When
Christa Ludwig retired from singing in 1994, the world lost one of its greatest mezzo-sopranos and the Wiener Staatsoper lost one of its greatest singing actresses. The combination of her warm, creamy voice with its lush lower register and her strong, subtle characterizations that found the heart of every role she undertook allowed
Ludwig to create some of the most musically impressive and dramatically moving performances in the postwar history of Viennese opera. This three-disc Orfeo set contains 23 of those roles for the Staatsoper recorded between 1957 and 1994 ranging from a delectable Dorabella and a saucy Carmen to a heroic Leonore and a demonic Lady Macbeth. It also includes a wonderful pairing of her noble 1968 Marschallin and her ardent 1971 Octavian (both from Der Rosenkavalier). Whatever the role and the language,
Ludwig is a supreme singing actress, and even in these relatively brief extracts, she makes every character come alive from her imperious and sensuous Venus in
Karajan's 1963 Tannhäuser to her impetuous and sensuous Cherubino in
Böhm's 1957 Le nozze di Figaro. Particularly treasured by
Ludwig's fans will be her searing Klytämnestra from her farewell appearance in 1994. Though her voice is not quite what it had been in its prime,
Ludwig's singing is still fully under control and her portrayal is still harrowing in its emotional effect. Although the later recordings have more impact, the live sound is still uniformly clear and present.