Söderström, Elisabeth (soprano) - Mozart / Ravel / Strauss
Elisabeth Söderström, soprano
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Antal Dorati
BBC SO / Pierre Boulez
Royal Liverpool PO / Sir John Pritchard
Recordedat Royal Festival Hall, London, 3 October 1976,
3 August 1971 and 20 August 1960
Elisabeth Söderström, born in 1927 and now living in retirement near Stockholm, made her debut in 1947 at the Drottningholm Theatre in Stockholm. She has remained a member of the Swedish Royal Opera for life. Her repertoire includes a wide range of roles - from Monteverdi's Poppea, Mozart's Countess and Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), and Strauss's Octavian and Marshalin (Der Rosenkavalier) to Janacek's Jenufa, and Elena Makrapoulos. She made her Glyndebourne debut in 1957 and her Covent Garden debut in 1960. Her debut at the Met in New York came earlier in 1959.
Söderström made her reputation with the music of Mozart and Richard Strauss, two composers featured on this disc.
Söderström made a commercial recording of the Four Last Songs with the Welsh National Opera. This recording was issued on LP in the late 1970s and has not been issued on CD. Therefore this live broadcast in stereo with Antal Dorati adds an important recording to her CD discography.
Strauss's ravishing Closing Scene from his opera Capriccio was also recorded in the late 1970s and coupled with the Four Last Songs but has so far not been issued on CD. Another addition to Söderström's discography and again recorded in stereo, this music demonstrates her close identity with this composer.
The debut Söderström release on BBC Legends (BBCL41322) was described by Gramophone as capturing
" the wonderfully expressive voice of a much-loved singer."