JOHANN STRAUSS II (1825-1899): Jabuka (Das Apfelfest).

Description: Dating from 1894, Jakuba was part of a festival celebrating Strauss' 50 years of artistic activity. Set at an annual apple festival (where young people look for husbands and brides) in Serbia, there is a Slavic flavor to the music. The work itself suffered from two fighting librettists and is part opera and part operetta (the conductor thinks it contains the finest choruses the composer ever wrote) and is performed from the original score as part of the Czech Johann Strauss Society's 2005 Festival. Coupled is a 46-minute sequence of dance arrangements from Jakuba which originally appeared on five CDs in Marco Polo's huge Strauss series in 1993, 1994 and 1999. 2 CDs. Synopsis, no libretto. Veronika Goriss (soprano), Elisabeth Wolfbauer (mezzo), Thomas Tischler (tenor), Michael Schober (bass), Gaudeamus Choir Brno, European Johann Strauss Orchestra; Christian Pollack.