FRANZ LEHÁR (1870-1948): Friederike.

Description: Lehár's penultimate stage work is a singpiel with the poet Goethe and his love for the parson's daughter Friederike as its subject. It premiered in 1928 with Tauber as Goethe (paid an extravagant amount for the period) and was a wild success with the public while sustaining abuse from critics scandalized at the "trivialization" of their great national poet. Those interested in music in the Third Reich will find that Hitler refused permission for its performance (even though Die lustige Witwe was his favorite operetta), that Lehár tried personally to get Goebbels to OK a production, not long after which one of Friederike's librettists was being murdered in Auschwitz. 2 CDs. Kristiane Keiser, Sylvia Schwartz (sopranos), Klaus Florian Vogt, Daniel Behle (tenors), Bavarian Radio Chorus, Munich Radio Orchestra; Ulf Schirmer.