Readers’ Letters

Many thanks to Robert Tuggle, Archivist for the Metropolitan Opera, for noticing an error in my translation of Horst Wahl's article on Lehmann's Der Rosenkavalier. In reference to the missing "singer's aria," the line "Many enjoyed Beniamino Gigli in this role, but his fee would have been too high" should have read "though many would have liked to have filled this role with Gigli, his fee would have been too high." Gigli never sang this role, as far as we know.

The well-respected record collector/discographer James Seddon wrote with corrections on Wahl's discographical data "Side 6 was published from take 3A, not 2A, and the matrix numbers for sides 15 and 17 are transposed." [Website users note: Wahl's data isn't included on this site. We provide the complete corrected version in the complete discography.]

Also, I must add, Side 17 should be listed as 2WX 599-1A, not 599-1 as in Wahl's listing. I guess no one likes to proofread discographies, because no one caught my error in listing which matrices were recorded on which days. Matrix 586-2A was released on Side 24 (I listed it as both Sides 23 & 24 and also duplicated some matrices). I omitted matrices 592-3 and 592-3A from 24 Sep. '33; neither of these were released.

On Wahl's text, Seddon makes further corrections: "Only Strauss demanded an impossible fee; Bruno Walter had to refuse to conduct because of other engagements...The idea that the recording order displays 'an incredible confusion' is pure fantasy...for the recording of operas in non-sequential order of sides was standard practice and was used in order to deploy the forces available to best advantage..."

I believe that Wahl's point was more that in spite of the jumble of snippets there was a wonderful cohesion of feeling and drama that was maintained.

Seddon continues: "Wahl, however, is unquestionably correct about a change of contents on Sides 25 and 26, but there is little, if any, real evidence as to what happened. My conclusion was that Hayes received from Vienna two sequences: 1. Side 25 take 1 with the 'Ja, ja' passage at the end but rejected in Vienna because the music overran the time limit for a 12-inch side; followed by Side 26 takes 4 and 5, without the 'Ja, ja' passage; 2. Side 25 take 2 (published) with the 'Ja, ja' passage excluded, followed by Side 26 takes 1 and 2 (2A published), and take 3 (with Lehmann but rejected), with the 'Ja, ja' passage included. But what about the description in the leaflet issued with the 78 rpm set? [There is an asterisk and footnote in red describing the start of Side 26 at 'As they clasp, etc.'] This confirms more or less that Side 25 was made with two different sets of contents but it also suggests that the leaflet was printed before the recording was complete, and then had to be corrected when Hayes had assembled the final selection.

"In Wahl's listing, for Side 25 to include Lehmann and Madin is misleading, as their names [voices] do not appear on DB 2072."

Many thanks to our careful readers. —GH