This live recording of the opera was released for the first time in 1994 in a series of mid-price opera recordings celebrating Karl Böhm's long association with the works of Richard Strauss. Presumably it had never been released before because of its fairly poor sound - it is in mono with a fair amount of audience noise as well as thumping about on the stage and the inevitable changes in perspective as the performers move around. There are also a couple of slightly dodgy moments on the original tape where there's some minimal distortion. These minor flaws are hardly noticeable nowadays however, where the renewed interest in historic performances remastered on CD means that we have become accustomed to sound far worse, and it shouldn't put off anybody interested in hearing an excellent live recording. The performance is full of life, conducted by somebody with intimate knowledge of the score, and sung by a company who are mostly well inside their roles.

The prologue is primarily notable for Irmgard Seefried's composer. She had quite a light, silvery soprano, quite different from the sort of voice we have grown to expect in the role these days, but she proves herself well-suited to it, and is utterly convincing as the character. She is passionately involved, and throws herself wholeheartedly into his impatience and frustration. She risks being less sympathetic than many other composers, behaving with overt arrogance towards the footman when she first enters, and screaming abuse at the music master. There are also times when she overdoes it a bit too, crudely over-emphasising phrases such as '...wird meine Musik sinnlos with sound effects that cannot really be described as singing. Nevertheless, she has undeniable impact, and most of the role is sung beautifully.

Lisa della Casa's very young-sounding Ariadne is a bit of a mixed blessing. She does not begin well in the opera proper, the whole of the opening speech lying too low for her - she sounds flat, colourless and underpowered. Once she gets to Ein Schönes war, though, she sounds totally different, opening up into the higher-lying phrases of the role, and she closes the evening with an ecstatic love duet, accompanied by the adequate but rather too strained and middle-aged Bacchus of Rudolf Schock. Her acting is excellent throughout.

Hilde Gueden has been much praised for Zerbinetta. She has inimitable charm, but she is not a natural for the role - some of the more difficult phrases do not quite come off. Then again, this is a live performance, and I certainly wouldn't complain were I to go and see this performance.

The rest of the cast is mostly of a high standard. Paul Schöffler is a fatherly music teacher, slightly past his best voice. Alfred Poell sounds too old and is a solemn-sounding Harlekin. The nymphs, including Rita Streich, a coloratura star in her own right, blend exceptionally well for a live performance.