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PARIS, 16
January 2001 - A batch of recordings from Music & Arts
featuring a 1942 Götterdämmerung from Bayreuth,
Berlin tapes of long extracts from Parsifal and Meistersinger,
and Furtwängler's 1954 Salzburg Freischütz evoke a
number of questions. While the Parsifal and Meistersinger
are new to CD, neither is of such musical quality or interest - a
point made in the accompanying texts - that we should feel compelled
to listen. Yes, Knappertsbusch conducts a concert performance of the
third act of Parsifal, but he did it so much better in the
famous Bayreuth performances of the 1950s and 1960s. We do have Ludwig
Weber in his prime in the role of Gurnemanz, and the tempi are
livelier than was later the case, but does that justify such a
reissue, particularly with a nondescript tenor in the title role?
That is even more the case with the Meistersinger,
where we have the second act complete, with an unpleasant sounding Eva
(Thea Kempff), a boring Walter (Henk Noort) and an interesting Sachs
(Georg Hann), all conducted with extraordinary rapidity by Artur
Rother that leaves no room for subtlety. Better are the three excerpts
from Act 3 that conclude the disc from a different performance with
Ludwig Suthaus demonstrating that he knows the meaning of the words to
the Prize Song, Jaro Prohaska defending the Meistersinger, and
Maria Müller displaying her femininity with a lovely trill.
Robert Heger is marginally better than Rother. The sound on both these
discs is quite good, with voices closely miked in what were evidently
concert performances.
Far more interesting is the Bayreuth
Götterdämmerung, also available on Preiser. Karl
Elmendorff conducts with the benefit of long experience, while the
cast is in amazingly fresh voice. Not even the awful sound of a radio
broadcast, with all sorts of subsidiary noise, can detract from the
energetic Bünnhilde of Marta Fuchs, showing the advantage of a
thoroughly solid grounding as a mezzo before making a successful
transition to the soprano repertoire. Set Svanholm's youth is an
evident advantage as well, for he has the stamina for the role of
Siegfried and sounds far fresher than in his post-war recordings.
Friedrich Dalberg's black voice suits the role of Hagen while Camilla
Kallab's Waltraute shows that even a single scene will suffice for an
intelligent singer to make a deep impression. What is remarkable is
the quality of the performance, far more flowing than what we often
hear today, and that is where lessons could be learned by aspiring
conductors. What I find truly amazing is that instead of breaking
naturally at the end of Acts 1 and 2, Music & Arts starts the next
act which must then be broken off after ten minutes to change discs. I
fail to detect any progress in such an approach.
Even more
puzzling is why Music & Arts has issued the 1954 Freischütz
from Salzburg with Furtwängler conducting, as it is available for
considerably less investment from Gala, while EMI has also just
reissued the same performance in its mid-price historic performances
series. This is not to deny that the performance is remarkable, with
definitive portrayals from Elisabeth Grümmer and Rita Streich.
Hans Hopf is far better than his reputation would have one believe,
while Kurt Böhme's Caspar is on his best vocal behavior. A model
performance, but one that has long been available elsewhere and for
less money.
Kurt Weill's Bürgschaft was written
in the early 1930s but long lay neglected for a great many reasons,
one of which could be the absence of Lenya material that might have
rescued it from oblivion. This is Weill treating opera as a means of
social commentary, and the music has sufficient tang to appeal to the
composer's fans. The election of Hitler effectively terminated
performances of Weill's works in Germany. An early post-War revival in
Berlin did little to bring the piece back to the repertoire, while a
1998 performance in Bielefeld attracted the attention of the directors
of the Spoleto Festival USA, which is to be commended for its
enterprise not only in performing but also recording the opera, for
this is not a work deserving of such neglect. Julius Rudel and the
Festival Orchestra, along with the hard-working Westminster Choir,
support Frederick Burchinal and Dale Travis as the two fathers who
have the major roles. One might quibble a bit over the American
accents in the German text, but that is a minor flaw in the face of
the accomplishment. The three conspirators are the other major
character (they function as a unit), while we unfortunately hear too
little of Ann Panagulias as the wayward daughter Luise. Die Bürgschaft
is the missing link between the Weill of Dreigröschenoper
and Mahoganny on the one hand and Street Scene on the
other.
