R. Strauss’s Frau ohne Schatten’s first studio recording has a legendary status – Karl Böhm tried to convince Decca’s Moritz Rosengarten to take profit of his excellent Vienna State Opera cast and record the opera for the first time. Rosengarten agreed to the proposal but offered him such a limited budget that the cast was obliged to sing for free in an unheated studio. The result, in experimental stereo sound, is the performance by which every other is judged. Including the one presented by the Salzburg Festival this evening. Why am I telling all this? Well, because director Christof Loy supposes that everyone in the audience knows that, even if it actually has intrinsically nothing to do with the opera composed by Richard Strauss and written by Hugo von Hofmannsthal.
The plot of Frau ohne Schatten is one of the most complex in the whole repertoire, based on a wide-ranging and hermetic symbolism that addressed nonetheless some of the most important issues both in psychological and sociological levels at the time of its creation. If there is an opera that still needs a director to guide the audience through it, this is Frau ohne Schatten. It is a formidable task – those who are brave enough, such as David Pountney, have made a stab at it, most hide behind vague stylization, but Loy is the first director I have heard of who has given up before he tried. When Mary Zimmerman staged Bellini’s La Sonnambula as a rehearsal and portrayed all characters as singers et al, she met with harsh criticism, but I have to say that a) although Zimmerman did not really get the plot of La Sonnambula, it is a story a five-year-old kid would understand; and b) although Zimmerman’s concept was poorly developed, her stage direction itself was quite efficiently done, in the sense that there were well-defined characters, an imaginative use of the scenic space and actors acted well. I cannot say the same of this evening’s performance – the beautifully built scenery shows the Sofiensaal (where Solti’s Ring and not Böhm’s Frau ohne Schatten was recorded) prepared for recording sessions. Even if Loy explains very clearly his concept in the booklet – the Empress is a young singer who has to deal with her inner conflicts and mature as an artist through the experience of seeing a bitter aging diva (the Amme) trying to ruin the marriage of a younger colleague (Barak’s Wife) with prospects of success – what one basically sees is: singers with a score on a music stand while an engineer records it. The funny thing is that it is far less interesting than The Golden Ring documentary, where Birgit Nilsson, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Georg Solti are far more fascinating characters under God’s direction. Unlike some other members of the audience, I did not feel that I had to close my eyes to concentrate on the music, but – considering that the future of the euro is a bit uncertain right now – I feel sorry that so much money has been spent for exchange of insights below soap-opera level.
Under these circumstances, the audience certainly turned its attention to the musical side of the performance, and Christian Thielemann more than met the challenge. His performances of FroSch in the Deutsche Oper have left a very positive memory in Berlin and, if there is a composer in whose work the German conductor’s skills are not doubted, this is Richard Strauss. And this opera’s original orchestra is the Vienna State Opera Orchestra (both in the first performance and in the Böhm recording*). Therefore, hearing him conduct it with the Vienna Philharmonic has a special meaning. As he explained in the booklet, Richard Strauss’s music is so multilayered and dramatic that it requires from conductors the discipline to restrain themselves and let the music speak by itself. On listening to this evening’s performance, one could see that Thielemann really meant it. His approach is extremely respectful to the score, performed without cuts. It is at once full-toned (without being simply loud) and structurally transparent. He never forces the flow of this music and masterly knows how to build a climax. This evening, I have discovered many niceties in this work that I had previously never noticed. And it is doubly praiseworthy that one never felt a pedantic effort to highlight details, this happened quite naturally. To make things better, the orchestra was at its resplendent best, expressive solo passages, amazingly warm and rich sound picture and real commitment from the musicians. If Thielemann lacks Böhm extraordinary sense of “special effect”, it is probably because Böhm never felt he had to “respect” a score that he felt as his very own.
