On completely opposite side of the spectrum from her celebrated recordings of "Four Last Songs", these bubbly, sparkling bonbons culled from various Viennese operettas present magnificent versatility of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf who could apparently sing everything, from the darkest despair of "A German Requiem" to staggeringly melancholic songs by Richard Strauss or these pretty, fluffy confectionery. Do not forget that her singing teacher was celebrated 1920s star Maria Ivogün who herself recorded many popular waltzes and her lessons in poise and sophistication stayed with Schwarzkopf for the rest of her life - impeccably prepared and serious, she would bring the utmost commitment to everything she approached.
The apparently omnipotent, silvery voice was capable of everything, in this case of sparkling in dazzlingly melodious hits from bygone era - handpicked from various operettas and different composers, this record almost sounds like "the best of" operetta genre. In fact, its so close to perfection that I must admit that to my ears, every other female singer approaching this material always pales when compared to this recording. Franz Lehár and Johann Strauss Jr. are just some of composers represented here, lovingly orchestrated and arranged by conductor Otto Ackermann and Schwarzkopf is in top form. This is one of the very few albums by Schwarzkopf that are constantly in the print and deservedly so.
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