Strauss Heroines (Capriccio, Arabella, Der Rosenkavalier)

" This is a happily chosen Strauss showcase for Fleming, issued here suitably enough to coincide with the soprano's appearance as the Marschallin at Covent Garden. Fleming's creamy, full-toned, vibrant voice is about the ideal instrument not only for the Marschallin but also for the other parts she attempts here. She has mastered at once the phraseology and verbal inflexions needed for all three roles, and imparts to them a quick intelligence to second the vocal glories. Sometimes her performance as the Marschallin or Countess Madeleine recall, almost uncannily, those of Schwarzkopf, leaving one in no doubt that she has studied the readings of her distinguished predecessor. If Schwarzkopf with a slightly slimmer tone has the finer line and quicker responses, her successor provides the richer tone. Fleming need fear no comparisons with more recent interpreters such as Te Kanawa, Tomowa-Sintow and, as Madeleine only, Janowitz. Indeed, Fleming's account of the closing scene of Capriccio is just about ideal, and it's good to hear the veteran Walter Berry as the Haushofmeister.

In the Act 1 duets from Rosenkavalier, Graham makes an ardent suitor, but her timbre is so similar to Fleming's that it's hard to tell them apart, though she is not as verbally acute as her partner. Bonney joins them for a finely balanced account of the famous trio. In the Act 1 duet from Arabella, Bonney and Fleming engage nicely on the subject of the right man. My only serious reservation concerns Eschenbach, whose tempos, especially in the Rosenkavalier Act 3 extracts, are stodgy. He makes even the Vienna Philharmonic sound, at times, earthbound, though most of the individual playing reaches the standard expected, especially the horn in Capriccio. The recording has the singers properly front-stage. I hope this disc will not preclude Decca - self-styled the 'Opera Company' - from giving us a couple of complete Strauss operas with Fleming. Die Liebe der Danae (with Terfel as Jupiter?) would be ideal for starters."
Gramophone Magazine March 2000