Kurt Weill & Maxwell Anderson: Lost in the Stars

Julius Rudel conducted a production of Lost in the Stars for the New York City Opera in 1959, part of the breakthrough seasons featuring American operas that helped to alter the musical establishment's perception of American opera in general and Weill's contribution to it in particular....Rudel comments in the booklet that he found the recording sessions ''somewhat akin to a religious experience'' and this certainly communicates itself, especially in the choral sequence ''Cry the beloved country'' which frames the death-cell confrontation between father and son. Without much recorded dialogue, the condescending sugariness of the Anderson contribution is reduced and Weill's experimentation with the choruses as well as his usual high quota of great melodies make this one of the finest modern recordings of his work....This is a major addition to the catalogue and essential to any collection of Weill's work—or of twentieth-century opera.