Schneider is a dusky voice, with effortlessly bright and nuanced top notes when necesssary...She plays down her character's overbearing quality, as any soprano must if Pauline/Christine's 'beautiful soul', as Strauss put it, is to shine through...Schirmer's conducting is remarkable less for effulgence than clear textures.

It’s a darker interpretation than any we’ve previously heard. The Strausses’ feuding alter egos...are played by Simone Schneider and Markus Eiche – bigger-voiced, more dramatic singers than their predecessors – with the result that what is often presented as a sad comedy of misunderstandings becomes something altogether more troubling and abrasive. Ulf Schirmer’s conducting is formidable.