Another installment from SWR's comprehensive series of Fritz Wunderlich recordings. A celebrated, must-hear voice. Unique compilation of operetta arias.

One of Fritz Wunderlich’s (1930–1966) most fascinating qualities was his incredible range of musical skills. He was probably Germany’s greatest tenor who could perform virtually anything in the repertoire for high male voice – from Schlager music to arias from J. S. Bach's Passions; from Mozart to music of the 20th century; from the greatest tenor hits of all times to unknown gems. His musicality and his seriousness as an artist turned everything he sang into something extraordinary.

The same can be said for his performances of operettas, lighter versions of grander opera. Operetta certainly enjoyed a heyday, and even today it still has its fans. Operettas have a high standard as far as the quality of entertainment is concerned, enjoying a higher standard than some opera seria of the Baroque period that were generally composed in a formulaic manner.

Operetta had its “Golden Age” in the second half of the 19th century, in Paris, where the Franco-German composer Jacques Offenbach (1819–1880) established “modern” operetta and took it to extremes in quite an intellectually stimulating and witty manner. Johann Strauss II (1825–1899) naturally became the king of operetta in Vienna.

Vienna's glorious “Golden Age” was followed by the “Silver Age”, which proved every bit as splendid. The period between 1900 and c. 1920 is mostly referred to as the “Silver Age” because numerous theatres were converted into operetta houses, or completely new premises were built for the purpose. Operetta composers of this era include Franz Lehár (1870–1948), Leo Fall (1873–1925), Emmerich Kálmán (1882–1953), Robert Stolz (1880–1975) and, more or less as head of the “German branch”, Jean Gilbert (1879–1942), whose real name was Max Winterfeld. You will repeatedly find all these names on this double-CD.

Whilst scaling the dizzy heights of opera, Fritz Wunderlich always found the time and motivation to sing operetta. He also held one of the leading lights of opera and operetta in the highest esteem: Richard Tauber (1891–1948), who once set the standard for both melodious, mellifluous and morose tenor parts in both Mozart operas and Lehár operettas, before he was driven into exile in London by the Nazis.

This double-CD features recordings produced in the studio Kaiserslautern prior to November 1965. Although in the early days of his career Wunderlich's vocal skills had not yet been fully developed, his unique qualities are heard here at their best – the distinctive voice with the silver core and the golden gleam.