Goldmark Die Königin von Saba

[Wheesht]

German reviews of the Freiburg production mention cuts in the first act, favourably, and in one it says that the complete recording on CPO (this time without cuts) will be something to look forward to, but it would appear that the reviewer was mistaken?

[Alan Howe]

Who knows? Anyway, as has been pointed out, the fine Hungaroton recording runs to 192+ mins. The cpo release surely can't be longer than 160 mins, so it looks as though a lot will be missing...

[Claude Torres]

The CD Gala GL100620 includes 3 CD
76:15 + 77:06 + 6:53 & 60:35 (of Bonus) = 220:49 = 160:14 (without bonus)

So it is possible the CPO set will contain only 2 CDs.

Claude

[Alan Howe]

It does contain only two CDs - see my link, above.

[BerlinExpat]

Apparently there are significant cuts; most severely in act 1 and the ballet is missing, as often is the case these days. I'll stay with Hungaroton!

[Alan Howe]

I'll buy the cpo set - I'm curious to hear the Thai tenor who sounds world-class on YouTube.

[Mark Thomas]

No, not for me. I don't need alternative recordings of the opera when the Hungaroton is so good unless this new set offers something exceptional, but instead it seems to be seriously flawed.

[Alan Howe]

I'm a sucker for good tenors. Can't wait to hear him in full cry...

[adriano]

So am I, Alan 

[Alan Howe]

I'll often go for a new operatic recording if the cast is good, even I've already got the opera. I've lost count of the number of Toscas I've got. For me it's all part of refreshing my interest in a work (as well as enjoying the sound of magnificent voices).

[Ebubu]

Yes !! I was looking forward to this recording, having attended 2 performances of the Freiburg show.  Nutthaporn Thammathi is indeed a revelation, especially considering his young age.  You'll also discover another wonderful young soprano, Irma Mihelic.  There might have been a few minor cuts, especially in the ballet, but I think it's otherwise pretty complete.

PS : The Youtube videos of Nutthaporn Thammathi still don't give the best idea of him.  After hearing him on the 1st night, I booked a ticket for a 2nd performance 2 days later (this time with Irma Mihelic, who was much better than her cover who sang on the 1st night), and a few months later, I made the trip to Budapest (from France) to hear him again at the Budapest Opera (still in the same role, which he had even improved from the Freiburg performances).

[Alan Howe]

Right! I'm going to order it!

[Alan Howe]

As it turns out - and my copy arrived from jpc this morning - it's on 3 CDs! And the timings are close to those on the Hungaroton recording, so I'm assuming it's complete.

Jpc now shows the correct number of CDs, by the way...

[Alan Howe]

The tenor's spectacularly good. He's a major new star. It's a great opera, by the way. To my mind it's the finest German-tradition grand opera of the second half of the nineteenth century beyond Wagner.

[Ebubu]

The tenor's spectacularly good. He's a major new star.

Yep, I'm glad you liked him.
He participated in the last Operalia contest, but didn't make it to the finals, being sick.
That is very unfortunate, since I know of some other singers half as talented as him who made it to the finals....