The Launy Grøndahl Legacy, Vol. 6

Featuring

Uno Ebrelius
Kirsten Hermansen
Ellen Margrethe Edlers
Mogens Wedel
Niels Møller
Volmer Holbøl

Valborg Garde
Dagmar Skov
Ernst Hye-Knudsen
Launy Grøndahl
Else Brems
Margherita Flore
Thyge Thygesen
Tenna Kraft
Holger Byrding
DR Koncertkoret
DR SymfoniOrkestret
Friedrich Kuhlau
George Frideric Handel
Christoph Willibald Gluck
Ebbe Hamerik
Peter Arnold Heise

Did you know?

1/6

Composer Biography

Friedrich Kuhlau, a German composer, fled to Copenhagen in 1810 to escape Napoleon's troops and became a court musician in the Royal Chapel.

Recording & Production

This recording is a remastered version of a live broadcast performance from May 15, 1956, which was the last Danish opera performance under conductor Launy Grøndahl before his retirement.

Interpretation

This radio adaptation of "Lulu" by Torben Krogh is abridged, reducing the opera's running time from over three hours to under 100 minutes, and includes a narrator to explain the story.

Cultural Impact

Several numbers from Kuhlau's "Lulu" became popular hits, including Barca's drinking song, which was appropriated for vaudeville comedies.

Composition History

Friedrich Kuhlau's opera "Lulu" is based on the same fairy tale by Christoph Martin Wieland as Mozart's "The Magic Flute."

Critical Reception

Despite an attempt to boo it down at its second performance, Kuhlau's "Lulu" was a success and played to full houses for 14 years after its 1824 premiere.