Considering the sense of care that the conductor obviously have with every little aspect of the score, it is most curious that he did not always care to follow the composer’s description of what kind of voice goes for each role. For example, the Kaiserin is supposed to be a hoch dramatisch soprano and the Amme, a dramatic mezzo soprano. Anne Schwanewilms is probably the less dramatic soprano who ever sang the role of the Empress. Although her voice has a cutting edge, it just does not work here: her high register is pinched, fluttery and often thin; her low register is mostly left to imagination and she has the habit of pecking at notes or finishing them by a downwards portamento that I find quite unsettling. I understand that one wishes to hear a crystalline sound in this role – and Schwanewilms has it and is obviously a sensitive singer and also a good actress – but, overparted as she is here, every advantage can only be counted as such if you take too many things in consideration. I frankly thought Manuela Uhl in Berlin far more consistent (although she isn’t either a hoch dramatisch sopran, at least she is a jugendlich dramatisch soprano with properly supported flashing top notes). Other than this, I am not being ironic when I say that, this evening, she offered one of the most exciting accounts of the melodrama I have ever heard. As for Michaela Schuster, even if one can see she has all the right ideas about the role of the Amme, her voice is too light for it. If Strauss gave the Kaiserin a lighter orchestral texture to pierce through, such is not the case of the mezzo soprano part. It does require a hefty, bright, exciting voice. This evening, I too often had to add in my mind Grace Hofmann from Karajan’s recording to fill in the blanks of an overshadowed if charismatic singer. I must say, though, that friends who saw her in previous performances told me that today was below her standard in this run.
I have to confess I found Stephen Gould’s name in the cast list with some surprise. Although he is a singer who definitely finds no problems in being heard over a large orchestra, the role of the Kaiser requires a brighter and higher voice than his. It is also true that many a Siegmund-esque Heldentenor has tried it, usually with little success. Gould did sing better than most – he can keep a line in some unsingable parts (and he even sang “es ist anstatt ihrer” instead of the usual replacement “es ist für die Herrin”) – but he often had to operate carefully and couldn’t avoid the strain in the end of his second “aria”. Wolfgang Koch was a reliable Barak who lacked a tiny little bit velvetier and a nobler tone, as Johan Reuter’s in Berlin and Michael Volle’s in Zürich (to keep within recent performances). With the exception of a Thomas Johanns Mayer’s Messenger Spirit (clearly in a bad-voice day), minor roles were uniformly strongly cast: Rachel Frenkel was a very accurate Voice of the Falcon, Peter Sonn sang the “young man”‘s long lines without effort and Markus Brück, Steven Humes and Andreas Conrad were the best trio of Barak’s brothers I have ever heard. I leave the best for last – an incandescent Evelyn Herlitzius in the best performance of her life. Since the bad press she got in Bayreuth for Ortrud, I notice she has done a very serious effort of re-thinking her singing and the result is a far more relaxed tonal quality, a cleaner attack in softer dynamics and a warmer sound. Here all of them used to great effect – without any loss in her Nilson-esque missile-like acuti that could fill a hall twice larger than the Grossesfestspielhaus. She also acted with great sincerity and commitment.
*The Vienna Philharmonic, which comprised of members of the Opera orchestra, appears in some of Karl Böhm’s live recording’s (including the one released by DGG with Birgit Nilsson), Herbert von Karajan’s live recordings and both Georg Solti’s live and studio recording).
Why not just do a concert performance of the piece rather than waste money on a half-hearted, inane production?
I regret not hearing Thielemann conduct this piece at the Met 10 years ago. But at least I heard Bohml conduct it several times, including once with his original Met Frau cast (Rysanek, Ludwig, Dalis, King, Berry). That performance remains the most visceral theatricial evening I’ve ever experienced.
I would very much like to hear Herlitzius as the Farberin. Her Kundry earlier this year in Barcelona was enthralling. She really pulls you into what she is doing, vocally and dramatically, rather like Christa Ludwig did when she sang Faberin and Kundry. Good to hear that Herlitzius is a knockout in the Strauss role.
Thanks for this review: it is the best and most explanatory I’ve yet come across in english of this performance.
My opinions below are only from the audio performance I heard in the live broadcast opening night on oe1.orf.at radio.
— I can only wonder what you heard in Berlin with Manuela Uhl as the Kaiserin. Unfortunately my hearing range doesn’t encompass the ‘beauty’ of Uhl’s tone.
