TRACKLISTING

CD 1
1 Orchestereinleitung Introduction
Kleontes! — Adrast!
2 Leb wohl, du Tag! — O bleib, geliebter Tag!
3 Leukippos, du?
4 Daphne! — Mutter! — Wir warten dein
5 Ei, so fliegt sie vorbei
6 Seid ihr um mich, ihr Hirten alle?
7 Ich grüße dich, weiser, erfahrener Fischer
8 Was führt dich her im niedern Gewande
9 Nicht wollen die Götter
10 Dieser Kuß — Dies Umarmen
11 Allüberall blüht Dionysos
12 Trinke, du Tochter!
13 Furchtbare Schmach dem Gotte!
14 Zu dir nun, Knabe!
15 Jeden heiligen Morgen
16 Was blendet so?

CD 2
1 Unheilvolle Daphne
2 Was erblicke ich? Himmlische Schönheit!
3 Daphnes Verwandlung
Ich komme — ich komme — grünende Brüder Daphne
Daphne’s transformation • Scène de la transformation de Daphné
4 Mondlichtmusik Stimme der Daphne
Moonlight music — voice of Daphne
Musique au clair de lune — voix de Daphné

ARTISTS
Renée Fleming (Daphne)
Johan Botha (Apollo)
Michael Schade (Leukippos)
Kwanchul Youn (Peineios)
Anna Larsson (Gaea)
Eike Wilm Schulte (1st Shepherd)
Cosmin Ifrim (2nd Shepherd)
Gregory Reinhart (3rd Shepherd)
Carsten Mittmoser (4th Shepherd)
Julia Kleiter (1st Maid)
Twyla Robinson (2nd Maid)
Orchestra and Chorus of West Deutscher Rundfunk
Semyon Bychkov (conductor)

RECORDING INFORMATION

A major new Decca opera recording.

Complete opera on 2 CDs. Renée Fleming's first complete studio opera since Thais.

'As Daphne, Fleming soared...'
The Independent on Sunday, 21 March 2004 following a concert performance.

Celebrated for her glorious interpretations of the great soprano roles of Richard Strauss, Renée Fleming leads an international cast in this eagerly awaited new recording of Strauss' gorgeously lyrical mythical opera Daphne.

The performance is conducted by Strauss specialist Semyon Bychkov who conducted the work at the Vienna State Opera in 2004 to great critical acclaim.

Strauss's Opera is currently enjoying a revival in popularity with performances at the Vienna State Opera in 2004 and plans for concert performances with Renée Fleming in the US in 2005.

This is a very significant addition to the Strauss discography and will be a must have recording for all opera collectors, many of whom won't have a recording of this wonderful opera.

The opera is set in ancient Greece. Daughter of the river-god and an earth mother, Daphne is a child of nature, and Strauss' score is full of lyrical sound-pictures describing the idyllic landscapes of Greek mythology. Grieving her lover and rejecting the advances of the amorous god Apollo, Daphne surrenders herself to nature and, in a famous final scene of endless lyrical invention, she is transformed into a laurel tree - a symbol of undying love.