Strauss Die Frau ohne Schatten Thielemann
STRAUSS Die
Frau ohne Schatten
Christian
Thielemann, cond; Camilla Nylund (Empress);
Stephen Gould (Emperor);
Wolfgang Koch (Barak);
Nina Stemme (Barak’s Wife);
Evelyn
Herlitzius (Nurse); Vienna St Op Ch & O
ORFEO 991203 (3 CDs: 209:26)
Buy from:
This recording documents
a staging of Die Frau ohne Schatten from Vienna State Opera, recorded from
a single performance on May 25, 2019. The production, directed by Vincent
Huguet, opened the season and was chosen to mark both the 150th anniversary of the
opera house and the 100th anniversary of the opera itself, which was premiered
there in 1919. Thielemann, of course, is a seasoned Straussian, and the
orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic in all but name, can be considered equally definitive
in this repertoire. In fact, Thielemann has recorded the work before with the same
forces, a DVD of Christof Loy’s production at the Salzburg Festival in 2011
(Opus Arte 10561, 36:3), which also included Stephen Gould and Wolfgang Koch in
the same roles as here and Evelyn Herlitzius, then the Dyer’s Wife, now the Nurse.
The present recording is
a co-production with ORF, presumably made for broadcast. The singers come
across very well, but the orchestra is curiously subdued. Given the predominance
of studio recordings of this opera, that impression may just be the result of
Thielemann focussing attention on the stage rather than the pit. But the
orchestra sounds much more vibrant on the Salzburg DVD, so perhaps not. In
fact, Thielemann is able to rouse the orchestra for its set pieces, and the
effect is even more menacing and mercurial for the sudden burst of colour it
produces. Thielemann is on top form throughout, clearly engaged with the drama
at every stage. The music requires continuous intervention, for tempos and balances,
and Thielemann remains in tight control of everything, yet without making the
music sound constricted. Other conductors achieve more breadth with this music,
but for Thielemann it is all about controlled power, and keeping the music on
the same scale as the voices.
That task is made
considerably easier by the impressive cast that Vienna State Opera has
assembled for its gala staging. The
women surpass the men, though all are impressive. Stephen Gould and Wolfgang
Koch are both sounding 10 years older than in the Salzburg recording, and that
translates to reduced power, especially from Koch. But dramatically, both are
still convincing, perhaps even more so, and Koch’s dark sound is particularly valuable
in evoking Strauss’s magical soundscape. Nina Stemme and Evelyn Herlitzius were
both making their role debuts as the Dyer’s Wife and the Nurse, but both roles
are ideal for their now mature Wagnerian voices. Stemme is focussed and
expressive, and if Koch sometimes seems underpowered, that is only through
comparison to her. Herlitzius is similarly impressive, and she and Stemme are
sufficiently distinct in timbre to distinguish them in their many ensembles. Best
of all is Camilla Nylund as the Empress. Hers is a properly Wagnerian soprano,
and throughout the opera, you feel that she has so much more in store—a feeling
wholly vindicated by her stentorian performance at the end of the third act, cleanly
delineating her lines and maintaining a rare clarity of tone, even at the
highest dynamics.
Orfeo’s packaging is
attractive, the discs in a three-way card gatefold which slips into an outer casing.
A few stills from the production are included, which show it to be a fairly traditional
affair, set among classical ruins and with lots of dry ice. As well as the
liner note, the booklet includes an extended introduction to the work by
Strauss and a detailed synopsis by Hofmannsthal. Sadly, that is in lieu of a
libretto, a serious omission given the complexity of the story. Still, given
the strength of the competition, it is unlikely that anybody is going to
consider this a reference version. Recommended instead for some fine singing
from the female leads, especially Camilla Nylund, who is unsurpassed as the Empress.
This review appears in
Fanfare issue 44:1.
No comments:
Post a Comment