The latest of the Chandos series of Strauss recordings made by the Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Neeme Jarvi, with Felicity Lott as soprano soloist, concentrates on three operatic extracts, although only one involves the voice—a suite from Capriccio. The opening Sextet, elegantly performed, is followed by the so-called 'Moonlight Music' which precedes the Countess's final entry and her long monologue when she tries to decide between poet and musician words and music.
Felicity Lott has enchanted Glyndebourne audiences in this role (and will do again in the summer) and it is good to have a recording of her in music for which she has such a strong lyrical feeling. One day, surely, someone will choose her for a much-needed new complete recording of this wonderful opera, when I hope it will be conducted with more sensitivity to its subtle fluctuations of tempo than Jarvi shows here. Nor does the SNO sound as closely acquainted with the score as it does with the other two works on the disc. Nevertheless Lott's heartfelt singing, her total identification with the Countess's dilemma and her meaningful delivery of every note and every word of the text make this a red-letter issue for lovers of Strauss's last opera. Just listen to her phrasing and delivery of ''Du Spiegelbild der verliebten Madeleine'' to know what makes her Strauss singing so special.
The disc begins with the 1945 Rosenkavalier Suite (not Strauss's own compilation) which Jarvi succeeds in making less of a hotch-potch than it usually sounds. Even so, his lugubrious tempo for the famous Act 3 Trio is not to be encouraged—if he conducted it at this pace in the opera-house, what is already a long opera would last until the early hours! Then there is Salome's Dance, the best performance on the disc, exciting, colourful and with no suggestion that this is music for which one should apologize. The recording quality is excellent, allowing for the somewhat resonant acoustic of the Caird Hall, Dundee.'