Richard Strauss composed Friedenstag in 1936
as a companion one-acter to Daphne, a double-bill rarely
attempted, not even at the world premiere of either work. Once again,
Strauss has obliged us with a demanding soprano role that few have
undertaken. Recordings have been limited to the Vienna premiere in the
1940s with the original lead singers and a New York concert
performance with Ms Marc in resplendent voice. The recording under
review was taken at a concert performance in 1988 and has been
available on the secondary circuit although it was only issued
commercially last year by EMI. Wolfgang Sawallisch makes an excellent
case for this neglected opus, certainly not one of Strauss's strongest
works but one with enough near-great moments to make the occasional
revival worthwhile. The late Sabine Hass (to whom the recording is
dedicated) demonstrates that the vocal requirements of the role of
Maria combine elements of the Kaiserin and the Färberin, roles
she also sang. Bernd Weikl is his customary stolid self, but his
confrontation with the opposing Commander, Kurt Moll, is hair-raising,
with Strauss letting us down with an empty final jubilatory chorus.
Renée
Fleming, aka The Beautiful Voice, is the star of "Strauss
Heroines", but is sufficiently generous to share her spotlight
with Susan Graham and Barbara Bonney for excerpts from Rosenkavalier
and Arabella. We are treated not only to beautiful singing but
meaningful performances, helped by the fact that the three women have
sung the opera onstage together. Unfortunately, Christoph Eschenbach
occasionally wallows in the sound of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
which tends to accentuate the treacly element rather than keeping it
in tow, but this is a recording to please Fleming addicts as well as
those who appreciate Richard Strauss. And a pleasing tribute to the
late Walter Berry who sings the few lines of the Majordomo and
Faninal.
Strauss:
Friedenstag
Sabine Hass, Bernd Weikl, Jan-Hendrik
Rootering, Kurt Moll, Robert Schunk
Bavarian Radio Symphony
Orchestra and Chorus, Chorus of the Bavarian State Opera
Wolfgang
Sawallisch, conductor
EMI 7243 5 56850 2 5 - texts and
translations in English, French and German
Strauss
Heroines : Excerpts from Rosenkavalier, Arabella and Capriccio
Renée Fleming, Barbara Bonney, Susan Graham, Walter Berry
Vienna
Philharmonic Orchestra
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
Decca
466 314-2 - texts and translations in English, French and German
Wagner:
Götterdämmerung
Marta Fuchs, Else Fischer,
Cammilla Kallab, Set Svanholm, Egmont Koch, Friedrich Dalbeg
Bayreuth
Festival Chorus and Orchestra
Karl Elmendorff, conductor
Music
& Arts CD 1058 - 4 CDs - notes in English only
Wagner:
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg - Act 2 (complete), Act 3
(excerpts)ª
Thea Kempff/Maria Müllerª,
Henk Noort/Ludwig Suthausª, Georg Hann/Jaro Prohaskaª
Grosses
Berliner Rundfunkorchester and Chor des Deutschen Opernhauses
Berlin/Chor der Deutschen Staatsoper Berlin & Staatskapelle Berlinª
Artur
Rother/Robert Hegerª, conductors
Music & Arts 1068 -
notes in English only
Wagner:
Parsifal (Act 3)
Elsa Larcén, Karl Hartmann,
Ludwig Weber
Chor & Orchester des Deutschen Opernhauses Berlin
Hans
Knappertsbusch, conductor
Music & Arts 1067 - notes in
English only
Weber:
Der Freischütz
Elisabeth Grümmer, Rita
Streich, Hans Hopf, Kurt Böhme, Karl Dönch, Alfred Poell,
Oskar Czerwenka, Otto Edelmann
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra,
Chorus of the Vienna State Opera
Wilhelm Furtwängler,
conductor
Music & Arts 1064 - 2 CDs ) - notes in English
only
Weill:
Die Bürgschaft
Margaret Thompson, Ann
Panagulias, Katherine Ciesinski, Frederick Burchinal, Dale Travis,
Joel Sorensen, Peter Lurié, Lawrence Craig, Herbvert Perry,
Enrico Di Giuseppe, Mark Duffin, John Daniecki
Westminster Choir,
Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra
Julius Rudel, conductor
EMI
7243 5 56976 2 2 - 2 CDs - texts and translations in English, French
and German
Joel Kasow
writes on opera in Europe and is the Operanet editor of
Culturekiosque.com.
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OperaNet: Reviews