JOHANN RUDOLF ZUMSTEEG (1760-1802): Die Geisterinsel.

Description: This singspiel, based on Shakespeare's "The Tempest", dates from 1798 and shows how much Zumsteeg learned from Mozart in instrumentation, orchestration and melodic style as he pushed the old boundaries of the genre and moved from melodrama to full-scale opera. Extensive and often virtuosic arias are used almost throughout, with a strikingly original mime scene inserted in the third act to represent aspects of the spirit world. Tasty stuff! 3 CDs. German libretto. Christiane Karg (soprano), Sophie Harmsen (mezzo), Falko Hönisch, Christian Immler (baritones), Stuttgart Chamber Choir, Hofkapelle Stuttgart; Frieder Bernius.