After finishing the work in 1980, Schiff rescued some of the music in a purely instrumental score Divertimento from Gimpel the Fool (1982), one of the great post-war chamber pieces, which is how I first heard it (available, incidentally, on Delos 3058; however, Delos has had such trouble in recent years, you'd better grab it while you can). Nevertheless, the opera is just as wonderful. There's not a dull scene in it. The singers are ideal for the piece. The ensemble is sharp (a fiendishly close canon on the words "Mazel tov" to a klezmer riff made my jaw drop). Above all, the performance involves a listener in the drama. The CD case proclaims this as part of the "American Opera Classics" series. From the Naxos marketing department, to God's ear.

Tracklist:

Gimpel The Fool, Act I: Overture. We Are Here To Tell You The Tale Of Gimpel
Gimpel The Fool, Act I: Let Us Begin, At The Ending, 'Elka's Death-Bed Scene'
Gimpel The Fool, Act I: So Elka Deceived Me, And I Just Believed Her, 'Gimpel's Monologue'
Gimpel The Fool, Act I: Once We Saw How Easy It Was To Fool Gimpel...
Gimpel The Fool, Act I: Gimpel Was So Confused..., 'The Rabbi's Advice'
Gimpel The Fool, Act I: But Even The Rabbi's Ugly Daughter...
Gimpel The Fool, Act I: Matchmaking For Gimpel!/Little March
Gimpel The Fool, Act I: So That's The One!
Gimpel The Fool, Act I: The Wedding Ceremony Took Place.../Little March (Reprise)
Gimpel The Fool, Act I: Mi Adir Al Hakol...
Gimpel The Fool, Act I: O Echod Mi Yodeya?, 'Badkhen's Song'
Gimpel The Fool, Act I: Akhas Asor, Yom La Khoidesh Adar..., 'The Wedding Contract'
Gimpel The Fool, Act I: All Day Long I Watch The Clouds, 'The Wedding Song'
Gimpel The Fool, Act I: Sameyakh Tesamakh Reyim Hahuvim
Gimpel The Fool, Act I: It Was A Black Moment For Gimpel
Gimpel The Fool, Act I: Mazel Tov
Gimpel The Fool, Act I: Elka, Don't Leave Your New Husband...
Gimpel The Fool, Act II: Four Months After The Wedding.../Lullaby
Gimpel The Fool, Act II: But What Was The Connection Between Elka And Eve?/Pantomime
Gimpel The Fool, Act II: Out Of Love To My Wife..., 'Bread Song'
Gimpel The Fool, Act II: Night Music
Gimpel The Fool, Act II: O I Forgot To Tell You About My Goat/Where Is The Lad?
Gimpel The Fool, Act II: May All The Dreams I've Dreamed Tonight..., 'Elka's Gevalt'
Gimpel The Fool, Act II: Gimpel Had No Choice..., 'The Divorce'
Gimpel The Fool, Act II: I Should Have Gotten Angry, 'Gimpel's Second Monologue'
Gimpel The Fool, Act II: Little March (Reprise)/Gimpel, You're Not Fair To Elka
Gimpel The Fool, Act II: And If Maimonides Says It's Kosher!/Pantomime - Now Listen Gimpel.../'Elka's Death-Bed Scene' (Continue
Gimpel The Fool, Act II: One Night As He Lay Asleep In The Bakery...
Gimpel The Fool, Act II: Gimpel, What Have You Done Now?
Gimpel The Fool, Act II: Finale. Heeding Elka's Words, Gimpel Dug A Hole In The Ground...
Gimpel The Fool, Act II: Finale (Continued). You Always Tell The Same Stories

UPC: 730099691024
Label: Naxos American
Release Date: 5.29.07
Format: CD

Kenneth Kiesler - Gimpel the Fool (2 CD)