March 7, 2018
-
An Almost Tragic Zemlinsky Release
Zemlinsky: A Florentine Tragedy, Op. 16
Heidi Brunner, soprano. Wolfgang Koch, baritone. Charles Reid, tenor.
ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra/Bertrand de Billy
Capriccio C5325
Total Time: 52:22
Recording: (*)***/****
Performance: (*)***/****Alexander von Zemlinsky (1871-1942) was one of the great voices of Post-Romanticism/Expressionism/Symbolism. His music lies in that rich moment in musical history when these threads were coalescing into a new expressive music. His early work expands upon Brahms’ rich symphonic tradition but moves towards the more expanded harmony of Mahler with a distinct style that is evident from his earliest works. Schoenberg’s first large-scale tone poem, Pelleas und Melisande, is actually quite similar in musical sound to Zemlinsky’s The Seejungfrau of the same period. But the ultra-romantic chromaticism would take both composers in quite different ways. Zemlinsky never really embraced serial or twelve-tone technique, but one can certainly hear his own influence on the lyrical writing of Berg. Of course, one of his most famous pupils would cement this romantic extension in Hollywood, Erich Wolfgang Korngold. His own fate was not as fortunate as he fled Nazi Germany in 1938 to New York City. He did not find there the sort of support that his compatriot Schoenberg would find in California, and eventually suffered a series of strokes before dying all but forgotten in 1942. Fortunately, there has been a gradual resurgence of interest in his work over the past few decades to help us hear more than just his more popular Lyric Symphony.
A Florentine Tragedy is a rather brief one act opera lasting about an hour usually. Based on an unfinished play by Oscar Wilde, the story, set in the 16th Century, is essentially a classic love triangle with a merchant’s wife wishing her husband, Simone, dead. He comes home early to find her with Prince Guido and suspects there is something up. He leaves his wife, Bianca, and the prince alone while he goes off to ponder the adulterous possibilities and death (some common Symbolist connections here). When he returns there is a fight, of course, and the result is that Bianca discovers she admires her husband’s strength and is reconciled. Of course, that’s the essential nub of the story. That said, the work is sometimes seen as the operatic connection between Strauss’ Salome and Berg’s Wozzeck. It has a rather engaging four-minute overture that transitions us into the opening scene. At the center though is a massive waltz that Simone sings which is symbolically the center of the more delicate “dance” that Bianca is in the midst of. It is really quite a musical standout here and comes just in time to create a big solo moment, a rather rare one in the work.
The Capriccio recording is taken from a live performance from 2010 which makes one wonder why the delay in getting the performance released. There are but a handful of performances with one by Riccardo Chailly tending to be the preferred one. Fortunately, the Vienna radio orchestra has spent many years exploring Zemlinsky’s music and style and this aids the performance quite well. Though the French conductor Bertrand de Billy is still building his recorded repertoire, he does appear to specialize in Strauss and Mahler with a bit of Wagner thrown in for good measure. This further informs this performance which is well shaped and aptly dramatic in its supportive role here. The soloists also seem ideal for these roles and make the characters come alive as the story unfolds. It is all often quite beautiful in the midst of the ultrachromatic writing that Zemlinsky continues to weave through the different declarative lines. This is musical storytelling without the sort of grand operatic gestures of solo displays of virtuosity, instead, the singers must work harder on their dramatic presence which is captured here with a good immediacy. Koch is quite good as Simone especially in the more lyrical moments, though his lower register is stretched here a bit at times. Brunner has an equally beautiful voice, though it starts to go flat subtly at the end of the performance. The balance between soloists and orchestra works equally well.
The booklet libretto has a number of typos and could be more carefully edited to catch where missing letters in the translation appear with an aversion to including “fl-“ for words like “flowers” and “floor”. In fact not a single page goes by where some annoying typo occurs. That is pretty sloppy for such a major label. Another aspect of the recording is the way the balance seems to change throughout the recordings. This may be partially a spatial reality, but it seems like this is more a live concert performance and not a staged one. Still, there is some great detail that cuts through in the orchestra. There are enough minor issues along the way that might be the reason the recording has been on hold for so long. That said, De Billy’s interpretation is solid and that, coupled with the fine performance by the Vienna RSO and the dramatic performances of the soloists, are likely more than enough to explore this fascinating work whose final moments are brought off with great intensity here!
The minor editing issues aside, those who enjoy the music of Korngold really need to expand their musical experiences by exploring Zemlinsky’s music. This may not be quite the piece to start with but there is so much of this work that spreads its musical style across the 20th Century that it is hard not to want to get to know it more. Chailly’s recording is still the one to beat, but this one is certainly worth one’s effort. Just download a translation to follow.
Recent Comments