Leonore

Gwyneth Jones (Leonore), James King (Florestan), Theo Adam (Pizarro), Gerd Nienstedt (Rocco), Rotraud Hansmann (Marzelline), Werner Hollweg (Jaquino), Eberhard Wächter (Don Fernando) & Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Carl Melles

This version of the three-act Leonore (1805) was recorded during a concert performance in the Grand Hall of the Vienna Musikverein on December 14th, 1970. Starring as Fidelio/Leonore and Florestan were Gwyneth Jones and James King, who were incomparable in these roles at the time. The rest of the cast also include outstanding singers of the age, above all Theo Adam as Pizarro, Gerd Nienstedt as Rocco, Rotraud Hansmann as Marzelline, Werner Hollweg as Jaquino and Eberhard Waechter as Don Fernando. At the beginning, there is the Leonore Overture No. 2, thrillingly performed by the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Carl Melles.

Beethoven:
 Leonore Op.72

"The main attraction in this 1970 concert performance in Vienna of Beethoven’s Leonore is its distinguished cast, with Gwyneth Jones in the title role, James King as Florestan – especially affecting in his great aria in the final Act – and Theo Adam making a dark and sinister Pizarro. In practice, the male singers come off best, and Adam’s Act I duet with Gerd Nienstedt’s Rocco is a dramatic high point."
BBC Music Magazine - June 2021