On the surface it would seem that Die Kluge and Der Mond make ideal bed-fellows—both are allegorical fairy-tale operas using as their primary source tales collected by the brothers Grimm, both are scored for similar forces, and both fit neatly on to one CD each of a two-disc set. And yet I find it a strangely unsatisfying and uneven experience listening to these as a pair. The earlier of the two, Der Mond (''The moon''), is by far the most interesting, both musically and dramatically. Chronologically it follows hard on the heels of Carmina burana, and those who know and love that work will not be disappointed with what Der Mond has to offer: colour, energy, inventiveness and a liberal sprinkling of the same bawdy lasciviousness found in the earlier score—''we're going to drink and fornicate and booze and—if we can—commit adultery'' announce the four resurrected youths in the underworld scenes! The structure is musically pleasing, and the dramatic content has both pace and substance enough to fill out its 75 minute duration.
Die Kluge (''The wise woman'') on the other hand seems to me far too long for its rather paltry content, there's far too much sprech and not enough music, and the little there is pales in comparison to Carmina or Der Mond. It may be successful on stage, but heard on disc it becomes repetitive and tedious in the extreme (a problem confounded even more in both of these recordings, as once again we are denied English translations of the texts).
Sawallisch's recordings date from 1956 (Die Kluge) and 1957 (Der Mond), and have worn the test of time extremely well; so much so that I would still recommend these over the more recent 1973 recordings from Kurt Eichhorn, though I imagine in the final analysis it will be a matter of personal taste. There's more refinement and attention to detail with Sawallisch's performances, whereas Eichhorn's are more sharply focused as regards recording, with strongly projected rhythms, and with voices more forwardly placed (too much so at times). Sawallisch also scores over his rival with, to my mind, a better complement of soloists: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf gives a convincing portrayal of the peasant's daughter in Die Kluge with a beautifully pure non-operatic tone, and the Three Vagabonds give admirably characterful performances. Schwarzkopf's rival on the Eurodisc set is Lucia Popp, who is more noticeably operatic in approach and doesn't communicate quite the same sagaciousness or cunning as the former.
Eichhorn fares slightly better in Der Mond (though the recording still places the voices a little too close for comfort). I marginally prefer his line up for the Four Young Men whose ensemble singing is very fine indeed. Franz Crass's Old Man is stronger, too, than Hans Hotter's for Sawallisch, who has a tendency to wobble somewhat in the more dramatic moments, though it must be said that both achieve the right blend of Godlike retribution and joviality required of this part. Despite these reservations I would still recommend Sawallisch's performance for its fairy-tale atmosphere, its production qualities and his more authorative performance. If it's more of Carmina burana you want, then these operas are the next logical step in exploring Orff's music.'