Einfach eine fantastische Anneliese Rothenberger (Walzer)

A fantastic Anneliese Rothenberger performs a waltz by Franz Lehár from The Merry Widow in the television programme Anneliese Rothenberger gibt sich die Ehre, broadcast on 26 December 1976. The waltz forms part of the Ballsirenen-Walzer, a concert piece assembled from several themes from the celebrated operetta. Plácido Domingo and Johannes Heesters also appeared in the programme. I think Anneliese is simply fantastic here. Although this melody was originally written for a tenor and is normally sung that way in The Merry Widow, I have never heard any tenor perform it better—not even my admired Richard Tauber. Her version strikes me as more remarkable than any of the tenor interpretations I know. In my opinion, it shows that personality, musicianship and interpretative talent can matter more than the register or vocal type for which a piece was originally conceived. Some may feel that the staging, with the dancers, slightly distorts the number and makes it excessively sweet. I partly agree. However, we should not forget that this was a performance created for television, and that Anneliese had to make certain concessions in order to adapt to the new television aesthetic of the 1970s. For anyone who finds that the staging distracts from the music, I suggest listening to the performance without watching the video: the experience is wonderful.