He was one of the greatest tenors of the 20th century. At age 35 he tragically lost his life. Fritz Wunderlich is still regarded as one of the most gifted opera singers ever immortalized in the studio. 50 years ago, Electrola (EMI Köln) recorded opera highlights in stereo of eight different operas sung in German by the tenor and some of the greatest artists on stage at the time including Pilar Lorengar, Hermann Prey, Anneliese Rothenberger, Gottlob Frick and Elisabeth Grümmer. Now remastered, these recorded treasures have been resurrected in this new seven-CD collector's edition box set. Some of the music sounds a bit strange in a language other than the original Italian or Russian, but the quality of the singing by all the artists is unmistakably superb. As a recording artist for Deutsche Grammophon, Fritz Wunderlich has a bulk of his back-catalog on that label so this EMI release is a real treasure. "We stood there in the studio and got there more and more carried away, as if we were on stage." (Pilar Lorengar in an interview with Thomas Voigt, 1991)
Listen to two excerpts (auf Deutsche) from Madama Butterfly with Pilar Lorengar, Hermann Prey and Fritz Wunderlich:
Complete track listing is after the jump.
Fritz Wunderlich: The Complete Electrola Opera Highlights 1960-1963
CD 1: Puccini: Madame Butterfly
Pilar Lorengar, Sieglinde Wagner, Hermann Prey
Berliner Symphoniker, Berislav Klobucar
CD 2: Puccini: La Bohème
Anneliese Rothenberger, Gottlob Frick
Berliner Symphoniker, Berislav Klobucar
CD 3: Mozart: Don Giovanni
Hermann Prey, Elisabeth Grümmer, Erika Köth
Berliner Symphoniker, Hans Zanotelli
CD 4: Thomas: Mignon
Pilar Lorengar, Gottlob Frick
Berliner Symphoniker, Berislav Klobucar
CD 5: Flotow: Martha
Anneliese Rothenberger, Gottlob Frick
Berliner Symphoniker, Beruslav Klobucar
CD 6: Lortzing: Zar und Zimmermann
Marcel Cordes, Gottlob Frick
Berliner Symphoniker, Berislav Klobucar
CD 7: Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin & Pique Dame
Melitta Muszely, Hermann Prey, Gottlob Frick
Berliner Philharmoniker,Wilhelm Schüchter,
Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Meinhard von Zallinger