— Yes, you are correct in your weigh-in of the voices in this Frau ohne Schatten performance.
— Schwanewilms does not have a large voice. In consideration of the traditional postwar casting of this role it is most noticeable. But I, for one, welcome a lighter voice in this part. For once I think this is on the right vocal path.
— Michaela Kaune could have done better singing Faberin in the second cast than Amme in the first. She really has more of a Faberin tone, not an Amme one. But how many good Amme are there running around? A compromise is clearly necessary, but one with a darker middle & lower register would have been preferable.
— Gould sounded awkward but well focused. I remember preferring more the lighter(former Mozartian) voiced tenors in this role; still I am glad Gould was there just to remind me what a good hochdramatischen tenor can do with his bark! Unfortunately, as with Uhl’s voice, the ‘beauty’ of Gould’s tone escapes my perception. Perhaps a team swap between Salzburg with Bayreuth could have been made before all this started: Stephen Gould is really more of a Tannhauser and it would have been interesting to hear the brighter voiced Lars Cleveman try the Kaiser.
— I liked Wolfgang Koch’s Barak. He made it clear that he has to stand his ground against the Faberin. Barak is not a sentimental pushover; one can’t be unremittingly suave and romantic; he is sympathetic because he truly loves the Faberin.
— I always enjoyed Evelyn Herlitzius as Salome, Brunnhilde, Faberin, Ortrud, etc. I’m only human and being so fond of her I can’t put her under the microscope, The sincerity and beauty of her tone overcomes any of her flaws.
— rml, thanks again. This was the review I was waiting for.
Loki: I’m green with envy. Christa Ludwig’s Färberin is, in my opinion, one of the most intelligent and exciting performances ever recorded – even if my heart still has room for Gwyneth Jones’s beautiful performance in Paris (really – nobody sang this role as beautifully as she does there).
Jerold: I wouldn’t say Manuela Uhl’s voice is immediately beautiful, but it works extremely well in this role – it is bright, young-sounding, easy in the top notes and ductile enough for the occasional high mezza voce. And I find her beautiful too. The Kaiserin is a difficult role and I too tend to like a lighter tonal quality (as Cheryl Studer’s, for instance) in it. If Schanewilms really sang OUT and stopped to channel Gundula Janowitz (who – in her one-time experience with the role – sang it FAAAAAR better than her), maybe she could do something about it. This evening there was the occasional fully supported, round note that more or less showed how better it could have been. I still prefer Uhl’s more honest approach to singing.
As to Michaela Schuster, only after I saw her sing Sieglinde (only act I), I could understand what is going on. When she does not have to emulate a dramatic voice, the softer and warmer sound she produces is quite beautiful, flowing and spontaneous. She is a very expressive singer, but generally is too busy bracing for the next dramatic top note. Judging from what I heard in Duisburg and in Bayreuth (as Kundry), I imagine that Susan Maclean would have probably been a more dependable Amme in Salzburg.
I agree about SG and understand your point about WK – but I guess I’m far too accustomed to rich, noble voices in this role 🙂
Thank you both for the kind words – I’ve received some very unfriendly ones these days…
Other than that Mrs. Lincoln how was the play? Perhaps you could have been a wee bit more generous to Frau Schwanewilms. Or, you know, not. (One looks forward to her assumption of the role in the cozy confines of the Met).
I’ve mentioned that I have been impressed with Herlitzius and I’m glad she seems to have had such a success here. (I haven’t had a chance to hear a broadcast yet, but I’m sure they’ll be replaying it and hope I can finally give it a listen).
Hi, Cavalier! As the poem says, “cats are cats and dogs are dogs…”…
I was glad for Herlitzius too. Although there was no publicity, posters with her face and the whole circus in Salzburg, she was the one who actually showed everybody what golden age is about! [And lovely Genia Kühmeier as the Countess Almaviva].
When I heard Steven Gould as the Kaiser in Dresden about six or seven years ago, he was straining from the start, and even had to do some rhythmic cheating (holding the high note for only one instead of two counts at the end of his first scene) in order to avoid vocal meltdown.