Albert Lortzing (1801-1851), opera-composer, librettist and jack-of-all-trades in theatre and opera, was born into a theatrical family. He had a sure sense for theatrical effectiveness and devoted himself almost entirely to comic opera. His most famous works are "Zar und Zimmermann" (1837), "Der Wildschütz" (1842), and “Der Waffenschmied” (1846), but he also composed a romantic opera, "Undine" (1845) and a revolutionary opera, "Regina" (1848). Himself influenced by W.A. Mozart, Lortzing was at the parting of the ways to Richard Wagner (Lortzing's "Hans Sachs" probably influenced Wagner's "Die Meistersinger") and to Johann Strauss II. The present recording of “Der Waffenschmied” is one of the few complete recordings of this work and boasts a cast that can truly be called “ideal”. Today, in an age when singers fly all over the world, it is no longer possible to cast a “Spieloper” with native German singers of international repute who demand astronomical fees.