Celebrating Friedrich von Flotow's 199th Birthday

Friedrich von Flotow and Titta Ruffo

Today is the 199th birthday of German Composer Friedrich von Flotow. Other than his famous "Ach! so fromm, ach! so traut" ("M'appari),"from Martha he is rarely heard in English speaking countries. Perhaps with his 200th birthday celebration we'll hear more of his music next season. Flotow wrote 30 operas and four ballets, many of which have echoes of Rossini, Auber and Offenbach.

Perhaps his best known aria for baritone is "Lasst mich euch Fragen" ("Chi mi dira") from his most famous opera Martha. Here is a classic version from the great Italian baritone Titta Ruffo.

Folke Jonsson

Just for fun, here is the famous "Spinning Quartet" sung in Swedish by Elisabeth Söderström, Siw Ericsdotter, Nicolai Gedda and Folke Jonsson, which is also from Martha.

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Celebrating Friedrich von Flotow's 199th Birthday

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