By Ae66457
23-Dec-2010

Ultimate Operetta Album  

There is a vast repertoire of vintage operettas that is slowly disappearing beyond the collective memory of older listeners - and certainly completely unknown to younger listeners. These have melodies about Vienna and Love, amongst other themes, often sung in a foreign language, frequently German, (at least foreign for English speakers). And yet if the words are unknown, or the English translation in one's mind does not stretch beyond the first lines, the tunes themselves are often vaguely familiar, and invite our minds to relax to such lilting melodies. So this double album is a welcome addition to the collection, even if many collectors have some of the tracks scattered across other albums.

Some songs, like Vilja from The Merry Widow, appear more frequently elsewhere; the Die Fledermaus overture is a common track on many albums; and Andre Rieu often serves up White Horse Inn numbers; but other tracks like "Girls were made to love and kiss", sung in German, but with such melodious tunes, certainly ring with me (And yes, this reviewer is a male!).

So the contents here are a "hits" list of extracts from the operetta world, sung in their original language. It's a world of romance and fantasy; but we don't have to take the stories and words literally, and perhaps many times the exact wording escapes us anyway. It is surely the tunes, and a few snatches of lines in our memory, that we respond to. It's a world far removed from modern musicals, and we are seemingly invited back to a more romantic age. I rated this album 5 out of 5.
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