Mr. Kraus was more fortunate in his Charlotte, Frederica von Stade, whose refined, pathos-filled singing survived the sluggish conducting of Jean Fournet.
Dame Gwyneth Jones and Frederica von Stade will be among those performing highlights from "Fidelio," "Tristan und Isolde" and other works to honor Bernstein's landmark opera recordings.
Even so, I can imagine something more spellbinding than the elderly production now in partial resuscitation at the Metropolitan Opera with Frederica von Stade and Douglas Ahlstedt (who replaced the indisposed Anthony Rolfe Johnson on the first night).