Peter Anders – Recital

Aldenhoff died at 51; even younger was Peter Anders (1908-54), born 17 days after him. In Wagner, Anders was more associated with Walther and Lohengrin, but his voice was growing stronger and heavier. Many recordings exist. Audite has assembled some Berlin RIAS relays from 1949 to 1951, offering opera, operetta and songs. The set's earliest examples of Anders are seven songs by Strauss from 1949, with pianist Günther Weissenborn. The first operetta excerpt is 'O Mädchen, mein Mädchen' from Lehar's Friederike, nicely sung but with an awkward, aspirated lift at 2'27" which nevertheless leads to a pleasing mezza voce. The darker colour employed in 'Sah' ein Knab', also from Friederike, has its own attractiveness. How full , warm and easily projected is his tone in six extracts from Kálmán's Gräfin Mariza, among them three soprano/tenor duets with, respectively, Brigitte Mira, not ideally steady, and the superior Anny Schlemm, vocally pristine at 21. Operatic composers are Smetana, Verdi and Giordano, the last recalled in three items from Andrea Chénier (1949), which find Anders powerful and ringing enough for his role. In the final duet he outclasses Martha Musial: not the smoothest soprano in Germany at the time. I should welcome a complete Bartered Bride with Anders, who sings three pieces here, for which he has just the right voice, whether in the Act 1 duet with Mařenka (the pleasurable Madlon Harder, new to me), the delightful one with Kecal (Fritz Hoppe) or in the lovely Act 2 aria, to which a hint of sadness is well introduced. Act 3 of La Traviata (complete) finds him responding at first enthusiastically then despairingly to the fate of Violetta: Elfride Trötschel on top form. Finally come five oddly chosen excerpts from Otello (too much chorus). Anders's death scene is among the most internal: one feels the mental torment. It is a splendid interpretation and a gripping end to this highly desirable compilation. Audite use original tapes from radio archives, with sound unlikely to be bettered elsewhere, though Otello is gritty occasionally.