Strauss: Daphne

Disc 1
1	Daphne, opera, Op. 82 (Tr
2	Daphne, opera, Op. 82 (Tr
3	Daphne, opera, Op. 82 (Tr
4	Daphne, opera, Op. 82 (Tr
5	Daphne, opera, Op. 82 (Tr
6	Daphne, opera, Op. 82 (Tr
7	Daphne, opera, Op. 82 (Tr
8	Daphne, opera, Op. 82 (Tr
9	Daphne, opera, Op. 82 (Tr
10	Daphne, opera, Op. 82 (Tr
11	Daphne, opera, Op. 82 (Tr
12	Daphne, opera, Op. 82 (Tr
13	Daphne, opera, Op. 82 (Tr
14	Daphne, opera, Op. 82 (Tr
15	Daphne, opera, Op. 82 (Tr
16	Daphne, opera, Op. 82 (Tr
Disc 2
1	Daphne, opera, Op. 82 (Tr
2	Daphne, opera, Op. 82 (Tr
3	Daphne, opera, Op. 82 (Tr
4	Daphne, opera, Op. 82 (Tr
Strauss: Daphne
1.	Daphne, opera, Op. 82 (TrV 272) 1:39:25
	Composed by Richard Strauss
	Performed by Johan Botha, Westdeutschen Rundfunk-Orchester, Cologne, Renée Fleming, Gregory Reinhart, Michael Schade, Eike Wilm Schulte, Kwangchul Youn, Anna Larsson, WDR Rundfunkchor Köln Damenchor, Cosmin Ifrim, Julia Kleiter, Twyla Robinson and Carsten Wittmoser
	Conducted by Semyon Bychkov

Barnes & Noble

Ever since Renée Fleming featured the gorgeous finale from Strauss' Daphne as one of the opera scenes on her 1997 Signatures album, hopes have been high that she might make a complete recording of this underrated "bucolic tragedy." Well, it's arrived at last, and not only does it fill a major gap in the Strauss discography -- the only other modern studio recording, starring the radiant Lucia Popp, is sadly out of print -- but it does so with immense style and eloquence, revealing Daphne as the most consistently lovely of Strauss' late operas. Portraying this "sex-shy nature-lover" (to quote one Strauss scholar's unforgettably apt description), Fleming gives one of the most lustrous performances of her career. Some critics have lamented that the soprano hasn't been given the chance to record a complete Rosenkavalier, but frankly, having her Daphne on disc is more valuable still: If anyone can bring this hauntingly lyrical gem into the mainstream repertoire at last, it's Fleming. From her long opening soliloquy, "O bleib, geliebter Tag," to the unforgettable "Transformation Scene" at the close, she soars through the difficult but glorious vocal writing of this role, one of Strauss' supreme love letters to the soprano voice. Like his early masterpieces Salome and Elektra this is a compact opera, a single act lasting 100 minutes; the concision adds to its impact, and Decca has wisely placed the final half hour alone on the second disc in this package, making it easy to revisit the score's most rapturous pages. Fleming's accomplishment aside, this is no one-woman show, and the other singers -- including Michael Schade and Johan Botha as Daphne's two suitors (one a shepherd, the other a god) and Anna Larsson in the rich contralto role of Daphne's, mother Gaea (a close vocal relation of Wagner's Erda) -- all contribute to the recording's total success. A feather in Fleming's cap and one of the finest opera recordings of 2005, this is indeed the Daphne we've been waiting for. Scott Paulin

All Music Guide

With Kim Novak's smile, Grace Kelly's style, and Ingrid Bergman's sensuality, Renée Fleming's recording of Richard Strauss' "Daphne" is a Hitchcock heroine made into music. His final hymn to love and death and transformation, Strauss' "Daphne" is another in a long line of radiantly virginal female leads who come to a bad end, in this case, being transformed into a singing tree by a jealous god. And, like Novak in Vertigo, Kelly in Rear Window, or Bergman in Notorious, Fleming is a stunning female lead, albeit one who does all her acting with her voice. But Fleming's is quite a voice: polished, passionate, and powerful, her acting is unbearably persuasive, and, through the combination, Fleming makes "Daphne" sound less like a pastoral maiden or a heavenly goddess than a full-bodied, hot-blooded woman and makes her story sound less like a silly Greek myth than like a love story gone tragically wrong. The remainder of the cast is more than serviceable, especially Johan Botha as the godly but foolish Apollo. The conducting by Semyon Bychkov is suitably dramatic and appropriately supportive, and the playing of the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln is colorful enough and strong enough, but perhaps for some, not lush enough. While older listeners might still prefer the aged Deutsche Grammophon recording with Hilde Gueden heading a stronger cast and Karl Böhm leading a lusher orchestra, listeners of any age will be captivated by Fleming's compelling performance. Decca's sound is as fine as the best it has ever given to an opera: bright, deep, rich, and warm. James Leonard

Gramophone

The most spacious yet immediate recording the work has yet enjoyed. In some ways the title role might have been written for Renée Fleming's succulent, expansive voice and she fills Strauss's taxing yet rewarding line with the glowing warmth it calls for, while at the same time paying more attention than has sometimes been the case to fashioning the text. Alan Blyth

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

[Grade: A] Fleming is the leading Straussian of our time, and to have her Daphne, recorded in her prime, is a treasure indeed. Her luscious voice spins Strauss' line effortlessly. Sarah Bryan Miller

Classic FM Magazine

Fleming has never sounded more luscious or seductive than she does here in the title role, and colours every one of her phrases with a freedom that is inventive but never mannered.... Ecstatic, exciting and exhilarating. Warwick Thompson

Fanfare

If you’re a Fleming fan, or need every note of Daphne, or want the most beautiful voices, or you want the up-to-date studio sonics, go with Decca. If you want a piece of history, some of the most memorable characterizations, or a true Strauss voice in the title role, get the DG [version of the opera]. I’m keeping both. Richard Kaplan