missing minghella
The recent death of Anthony Minghella leaves at least two Met projects in limbo. First is the opera commissioned from Osvaldo Golijov, Daedalus, currently scheduled for the 2011-2012 season. Minghella was set to serve as librettist and to direct the completed work.
According to Variety, the late director’s plans at the Met also included a new production of Eugene Onegin to open the 2012 season, replacing the Robert Carsen staging currently used at the Met and telecast last year. (La Cieca’s guess: this Onegin is for Anna Netrebko and Mariusz Kwiecien).
I went to Cologne especially to see Die Vögel and I think it’s also been done in Zurich. It’s hard to stage but I can’t think why people don’t do concert performances. By comparison with Prinzessin Brambilla, which Wexford did, it’s a masterpiece and it has an interesting history, performed around the same time as the premiere of Pfitzner’s Palestrina in Munich: Bruno Walter conducted both and Karl Erb and Maria Ivogün were the lead tenor and soprano in both. BTW, talking of the Snow Maiden, Wexford is opening its new theatre this Autumn and Snow Maiden is one of the main operas. I think that promising young American tenor, Bryan Hymel (sp?) is in it – anyway, the one whose U-tube highlights Cieca displayed on here a few weeks back.
what about Damrau as Die Nachtigall? I don’t know the role but if Ivoguen sang it under Walter I assume Damrau can sing it. I would love to see the Met do Ferne Klang with Schwanewilms and Wunder der Heliane with either Harteros or Denoke. Denoke just got glowing reviews in Paris as Marie in Wozzeck. The whole Marthaler production got raves. Simon K sang the title role.
Schrecker I know the least (operatically) – the songs are interesting. Where should I start with an opera recording?
I’d start with the Der Ferne Klang that’s on budget CD’s from Naxos. It’s my intro to Schreker, after reading about him in program notes to LA Opera’s 1989 Wozzeck and it’s still a terrific recording. Provincial German theatre and singers but still.
The other place to start is the Die Gezeichneten DVD that Mrs. JC mentioned–it cuts about 1/2 hour of the score, but it’s well sung and despite the high-Eurotrash production, by the time Alviano has lost has his mind and is muttering about his jester’s cap at the end, it’s shattering stuff. I saw a production of it in Stuttgart and I was in a daze for hours after it, it’s really heady stuff. The Decca set is good, I don’t like the conducting though–Zagrosek conducted it in Stuttgart after doing the recording and a run the previous year and he killed.
The Albrecht Der Schatzgraber can be recommended with one huge cavaet: there’s one female role and Gabriele Schnaut makes sounds that no human should have to bear. I have a recording from Vienna 1988 that’s incredible.
Will this rep make a comeback? It depends on what the bel canto and baroque revivals depended on: a core of conductors and singers who know the style and are willing to proselytize for them. All these pieces require big healthy voices and like I read years ago “If someone has a voice good enough to sing Paul in Die Tote Stadt, he’s going to go where the money is and sing Wagner”.
Korngold is easier because of his film music, so he’s a bit known, but most of the audience, especially in America, are so afraid of the unknown, because they assume it’s going to sound like Boulez and Birtwistle. When I’ve played the core Schreker operas for people (Der Ferne Klang, Das Spielwerk und die Prinzsessin, Die Gezeichneten and my favorite, Der Schatzgraber), they can’t believe that these operas have been buried for over 80 years.
I’m soooo looking forward to James Conlon doing Die Gezeichneten here in Los Angeles in 2010; if the Ullmann/Zemlinsky double bill was anything to go by, it’s going to be a traditional production, no Regie horrors that La Cieca could use for a quiz. He conducted the amazing prelude at a teaser concert for the Recovered Voices project last year and he *gets* it.
While we are in the Korngold, Schreker, Braunfels sphere, can I put in a word for D’Albert’s “Die toten Augen”. The plot, to quote a wonderful review, is a “real barnburner”. There’s an excellent CPO recording and I find the music really memorable and very much in the “if you like Korngold, you’ll like this” mould.
Why is’nt there some company being really adventureous? Have any of you ever seen or heard Malcolm Willliamson’s The Violins of St Jacques? A 19th Century Carribean island ,colonial ball scenes , brother -sister incest, lesbianism, hurricanes, steamy situations – person and weather wise- leading to tragedy and a satisfying dramatic conclusion. Then also consider Blitzstein’s Regina- the memorable opera for me at the moment. The opera was recorded by Decca a few years ago. Based on Lillian Hellman’s ‘The Little Foxes’ play, made famous with the Bette Davis film of it. Some of the music is so haunting, days later after listening, you want to hear it again and again.
Harry
Thank God someone else remembers the Violins of St Jacques. I saw it several times when they first did at Sadlers Wells. A succulent score and real ensemble piece: Jennifer Vyvyan as the Dotty Governor’s wife and April Cantelo as the Lesbian Governess finally drifting in a little boat after the Mardi Gras Ball is wrecked by a volcano. I have an old reel to reel tape and I listend to it recently. Scarcely got a mention when Williamson died and it was revived several times, which is more than can be said of most modern operas.
D’Albert seems to be coming back into favour and Tiefland has received several recent productions in Germany, and is due at the Liceu in October. I saw it a couple of years ago in Zurich but in a wretched Eurotrash production but it is heady blend of Verismo and Wagner and at one time every heldentenor worth his name sang Pedro. Martha was one of Callas’ early roles in Athens – Sein Eigentum- great stuff.
Leni Riefenstahl spent most of the war trying to complete a film of it!
What about La Wally while we’re at it? I want to see some hot shit soprano repel from the roof and sing me some arias, damnit!
I saw the Scottish Opera production of Regina which Miss Mouse-Trap conducted when he was music director, before making his Decca recording of it. Not a masterpiece but worth seeing in the theatre now and again.