luigi's despair and cravings in the aria and love duet, Hertha Töpper's "Frettchen" provides vocal heft along with the comic relief. There's a lot of stage noise, and the mono sound is decent but not outstanding. No texts included. --Jed Distler