Schumann may not be best known for his operas; and indeed, this genre‐defying work was designated by the composer as an ‘oratorio’ rather than a fully‐fledged operatic work. The unusual storyline is taken from the Lalla Rookh, an Oriental romantic poem by Thomas Moore, and depicts a fairy, the Peri, trying to enter Heaven. The opera is light on grand arias; what it does revel in is beautiful vocal lines supported by orchestral music so lush that it could have formed a symphonic work on its own. Das Paradies was a pivotal moment for Schumann, as his expert matching of delicate melodies to the rich orchestral texture marked his status as a composer of dramatic music, spurring him on to compose his successful opera Genoveva. The joy of Das Paradies is to be found in its intimate setting – as different from Wagner as dramatic music could be in 19th‐century Germany – and soaring, evocative vocal lines.

Brilliant Classics is pleased to reissue this historic recording of Wolf‐Dieter Hauschild directing the Rundfunk‐Sinfonie‐Orchester Leipzig. Magdaléna Hajóssyová is the eponymous Peri, described by Gramophone in this recording as producing a ‘pure‐toned, youthful vulnerability’; Eberhard Büchner, as the narrator, is ‘ingratiatingly‐toned’ and ‘eloquent’, and Hauschild’s feeling for the score’s deeper undertones is ‘never in doubt’. This recording makes a fine addition to any operatic collection, or for those looking to expand on Schumann’s piano or vocal works.

Recorded in 1981