The amazing soprano Lucia Popp largely owes her success to her unforgettable roles in the grand German Romantic repertoire by Richard Strauus & Richard Wagner. She was also known to be a brilliant performer of lighter lyrical works, with which such composers as Franz Lehár, Johann Strauss or Carl Zeller triumphed at the Theater an der Wien or the Wiener Staatsoper, ultimately entertaining the Austrian high society to a great degree. This exquisite collection of Viennese bonbons is accompanied by Sir Neville Marriner, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, with the Ambrosian Opera Chorus featured in choral excerpts from The Merry Widow, Giuditta or Casanova.

In the early 1950s Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau began what would become a long and distinguished career as one of his generation’s foremost Bach interpreters. By 1981, when he and his wife Julia Varady made this recording for Philips, his declining vocal abilities apparently didn’t prevent him from continuing to deliver the kind of infectious, exuberant performances that established that reputation and endeared him to so many listeners.

The Academy of St Martin in the Fields was founded in 1959 by Sir Neville Marriner and a group of London’s leading orchestral players. Originally formed as a small conductorless string group, it spearheaded the 1950’s Baroque revival.

A warm welcome to this reissue which has a cleaner sound than the original L'OiseauLyre. Dame Janet is on what sounds to be her best form, with almost impeccable intonation and a warmth which gives the performances an intense glow. Vergnügte Ruh' begins with a haunting melody of such expressive dimensions that, for me, the remainder of the cantata is something of an emotional unwinding. On numerous other levels, however, the succeeding movements are satisfying and well contrasted with one another.