Helen Donath, Janet Perry, Alexander Malta, Nikolaus Hillebrand, Paul Hansen, Claes H. Ahnsjo, Raimund Grumbach, Ferry Gruber, Bavarian Radio Choir, Munich Radio Orchestra, Alois Fink, Kurt Eichhorn - Hans Pfitzner: Das Christ-Elflein

Re-release of sold-out C437992. To many contemporaries it might seem incomprehensible that Pfitzner had his poetic and musical masterpiece Palestrina followed by this slight fairy-tale opera, whose libretto could scarcely satisfy higher artistic demands. Pfitzner was captivated by the cosy sphere, reminiscent of old picture-books, of this typically German Christmas fable (in which also appear folklore figures like Knecht Ruprecht).The present recording is a production by the Bavarian Radio in which the original texts that Pfitzner placed between the individual numbers are replaced by a text by German journalist and literary writer Alois Fink. Sung and spoken in German language, the booklet contains a synopsis in English.