This performance of Christoph Willibald Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice is an example of a rediscovered treasure -- short-lived English contralto Kathleen Ferrier in an Amsterdam-based production of Gluck's masterwork made in January 1951 by Radio Nederland. This item has fallen out of the main loop of Ferrier's recorded output, as when producer Klaas A. Posthuma discovered these Ferrier tapes in the mid-'70s he offered them to the Dutch division of EMI, rather than to English Decca, the company that can lay claim to the greater part of her work. The part of Orfeo was one of only two operatic roles that Ferrier performed, and although she did record it in the studio for Decca, that was in an abridged version of the work -- the Dutch tape has the advantage of being a complete performance. Although issued on LP in 1977, this EMI Classics Historical package represents the first appearance on CD of this performance, if you discount the somewhat earlier release of an inferior French pirate, no doubt taken from the EMI vinyl.
The quality of the CD transfer from the analog tape is excellent; there is no tape hiss and transfer engineer Maarten Proost faithfully transmits the limited amount of highs and lows found in the source recording. The original tape, however, is more variable -- the source is cramped-sounding sometimes and at others, it is clear, although it is obvious when Ferrier's mike is coming up the mix. Noise from feet trafficking on-stage is rather loud and intrusive. The band, under the direction of Charles Bruck, who has had better days, is loose and sloppy, although the fiery energy generated at the beginning of the second act is worth noting. The chorus is just awful -- out and out terrible, a wobbly, uncoordinated mess that sounds like a mob. This set is recommendable mainly to those who wish to hear Ferrier in the whole of Orfeo ed Euridice, and for its reasonable asking price. Otherwise, the abridged English Decca performance from 1947 is preferable, and is available in a stunningly clear and pristine transfer from Dutton Labs.
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