Richard Strauss: Four Last Songs / Wagner: Arias from Tannhäuser

Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen is one of the opera world's most exciting prospects, and her debut album features two composers – Wagner and Richard Strauss – that are ideally suited to her lavish vocal gifts. In arias from 'Tannhäuser' and a selection of Strauss (including the valedictory Four Last Songs) she is accompanied by Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Philharmonia Orchestra.

Featuring

Esa-Pekka Salonen
Lise Davidsen
Zsolt-Tihamér Visontay
Philharmonia Orchestra
Richard Wagner
Richard Strauss

Did you know?

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Composer Biography

By 1946, Richard Strauss, Germany's most celebrated living composer, had witnessed the destruction of his country from within after the Second World War.

Composition History

Richard Strauss's Four Last Songs, along with Malven, were his last vocal works; he died in 1949 without hearing them performed.

Recording & Production

The album features Lise Davidsen, a soprano, who wrote her thesis on Strauss songs while studying at the Royal Danish Academy of Music.

Composition History

Richard Strauss wrote his Op. 27 set of four songs as a wedding gift for his wife, Pauline, who was a singer.

Compositional Technique

Richard Strauss's song 'Wiegenlied' (Lullaby) is described as an erotic song about the consummation of love, disguised as a lullaby.

Composer Biography

Richard Strauss's wife, Pauline, sang the role of Elisabeth in Wagner's Tannhäuser when Strauss conducted it at Bayreuth in 1894, weeks before their wedding.