The finest opera singers are entertainers at heart, and tenor Jonas Kaufmann is among the cream of the crop. Witness his ease and stylish manner with this charming album of Viennese classics, written during the heyday of the Austrian capital’s 19th-century light opera craze. His performances are perfection itself, his honeyed voice ravishing, and the orchestral accompaniment, courtesy of the Vienna Philharmonic, is a delight. After all, this is an ensemble with the music of light opera composers Johann Strauss, Franz Lehár and more flowing through its veins. From the nostalgic, waltzing lilt of Johann Strauss’ “Wiener Blut, Wiener Blut” (also featuring soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen) to the final track, Georg Kreisler’s louche “Der Tod, das muss ein Wiener sein”, here’s musical confectionery at its best.
Wien, Du Stadt meiner Träume (Wien, Wien, nur du allein)
Wiener Blut, Wiener Blut (From "Wienerblut")
Ach, wie so herrlich zu schaun (From "Eine Nacht in Venedig")
Dieser Anstand, so manierlich (From "Die Fledermaus")
Strauss II: Draussen in Sievering blüht schon der Flieder (From "Die Tänzerin Fanny Elssler")
Draussen in Sievering blüht schon der Flieder (From "Die Tänzerin Fanny Elssler")
Sei mir gegrüsst, Du holdes Venezia (From "Eine Nacht in Venedig")
Lehár: Lippen schweigen (From "Die lustige Witwe")
Lippen schweigen (From "Die lustige Witwe")
E. Kálmán: Zwei Märchenaugen (From "Die Zirkusprinzessin")
Schenkt man sich Rosen in Tirol (From "Der Vogelhändler)
Weinberger: Du wärst für mich die Frau gewesen (From "Frühlingstürme")
Du wärst für mich die Frau gewesen (From "Frühlingstürme")
Peter Herz: In einem kleinen Café in Hernals
Kreuder: Sag beim Abschied leise "Servus"
G. Kreisler: Der Tod, das muss ein Wiener sein