Strauss: Daphne op. 82 Wiener Festwochen production, directed by Rudolf Hartmann, rec. live at the Theater an der Wien, Vienna, during rehearsals on 1964-05-21 - 1964-05-22 and at the two first performancnes 1964-05-23 - 1964-05-24.

• Cast: Fritz Wunderlich (Leukippos), James King (Apollo), Hilde Güden (Daphne), Paul Schöffler (Peneios), Vera Little (Gaea), Hans Braun, Kurt Equiluz, Harald Pröglhöf, Ludwig Welter (Schäfer), Rita Streich, Erika Mechera (Mägde), Chor der Wiener Staatsoper (Chorus Master: Norbert Scherlich), Wiener Symphoniker, cond. Karl Böhm

• Grand Prix du Disque, Paris
• "Express", 1964-05-25: "The lyrical Fritz Wunderlich is a passionate, noble lover Leukippos."
• Michael Kennedy in "Gramophone", 10/1988: "Böhm's Daphne recording, made at a festival performance in Vienna in 1964, is another Strauss classic and here, in the opera dedicated to him and of which he conducted the first performance in 1938, he is peerless. The EMI/Haitink of a few years ago (nla) came nowhere near it, even though Bohm makes some irritating cuts. Yes, there are the inaccuracies inseparable from live recording, balance is not as it would be (or should be) in the studio, and there are stage noises but what a performance, that's what counts, and it sounds much better on CD than on the LPs many of us have treasured for years.
  This is Strauss's most lyrical opera and occupies a special place in the affections of his admirers. Bohm's unfolding of the marvellous orchestral score, from that first oboe melody to its final metamorphosis, is the work of a master-interpreter - one has only to hear his majestic phrasing of the cellos' Peneios melody (full score, page 90) to recognize that. Hilde Güden's Daphne is a lovely performance, sung with an engaging innocence, as befits this mysterious heroine, but also with the soaring richness that the part requires in its most dramatic passages, such as the duet with Apollo, sung by James King with power and conviction. He has never possessed a voice notable for its tonal beauty, but he is really rather impressive here.
  For tonal beauty, however, there is Wunderlich as Leukippos, making something exceptionally expressive out of every phrase. Schoffler's Peneois must have been better a few years earlier, but it has a noble dignity one would be hard-pressed to equal today, and Vera Little copes well with all but the lowest notes of the Erda-like part of Gaea.
• "The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and Cassettes": "On record, this amiable telling of the story of nymph Daphne wooed by Apollo and finally turned into a tree makes delightful entertainment. The DG set is a live recording, made during the 1964 Vienna Festival, and it proves an enticing account. It could hardly be better cast, with the tenors James King as Apollo and Fritz Wunderlich as Leukippos both magnificent. Hilde Gueden makes a delectable Daphne and gives one of her finest performances on record, while Karl Böhm, the opera's dedicatee, brings out the work's mellowness without any loss of vitality. The DG documentation includes a full translation." [on DG 423 579-2]
• Alan Blyth in "Gramophone", 11/1994: "The Daphne stems from a live 1964 Vienna Festival performance. I find this the least involving of Strauss's later operas, although it contains some typically beautiful writing for the soprano voice in the title-part. Here it is sung by Gueden, in the third of recommendable assumptions on this issue but she isn't quite a match for Reining, Daphne at the Vienna premiere in 1942. King copes with most of the inordinate demands of Apollo's part, even greater than those of Bacchus, and Wunderlich is again in pristine form, here as Leukippos."
• Nigel Douglas in "Legendary Voices" (see Bibliography): "Wunderlich's ardour is admirably matched by the radiance of Hilde Güden in the title-role, and the refulgent Apollo of the young James King; and as the opera is conducted by its dedicatee, Karl Böhm, Strauss devotees could scarcely ask for anything more."
• Richard Wigmore in "Gramophone", 02/1999: "His Leukippos in Böhm's Daphne, recorded live in Vienna in 1964, achieves the near-impossible in distilling fervent lyricism from Strauss's sadistically taxing lines."
• John F. Schultz, 2000: "This is a wonderful, wonderful recording where Wunderlich sounds like gold, and Güden and King sound like Platinum. This is a treasured part of my collection." [comment submitted to this website]
• Gerald Lindner, 2001: "One of my favourite recordings. You won't get a similarly perfect team of singers for any performance today, let alone such a difficult opera like Daphne. You won't even get a better matching team of opera singers for a studio recording. I prefer Gueden to Maria Reining because of her even richer vocal beauty. And Wunderlich's utterly moving portrayal of Leukippos makes me feel: if he still lived today, he might well be one of 'the four tenors' - possibly with a bit more taste in choosing his repertoire. If you ever buy a recording of Daphne, take this one. (And I really like Lucia Popp in the Munich recording - but times have changed since 1964.)" [comment submitted to this website]

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	DG 423 579-2 (2 CD)
	DG 445-322-2GX2 ("Strauss Opera Edition", 2 CD)
	DG 445 491-2GX21 (as a part of "Strauss Opera Edition", 21 CD)
	DG 18 956/57 (mono, 2 LP)
	DG 138 956/57 (stereo, 2 LP)
	DG 2707 019 (2 LP)
	DG 2721 125 (2 LP)
	DG 2721 190 (2 LP)
	DG 3372 090 PRIVILEGE (2 MC)

Fritz Wunderlich Discography