There are several glorious things about this 1978 performance. Frederica von Stade’s Hansel is just about perfect, bettering even Elisabeth Grümmer’s (on EMI). She’s in her absolute vocal prime and her voice is just the right boyish, youthful, energetic type. She really becomes Hansel–she has a kid’s style down pat. Siegmund Nimsgern’s Peter is delightful, and for once his opening song does not seem overlong. Kiri Te Kanawa, in glorious voice, is luxury casting as the Sandman, and Ruth Welting’s Dew Fairy is supremely wispy in all the best ways. There might be some argument over Elisabeth Söderstrom’s Witch–the voice certainly does not have the requisite power or menace–but on disc you can appreciate how she wheedles and charms the kids almost literally to death, and her hypocrisy is audible to the rest of us. It’s a delightful and colorful if unorthodox reading.
The two real problems with the cast are the Gretel of Ileana Cotrubas, a lovely artist who simply can’t sound any younger than Gertrude without squeaking (and here she ought to), and the Mother (Gertrude) of Christa Ludwig (seven years before she recorded the role of the Witch for Eurodisc, later RCA, and it’s still the standard), which sounds strained, both vocally and as a characterization. John Pritchard leads well, but this opera deserves better: listen to Jeffrey Tate or Karajan on EMI.
