Gundula Janowitz - A Portrait
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, Carl Maria von Weber, Richard Wagner
Label: Double
Magazine Review Date: 12/1995
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 152
Mastering:
ADD
Catalogue Number: 447 352-2GDB2
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Ah, lo previdi...Ah, t'invola |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Gundula Janowitz, Soprano Vienna Symphony Orchestra Wilfried Boettcher, Conductor Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer |
| A questo seno ... Or che il cielo a me ti rende |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Gundula Janowitz, Soprano Vienna Symphony Orchestra Wilfried Boettcher, Conductor Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer |
| Alma grande e nobil core |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Gundula Janowitz, Soprano Vienna Symphony Orchestra Wilfried Boettcher, Conductor Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer |
| Vado, ma dove? oh Dei! |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Gundula Janowitz, Soprano Vienna Symphony Orchestra Wilfried Boettcher, Conductor Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer |
| Bella mia fiamma ... Resta, o cara |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Gundula Janowitz, Soprano Vienna Symphony Orchestra Wilfried Boettcher, Conductor Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer |
| Misera! dove son...Ah! non son io |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Gundula Janowitz, Soprano Vienna Symphony Orchestra Wilfried Boettcher, Conductor Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer |
| Tannhäuser, Movement: Dich teure Halle (Elisabeth's Greeting) |
Richard Wagner, Composer
Berlin Deutsche Oper Orchestra Ferdinand Leitner, Conductor Gundula Janowitz, Soprano Richard Wagner, Composer |
| Tannhäuser, Movement: Allmächt'ge Jungfrau (Elisabeth's Prayer) |
Richard Wagner, Composer
Berlin Deutsche Oper Orchestra Ferdinand Leitner, Conductor Gundula Janowitz, Soprano Richard Wagner, Composer |
| Lohengrin, Movement: Einsam in trüben Tagen (Elsa's Dream) |
Richard Wagner, Composer
Berlin Deutsche Oper Orchestra Ferdinand Leitner, Conductor Gundula Janowitz, Soprano Richard Wagner, Composer |
| Lohengrin, Movement: Euch Lüften, die mein Klagen |
Richard Wagner, Composer
Berlin Deutsche Oper Orchestra Ferdinand Leitner, Conductor Gundula Janowitz, Soprano Richard Wagner, Composer |
| Rienzi, Movement: Gerechter Gott...In seiner Blüthe |
Richard Wagner, Composer
Berlin Deutsche Oper Orchestra Ferdinand Leitner, Conductor Gundula Janowitz, Soprano Richard Wagner, Composer |
| (Der) Freischütz, Movement: ~ |
Carl Maria von Weber, Composer
Berlin Deutsche Oper Orchestra Carl Maria von Weber, Composer Ferdinand Leitner, Conductor Gundula Janowitz, Soprano |
| (Der) Freischütz, Movement: Und ob die Wolke |
Carl Maria von Weber, Composer
Berlin Deutsche Oper Orchestra Carl Maria von Weber, Composer Ferdinand Leitner, Conductor Gundula Janowitz, Soprano |
| Oberon, Movement: Ozean, du Ungeheuer! |
Carl Maria von Weber, Composer
Berlin Deutsche Oper Orchestra Carl Maria von Weber, Composer Ferdinand Leitner, Conductor Gundula Janowitz, Soprano |
| Oberon, Movement: Traure, mein Herz |
Carl Maria von Weber, Composer
Berlin Deutsche Oper Orchestra Carl Maria von Weber, Composer Ferdinand Leitner, Conductor Gundula Janowitz, Soprano |
| Suleika I |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Franz Schubert, Composer Gundula Janowitz, Soprano Irwin Gage, Piano |
| Suleika II |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Franz Schubert, Composer Gundula Janowitz, Soprano Irwin Gage, Piano |
| Du bist die Ruh |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Franz Schubert, Composer Gundula Janowitz, Soprano Irwin Gage, Piano |
| Schwestergruss |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Franz Schubert, Composer Gundula Janowitz, Soprano Irwin Gage, Piano |
| (Die) Forelle |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Franz Schubert, Composer Gundula Janowitz, Soprano Irwin Gage, Piano |
| Jäger, ruhe von der Jagd, 'Ellens Gesang II' |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Franz Schubert, Composer Gundula Janowitz, Soprano Irwin Gage, Piano |
| Raste Krieger!, Krieg ist uns, 'Ellens Gesang I' |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Franz Schubert, Composer Gundula Janowitz, Soprano Irwin Gage, Piano |
| Ave Maria, 'Ellens Gesang III' |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Franz Schubert, Composer Gundula Janowitz, Soprano Irwin Gage, Piano |
Author:
Despite the title, there is no portrait of Janowitz on the front of this set. Instead, two angels rise aloft, one for opera and one for song perhaps, as the programme is divided between them. Then again, maybe the angels were an appropriate choice, when the singing is so shiningly pure in tone, free from blemish of any kind. (The idiosyncratic top notes, which sound as if the voice is being pushed down a thin tube, I hear as an attractive personal feature rather than a technical fault.) In each of the six Mozart concert arias Janowitz sings with exemplary poise and just enough variety of colour to give the performances some character. A sensitive, lamenting tone in the voice immediately sets the mood in Bella mia fiamma, contrasting with the tragic quality of Vado, ma dove?. It helps that Wilfried Boettcher gives her more bright-eyed accompaniments than one might have expected in 1967.
The extracts from German romantic operas are marginally less successful, because the Orchestra of the Deutsche Staatsoper under Ferdinand Leitner play so untidily. Nevertheless, Janowitz herself is in just as fine voice and the arias were well chosen to show her at her best. Her Elsa in Lohengrin is angelic innocence personified; while as Agathe, she sings ''Und ob die Wolke'' with truly winning beauty. The extract from Rienzi is also worthwhile, even if it tests the upper limit of her dramatic capabilities. Unfortunately, the remainder of the set duplicates songs from the recent two-disc issue of Schubert Lieder (DG, 1/95), which admirers of Janowitz's art will already have acquired. Nor are there any texts or translations, only a contents list in French (''Du bist die Ruh'' becomes ''Tu es le repos''). Evidently the angels were not on watch when the French arm of DG put this collection together.'
The extracts from German romantic operas are marginally less successful, because the Orchestra of the Deutsche Staatsoper under Ferdinand Leitner play so untidily. Nevertheless, Janowitz herself is in just as fine voice and the arias were well chosen to show her at her best. Her Elsa in Lohengrin is angelic innocence personified; while as Agathe, she sings ''Und ob die Wolke'' with truly winning beauty. The extract from Rienzi is also worthwhile, even if it tests the upper limit of her dramatic capabilities. Unfortunately, the remainder of the set duplicates songs from the recent two-disc issue of Schubert Lieder (DG, 1/95), which admirers of Janowitz's art will already have acquired. Nor are there any texts or translations, only a contents list in French (''Du bist die Ruh'' becomes ''Tu es le repos''). Evidently the angels were not on watch when the French arm of DG put this collection together.'
Gundula Janowitz - A Portrait
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