At the onset of war, after the Nazi annexation of Austria, Franz Lehar, the most Viennese composer of all, declared that he was too old to emigrate. Relying on friends in high places at the Vienna State Opera and the fact that Hitler adored Die lustige Witwe, Lehar and his wife Sophie, who was Jewish, decided to stay. They suffered four years of terror, seeing their friends gradually disappear into hiding, or like Louis Treumann, the first Danilo, die in concentration camps. One has to mention this savage history when considering these recordings.
Both these CDs open with the pot-pourri concert overture to Die lustige Witwe that Lehar arranged in 1940 and which, it is said, was dedicated to Hitler. It sounds out of place tacked on to the beginning of the operetta but, like the four sides of Musikalische Memoiren which date from the same year (on the Preiser disc only), it is fascinating to hear Lehar conduct these late selections of 'greatest hits', the orchestrations of which are lush, not suitable for a small opera house, and sound more like background music for a film.
As for the vocalists, my own interest is centred especially on the Hungarian beauty Esther Rethy. Opera Grove tells us that she was born in 1912 and took part in the first public performance of Strauss's Liebe der Danae. Her account of ''Liebe du Himmel'' from Paganini is rightly seductive and bears comparison favourably even with versions by such superstars as Vera Schwarz and Maria Jeritza (both nla). Lehar's last appearance in the opera house was conducting a revised version of Zigeunerliebe in Budapest in 1943—was Rethy by any chance in this? Neither booklet tells us, but her account of ''Hor' ich Cymbalklange'' is delightful, almost as exciting as the one by Ljuba Welitsch (Decca, 7/60—nla). The little Viennese song that was on the reverse side of the original 78, Wien, du bist das Herz der Welt, is a collector's curiosity.
Rethy's version of ''Meine Lippen, sie kussen so heiss'' (Giuditta) is on the Preiser CD, whereas the EMI has Novotna's original-cast version. Both are charming, though those brought up on the more luxurious version done by Schwarzkopf (EMI, 1/86) may find it difficult to come to terms with the composer's brisker tempos. Maria Reining is excellent in the waltz from Eva, though here it is of course another famous Marschallin, Lotte Lehmann (Pearl (CD) GEMMCD9410), who has, as it were, snaffled this number for all time. As for the Tauber solos and duets, there is nothing left to be said about them, except that no one has come along to equal Tauber in these songs, all written for him, and it seems unlikely that his performances can ever be surpassed or replaced.
For newcomers to this repertory the EMI is the better buy, and has an excellent booklet with texts and translations (the Preiser has just one little essay, printed in German). Those with a substantial Lehar collection already, and who possibly have the Pearl issue of Tauber/Lehar (3/89), may find the Preiser more valuable because of the great rarity of the four Musical Memory sides, and the inclusion of all six of Rethy's solos.'