April 19, 2019

  • Rediscovering Lortzing's Opera Overtures

     

    Lortzing: Overtures
    Malmo Opera Orchestra/Jun Markl
    Naxos 8.573824
    Total Time:  66:53
    Recording:   ****/****
    Performance: ****/****

    Albert Lortzing (1801-1851) was among the most-performed German opera composers until his personal politics and personality got in the way.  He started off as a dashing stage artist and would write his own libretti for his operas.  He is most known for his comic opera, and in particular Zar und Zimmerman (1837), which was not received well at first but is now considered to be one of the masterpieces of comic opera.  His music brought together the German singspiel with French opera comique.  There dramatic themes are a sort of summary of popular 19th-Century subjects from romance to fantasy and heroic calls for freedom.  Jun Markl has recorded a few of these overture surveys of lesser-known composers.  Here he turns to the Malmo Opera Orchestra to help bring out nine of Lortzing’s engaging overtures.

    Der Waffenschmied (1846) opens the album with this music based on a story that focuses on working class characters.  One can hear some of Lortzing’s approaches to melody with interesting solo ideas to help add color and interest.  The interaction of melodic phrases with big, cadential interjections, is a common characteristic here with light, comedic touches within the orchestra making it equally interesting.  The music itself has that Germanic feel of Carl Maria von Weber with touches of Nicolai.  Blends of Auber and Rossini can also be heard hovering at the edges.  But the music is well-crafted and orchestrated.  From early overtures at the beginning of his career (Der Weihnachtsabend and Andreas Hofer, both 1832) with closer hints to Haydn and Weber to more familiar music from Undine (1845) and Zar und Zimmerman (1837, with its folklike dances) to serious operas from later in his career like Regina (1848)—which he was never able to get performed—, the listener gets an interesting overview of early 19th-Century opera in Germany.  The tragic overtures tend to provide some of the more intriguing music here.

    The performances here are excellent with a real sense of style and appreciation for the period.  Even at the most banal gestures, the orchestra manages to maintain a great sense of forward motion and drive.  There are also plenty of places for solos in the winds to help those players shine as well.  The sound here allows for excellent detail without too much bass in the tutti sections.  The booklet provides some basic dramatic information that helps connect the general subjects of each work which helps give small snapshots of Lortzing’s work.  Overall an interesting parallel to some of the many familiar overtures that have maintained a place in the concert repertoire.  For now, this is the best place to get an overview of Lortzing’s music collected here on one place.