August Jaresch was an Austrian tenor and character singer associated with Vienna’s operatic life. He appears in the Pristine catalogue in major Viennese recordings, including Strauss’s Die Fledermaus and Der Rosenkavalier.

His repertory, as represented here, belongs to the essential character-tenor world of German and Austrian opera. These roles require verbal point, timing and theatrical instinct more than vocal glamour alone.

Jaresch’s artistry is best understood as stage craft preserved in ensemble recordings. He helps create the social and comic texture around the principal roles.

This entry is deliberately modest, but justified by repeated appearances in important Vienna recordings. Jaresch is one of those theatre musicians who keeps the gears turning with a wink and a perfectly placed consonant.