Beethoven: Fidelio.

[] Nilsson, Wenglor; Hopf, Unger, Schoffler, Frick, Braun, Witsch, Koller; Orchestra and Chorus of Radio Cologne, E. Kleiber. No text. Opera d'Oro OPD-1322 (2) (Allegro, dist.)

In many ways this is--or could be--a glorious recording. Erich Kleiber, father of the quirky and often inspired Carlos, was a great conductor. He knew the value of breadth and passion, savored the advantages of clarity and precision, invariably avoided sentimental excess. He understood that pathos in opera was a cumulative challenge. This much-celebrated radio performance took place in Cologne on January 1, 1956, just twenty-six days before his untimely death at sixty-five. Consider it a valedictory.

The cast is splendid. Birgit Nilsson was thirty-eight when she sang this Leonore. Her international career was just beginning, and her Met debut still lay three years in the future. She sings here with astonishing freshness and purity, her silvery tone unfazed either by the high tessitura or by Beethoven's unreasonable demands for agility. She was never a supreme singing-actress, but her expressive focus here is touching, simple and direct. Hans Hopf may have been a controversial heldentenor in his day, and his sometimes beefy tone may not be to everyone's taste. Still, his ...