By JD88992
14-Feb-2011

The Good Old Stuff  

I have never been to the Morbisch Festival, but I have several recordings from this Mecca of operetta. Productions are apparently lavish and respectful, with full chorus and orchestra --as they were meant to be heard. While "Zarewitsch" doesn't have any of the "big" Lehar hits, the score is still attractive, and this hour-long disc has almost all of it... minus the pages of dialogue. There's no synopsis worth mentioning in the booklet, and no texts, but the plot is something like "The Student Prince."

Soprano Alexandra Reinprecht is perfectly acceptable, though a bit lacking in personality; Tiberius Simu, the tenor lead, comes across much better. The secondary couple are well cast, and if the festival director (in a small role) can't sing anymore, he doesn't do any harm. Some of the up-tempo music is a tad rushed, and the chorus often seems rather far away, but overall the sound is very good.
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