★★★★★ “The beauty of the melodies is a constant, something that is not surprising in Humperdinck if you know the opera for which he is most popular ... The stable ensembles of the Malmö Opera are again perfect transmitters of these beautiful rarities.”

— Pedro Coco Jiménez (Original in Spanish)

★★★★★ “Praise to the cast who bring this forgotten music to the attention endearingly. Should there be more Humperdinck on the shelf? I would say: forward Malmö, get started with the second part, and quickly, if possible.”

— Maarten-Jan Dongelmans, January 2021 (Original in Dutch)

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★★★★ Humperdinck not only composed operas but also drama music for Berlin – none other than master director Max Reinhardt commissioned them. The Naxos label wants to present them all in the original – and the first CD sounds promising.

— Matthias Käther

★★★★ “Conducted with great expressive vivacity by Dario Salvi and very well played and sung by the ensembles of the Malmö Opera, and by some appropriate vocal soloists.”

— Giuseppe Rossi

Interpretation ★★★★ / Sound ★★★★ / Quality ★★★★ / Booklet ★★★

“Dario Salvi, about whom fans of mid-19th century music rarities are increasingly getting more enthusiastic, finds the right approach also for the Late-Romantic. The interpretation is characterized by opulent sensuality, but there are also delicately worked-out chamber music moments. The choir and orchestra of the Malmö Opera do a great job and the vocal trio of Andrea Chudak, Ruxandra Voda van der Plas and Harrie van der Plas are solid.”

— Karin Coper, March 2021 (Original in German)

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“Though a great lover of Hansel and Gretel, I was not prepared for just how good these incidental scores really are. It shows that Humperdinck was far more than a one work wonder and is surely overlooked among the large number of turn of the century composers who were able to turn out such highly melodic scores. The one real rarity here is the suite arranged from Das Wunder – the first full-colour silent film, made in 1912. A real find.”

— Dr Brian Hick, November 2020 (Original in German)

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“The Malmö Opera Orchestra and Salvi respond very well to this music, bringing out Humperdinck’s characteristic warmth of writing, particularly for the lower brass and strings. The chorus sounds beautiful in their all-too-brief times to shine.”

— Daniel Adams, December 2020

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“This most welcome, well-filled CD gives us a broad cross-section of [Humperdinck's] music for the stage... The performances are excellent in every respect, as we have come to expect from Malmö, and the recording is well-balanced and natural.”

— Jim Westhead

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“It is remarkable how brilliantly the Malmö Opera Orchestra plays here. Dario Salvi conducts smoothly and shows a great deal of flair for Humperdinck's world of sound.”

— Julian Führer (Original in German)

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“Extremely persuasive, delicious, very well played.”

Original in French

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“What all works have in common is that Humperdinck is not stingy when it comes to effort: colourful orchestras, plus solos and choir, inspire his compositional fantasy... [The CD is] more than just an extension for rarity specialists.”

— Edwin Baumgartner, December 2020 (Original in German)

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“The various vocal and choral contributions have all the requisite limpidity and poise, while the Malmö Opera forces acquit themselves with verve and elegance under the capable guidance of Dario Salvi – whose efforts in raising the profile of this music compels respect.”

— Ben Hogwood

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“The whole gives a beautiful picture of the composer's development, and at the same time shows him at his strongest, as the imaginative creator of atmospheric vignettes with a pronounced melodic charm.”

— Siebe Riedstra, January 2021 (Original in Dutch)

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