| The best of Straus! (review from amazon.com) |
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I am a fan of the music of Oscar Straus, a little more than I am of Franz Lehar (Whom I also adore) but of all the works of Straus this would have to be my favorite.
When I first saw it for sale I did not think that it was a real Straus operetta since I could find no sources that mentioned it. I bought it anyway as a risk and the information included with the libretto explained all. 'Die Perlen...' was written after 'Ein Waltzertraum' but more in the fashion of 'Der Lustige Nubligen'. It was a social satire about the rise of fascism and dicatorship in the 1920's.
The piece is just beautiful. The orchestration especially. It's the most period sounding (1920's)operetta that I own and it is a spine tingeling, goose bump inspiringly beautiful operetta! I just adore it and have a hard time listening to other pieces sometimes because of it. Straus masterfully implants haunting eygptian flavor in most every piece and as can be expected, there are more than enough waltzes throughout! Some of them are so lusty and sensual it feels like a sin to listen to them.
Do not hesitate adding it to your collection. Once you own it you'll only regret not having bought it sooner!
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