Karl Böhm knew that the quality of his opera productions depended heavily
on the choice of the right singers for each role. "When I set my mind on
doing a certain opera with a certain cast, and it doesn't work, then I
become furious and throw a fit," he once said. In this "Così" production,
Böhm has gathered some of the greatest Mozart specialists of the 20th
century: Gundula Janowitz, a warm, lyric soprano whose Munich "Pamina"
under Knappertsbusch was one of the high points of her early career, before
she went on to sing at all major opera houses as well as the Bayreuth and
Salzburg Festivals; Christa Ludwig, who began singing under Karl Böhm at
the Vienna State Opera in 1955, and who was later hailed as the best Mozart
and Strauss mezzo-soprano of her generation; Luigi Alva, the Peruvian tenor
whose light and elegant voice has made him one of the most sought-after
lyrical tenors for Rossini and Mozart roles; Hermann Prey, whose rich
baritone has captivated not only the opera public the world over but also
lovers of the German Lied; Walter Berry, who has sung practically the
entire repertoire of great Mozart bass-baritone roles at the Salzburg
Festival, the Met, Covent Garden and the Vienna State Opera.
