Capriccio is somewhat unique in the opera repertoire. this “conversation piece for music in one act” was written in 1942 during Strauss' later years and concerns an intellectual discussion at a soiree about whether words or music are the most important in opera, thus an opera itself.
Strauss himself feared that the public at large would not know how to take this “treat for cultural connoisseurs” – but he was wrong. His theatrical “thatrical fugue” was to become one of the most frequently performed of his late works. This production provides a wonderful showcase for the inimitable Kiri Te Kanawa, a Strauss specialist, who sparkles her way through the role of the humoured and charming contess torn between two suitors.
- Soloists: Hakan Hagegard, Kiri Te Kanawa, Tatiana Troyanos
- Orchestra, Chorus: Orchestra of the San Francisco Opera House
- Conductor: Donald Runnicles
- Director: Stephen Lawless
Regions 2, 5
Sound Format: PCM Stereo (CD quality)
Review
“This is the exquisitely cast San Francisco production by Stephen Lawless which has Kiri Te Kanawa on top of her form as the Countess who has to decide whether words are more important in opera than the music. Based, by conductor Clemens Krauss, on a libretto previously set by Salieri, the intellectual dilemma is turned into the very real choice the Countess faces between the poet (Simon Keenlyside) and the composer (David Kuebler).[…] Delightful.” Richard Fawkes, Opera Now, Januar/Februar 2005