MAX LICHTEGG
Operetta and Lieder
CD Dutton CDBP 9769
www.duttonvocalion.co.uk

A fine release from the Dutton label and probably the first ever commercial CD release of the tenor voice of Max Lichtegg. There was a Swiss CD issue several years back but that wasn’t commercially available.
Max Lichtegg (1910-1992) was quite well-known in the fifties due to several releases on the Decca label and he’s surely known to the Bjoerling fraternity as it was he who sang don Ottavio and not the announced Swedish tenor in L.A.
 Nevertheless Lichtegg’s career was mainly focussed on appearances in Switzerland, Germany and Austria and though he did sing opera –he considered himself first and foremost a Mozartian singer- he was especially known as an operetta tenor.
Sadly enough this compilation does not contain any of the opera arias and some of his best operetta recordings- the duets with Erna Sack- aren’t included either. The only two Lieder recordings (Schumann) on this Cd are luckily the ones where he’s accompanied by the young Georg Solti. I say luckily because they are hard to come by and find the tenor in his prime.
The Lichtegg tone may not appeal to everyone but in spite of some intruding nasality there’s always excellent enunciation and he’s a hearty singer supplying ample bright tone. Yet for The Gramophone he remained the “typical operetta tenor, German style”. Wish we only had a tenor of this calibre singing this much missed repertoire today!