O­­tto Klemperer was very much a man of the theatre. “Here, opera and drama were truly united,” he said of his time at Berlin’s Kroll Theatre, a progressive and influential force in the heady years of the Weimar Republic. He was also a man with a sharp sense of humour: this performance of Mendelssohn’s incidental music to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream both glows with enchantment and sparkles with wit. Heather Harper soprano (A-4, B-6) Janet Baker alto (A-4) The Philharmonia Orchestra & Chorus Otto Klemperer conductor Recorded/Aufgenommen/Enregistré: 28–29.I, 16 & 18.II.1960, Abbey Road Studios, London (STEREO) Producers/Produzenten/Directeurs artistiques: Walter Legge & Walter Jellinek Balance Engineers/Tonmeister/Ingénieurs du son: Harold Davidson & Douglas Larter Digitally remastered in 24-BIT / 96kHz at Abbey Road Studios Originally released as: Columbia – SAX 2393 Original cover artwork; designs by Carl Toms for an Old Vic Production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (P) 1961 & Remastered (P) 2011 Parlophone Records Limited.© 2017 Parlophone Records Limited, a Warner Music Group Company