Comparisons linked to quandaries have affected my listening and choices among the new issues and their predecessors. The version in English on Avie comes up against the recent reissue of the Mario Bernardi/ Sadler’s Wells version of some 50 years ago. Then Naxos’s cheap reissue of the famous Karajan set comes into competition with EMI’s reissue in the glamourously presented Great Recordings of the Century series.

Of the two versions in the vernacular, the live Milwaukee set, well-recorded in November 2003, benefits from lively playing from the local symphony orchestra under Andreas Delfs, a German conductor resident there. He obviously loves the score and lets us share most of his enjoyment. It is just a pity he didn’t have better singers to hand. Heidi Grant Murphy sounds not the least childlike as Gretel, her tone over-vibrant and edgy. Susanne Mentzer, an accomplished Mozartian, sings buoyantly but her voice sounds a shade mature for Hansel. There’s no magic or wonder in their performances, particularly when set beside Margaret Neville and Patricia Kern on the Sadler’s Wells version, and the American accents and translation jar a little on British ears.

Judith Forst is a lively Witch but never rivals Ann Howard’s menace or her relish for the text. Father and Mother are well taken but Raimund Herincx and Rita Hunter are even better on EMI. In addition, I find it hard to catch the words on the new recording; much more can be understood on its rival. Add Bernardi’s loving and pointed direction and there’s no contest.

Pleasing as it is to hear the work in English, it is far better to encounter it in the original. The Karajan version remains a lasting joy, and it is good to have it on Naxos at super-budget price. You lose the Great Recordings lavish booklet with text and translation, rather important in this piece, plus Richard Osborne’s well-informed notes. Excellent as Mark Obert-Thorn’s LP transfers are, they yield to Paul Baily’s well-ventilated sound from original tapes on EMI.

Naxos, however, has some important bonuses up its sleeve. These include several treasured items from the shellac era, including Supervia and partner in the opening duets, quite unmistakable in timbre, and Elisabeth Schumann duetting with herself in the Evening Prayer (the first example of that trick on disc?), plus her singing – unforgettably – the Sandman and Dew Fairy. You pays your money…

For all the merits of this classic set, stereo does materially add to one’s enjoyment, as I found when replaying the beautifully balanced Solti version with Lucia Popp and Brigitte Fassbaender, my own favourite Gretel and Hansel; Solti is in unusually relaxed form. EMI’s remake with Bavarian forces under Jeffrey Tate in 1989 benefited from lessons learnt from Karajan’s magical atmosphere. Barbara Bonney and Anne Sofie von Otter lead an exemplary cast.

One thing is sure – no collection should be without this inspired and endearing work. In mine I would not like to be without Karajan, in one form or another, Solti and, in English, Bernardi.