RICHARD STRAUSS: “ARIADNE AUF NAXOS,” with Jessye...

RICHARD STRAUSS: “ARIADNE AUF NAXOS,” with Jessye Norman, Edita Gruberova, Julia Varady, Paul Frey, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Olaf Bar, Kurt Masur conducting the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester. Philips 422 084-2. There have been numerous “Ariadne” recordings since Walter Legge documented the definitive Karajan-Schwarzkopf-Streich-Seefried version for a lucky posterity 30 years ago. The latest pretender, nominally a product of Leipzig, can boast such advantages as Norman’s lush if unwieldy soprano in the title role, Gruberova’s mercurial, surprisingly substantial Zerbinetta and Varady’s impassioned if short-breathed Composer. Paul Frey, Bayreuth’s Canadian Lohengrin, sings brightly as Bacchus, though he is neither the lyric nor dramatic paragon unreasonably desired. Masur conducts with a solid sense of enlightened routine. It is all very nice--a better performance, in fact, than the recent, overpraised DGG entry. Still, it can compete with the old Angel model (splendidly reissued on CD) only in terms of modern sonics.