At a time when the majority of German composers turned from the opera to the singspiel, Franz Lachner continued the tradition of the grand historical opera with Catharina Cornaro. The once successful opera, last performed in Munich in 1903, was forgotten for many decades, but a few years ago the editor Volker Tosta of Stuttgart prepared a new edition of this work, its first published version, especially for the concert performance by the Munich Radio Orchestra. The action of the tragic opera is based on the true-life story of the Queen of Cyprus. It is hard to believe that this musically appealing work, which captivated the audience at Munich's Prince Regent Theater already with its highly atmospheric overture during the performance on which this CD is based, ever could be forgotten. Max Zenger's Geschichte der Munchner Oper of 1923 documents the groundbreaking effect of this opera when it states that Catharina Cornaro had "quite literally become Munich's hallmark, like the two towers of the Cathedral of Our Lady."