Martinů was a musical chameleon. On the one hand, there’s a unique character to his output; on the other, he would adopt and adapt to just about any style that happened to be in fashion or to his liking. These two one-act operas, recorded for the first time in their respective versions, are a case in point. There’s the sensational Knife Tears (in its original French version), in which Martinů sets an absurdist libretto to the sounds of Le Jazz Hot, Stravinsky, and anything in between. This is juxtaposed with his Comedy on the Bridge in the English version that helped the work enjoy brief fame and which stands in complete contrast (if anything more in the style of Hanns Eisler) despite being separated by only seven years.

Casts:

Larmes de couteau
- Éléonore: Elena Tsallagova (soprano)
- La Mère: Maria Riccarda Wesseling (alto)
- Satan: Adam Palka (baritone)

Comedy on the Bridge
- Josephine: Esther Dierkes (soprano)
- Eva: Stine Marie Fischer (alto)
- Johnny: Björn Bürger (baritone)
- The Brewer: Andrew Bogard (bass)
- The Schoolmaster: Michael Smallwood (tenor)