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Janácek: The Cunning Little Vixen / Mackerras, Popp, Et Al


Release Date: 10/25/1990 
Label:  Decca   Catalog #: 417129   Spars Code: DDD 
Composer:  Leos Janácek
Performer:  Gertrude Jahn,  Lucia Popp,  Eva Hribiková,  Zuzana Hudecová,   ... 
Conductor:  Sir Charles Mackerras
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Vienna State Opera Chorus,  Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra,  Bratislava Children's Choir
Number of Discs: 2 
Recorded in: Stereo 
Length: 1 Hours 50 Mins. 

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Notes and Editorial Reviews

Sir Charles is not only among the finest of all conductors of Janácek's music: he is a scholar, and one whose insistence on standards has been fully backed up. The cast is scrupulously chosen, and enchantingly led by Lucia Popp.

Sir Charles Mackerras's Janácek recordings for Decca — The Cunning Little Vixen, Jenufa and From the House of the Dead — all won Gramophone Awards and set new standards for Janácek performance. Mackerras knew these scores like few others outside Czechoslovakia — but now the composer has become a repertoire fixture in opera houses the world over. Musically priceless.

– Gramophone [12/2005]
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Decca's Janácek opera series under Sir Charles Mackerras continues to be one of the most rewarding groups of recordings currently being made, and a prime reason is the proper care that has gone into every aspect of each set. Sir Charles is not only among the finest of all conductors of Janácek's music: he is a scholar, and one whose insistence on standards has been fully backed up. The cast is scrupulously chosen, and enchantingly led by Lucia Popp as the Vixen; one may prefer some individual performances from other sets of the past, but still find the present ensemble well chosen and wholly responsive to the direct, humorous, unsentimental style of the performance. The recording is extremely intelligent in its care for Janácek's orchestration, often a severe problem whether in the concert hall or the recording studio: here, the woodland music is particularly well managed. And not least, the set is admirably presented, not with the glossy nonsense that accompanies some opera sets but with a lively new translation (Deryck Viney), a brilliant long account of the work, incorporating new research (Dr John Tyrrell) and 50 of the drawings which first amused and touched Janácek and drew him to write this wonderful opera.

– Gramophone [10/1983]
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Works on This Recording

1. The Cunning Little Vixen by Leos Janácek
Performer:  Gertrude Jahn (Mezzo Soprano), Lucia Popp (Soprano), Eva Hribiková (Soprano),
Zuzana Hudecová (Soprano), Miriam Ondráskova (Soprano), Peter Saray (Boy Soprano),
Eva Zigmundová (Mezzo Soprano), Richard Novák (Tenor), Benno Blachut (Tenor),
Eva Randová (Mezzo Soprano), Ivana Mixová (Mezzo Soprano), Libuse Márová (Alto),
Vladimir Krejcik (Tenor), Václav Zitek (Baritone), Dalibor Jedlicka (Bass)
Conductor:  Sir Charles Mackerras
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Vienna State Opera Chorus,  Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra,  Bratislava Children's Choir
Period: 20th Century 
Written: 1921-1923; Brno, Czech Republic 

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