Louis Spohr's fantasy opera Zemire und Azor (1818-1819) -- retitled Beauty and the Beast for this production, since the fairy tale is best known by that name -- is presented by the Manhattan School of Music Opera Theater as a bilingual singspiel: the original German is preserved in all vocal passages, but English is used for the dialog; what sense may be gleaned of the story is thrown off by the jarring shifts between languages, so a straight performance in German with the libretto in hand would have been easier to follow. That said, Zemire und Azor still deserves a hearing, since so little of
Spohr's operatic output is represented on disc; and this company deserves great credit for exploring repertoire that is obscure but of considerable historical interest. Soprano Shiree Kidron as Zemire and tenor Matthew Peña as Prince Azor are attractive leads, and are especially well-matched in their elaborate duet, "Weh' mir. Wo flieh' ich?" Additionally, Paul Shikany as the servant Ali provides enjoyable comic support, as well as a fine lyrical quality in his arias, "Mit neue Mute" and "Unter Palmen schlief ich ein." Albany's reproduction is a little subdued, presumably because of distant microphone positioning, so volume levels need adjusting here and there.