The recorded legacy of Zarzuela is rich and full. All the great Spanish singers - from Supervia, through de los Angeles, Kraus, Berganza, Lorengar, Caballé, Domingo, Carreras down to María Bayo in our own time - have recorded zarzuela songs, and many complete works as well.

There are two main sources of complete (or reasonably complete) zarzuelas on CD. BMG is the holding repository for the invaluable Alhambra, Columbia and RCA catalogues from the 1950's, 1960's and early 1970's. Many of these performances, under conductors of the calibre of Frübeck de Burgos and Argenta, featured first rate singers with a sure grasp of style, and their vitality is undimmed by some scrappy orchestral playing and anaemic recording - although it has to be said that the CD transfers (mostly from the late 1980's) are often technically unsatisfactory even when compared against the original LP's. Notes are sparse or non-existent, and there are no texts.

This was rectified in more recent remasterings - two series devoted to classic recordings under Argenta, and a Guerrero Centenary Edition. These feature texts and notably better transfers, and it seemed that perhaps BMG were starting to treat their recorded legacy more seriously - until the shutters came down on further expansion of their classical arm worldwide. This leaves some glaring seemingly permanent omissions from their catalogue, such as the Berganza / Frühbeck de Burgos La Tempranica and the Argenta El asombro del Damasco. Worse, there are virtually no new recordings coming out of this conglomerate - the good Doña Francisquita featuring Ainhoä Arteta and Plácido Domingo has been the only digital exception.

EMI-Hispavox meanwhile have reissued the equally fruitful Hispavox catalogue from the same "classic" period, in their case including some transfers from late 1940's performances. There are currently 27 issues available in their mid-price La Zarzuela series, issued in attractive style and with at least some notes and short synopses, though again without texts. Sorozábal and Torroba feature strongly, conducting many classics in addition to their own. The results are red-blooded, generally better recorded and much better transferred than the rival series on BMG, though some of the recordings are of highlights rather than complete musical texts. The roster of singers is equal to the opposition, too.

More recently, the initiative seems to be passing to some of the smaller independents. Blue Moon, Aria, Sonifolk and Fonotron (under their Homokord imprint) are all bringing out valuable reissues of pre-LP material, featuring original artists of the calibre of Emilio Vendrell, Cora Raga, Felisa Herrero and Marcos Redondo. The Blue Moon catalogue, though infuriatingly hit-and-miss in technical quality and presentation, now stretches to 51 issues. Aria are not exclusively geared to zarzuela issues, but their transfers are uniformly impressive, with thoughtful annotation in English as well as Spanish and Catalan.

Auvidis Valois have a short but impressive series, inspired by Plácido Domingo, of brand new recordings featuring the great tenor, along with the veteran Alfredo Kraus, María Bayo and Juan Pons amongst other leading voices. These cover some of the greatest zarzuelas in performances which rival and in some cases even surpass the "classic" competition - not to mention the advantage of highly effective modern sound.

The appearance of a splendid new digital coupling of La revoltosa and La Gran Vía on RTVE's own Música label is a welcome sign, despite the somnolence of the "majors" - though as Domingo continues to feature in most of new recording plans, it is an open question how far interest is down to his personal crusading zeal in what must be thought of as the Indian Summer of his recording career. In any case, we have cause to be very grateful to him for keeping Zarzuela Recording very much a living industry at the start of the 21st Century.

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