The German conductor Frieder Bernius, whose activities
are concentrated in Stuttgart, regularly pays attention to music
which in one way or another is connected to this city. Only
recently he recorded an opera by Justin Heinrich Knecht, who
for some time worked in Stuttgart, and wrote his opera Die
Aeolsharfe for performance there in 1808 - it never took
place. The recording was positively
reviewed here by Göran Forsling. With Die Geisterinsel
another opera - or rather, a Singspiel - for Stuttgart
has been recorded, which Johann Rudolph Zumsteeg composed in
1797.
Zumsteeg spent most of his life in Stuttgart. He was born in
Sachsenflur, near Mergentheim, in what is now Baden-Württemberg,
whose capital is Stuttgart. His father was a military man and
later was in the service of Duke Carl Eugen of Württemberg.
Johann Rudolph was to follow in his father's footsteps as he
entered the military academy which the Duke had founded. But
since he was musically talented he would make a career in music
instead. He was educated at the cello and in composition, and
most of his ten surviving cello concertos were written during
his formative years. Soon he turned his attention to music-drama:
at the age of just 17 he set Klopstock's ode Die Frühlingsfeier.
He also composed songs for Schiller's play Die Räuber,
a result of his friendship with the poet.
In 1781 Zumsteeg was appointed cellist in the court orchestra,
and in 1793 he was promoted to Konzertmeister. Zumsteeg
played a key role in the promotion of Mozart's operas, as he
performed Die Zauberflöte, Don Giovanni and Così
fan tutte. He has become known in the main for his songs
with keyboard, and in this respect he is an important link between
the era of the song with basso continuo and the Klavierlied
of the early 19th century.
Die Geisterinsel is based on The Tempest by William
Shakespeare (a synopsis of his play can be found here).
It was only in the middle of the 18th century that the works
of the English poet and playwright became known and appreciated
in Germany. Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781) was the first
to pay attention to his works. Zumsteeg made use of an adaptation
by Friedrich Hildebrand Freiherr von Einsiedel (1750-1828) which
was further adapted by Friedrich Wilhelm Gotter (1746-1797).
The adaptation not only regarded a translation into German,
but also the cutting of several of Shakespeare's characters
and the creation of some new roles. The libretto was set by
Zumsteeg in recitatives and arias which were linked by spoken
text.
This piece belongs to the genre of the Singspiel. Typical
of the Singspiel is not only the spoken text but also
the inclusion of song-like arias and ariettas. Zumsteeg mixes
various forms like aria and recitative into large-scale scenes.
This can be heard in the finales which end the first and second
acts. There is a clear influence from the opera buffa,
in particular in the character of the gnome Caliban, the bad
boy of the piece. The work begins with an overture, which is
followed by the only dacapo aria, a reminder of the opera
seria.
Several aspects of Zumsteeg’s composition are notable.
Firstly, there is a clear distinction between the arias of the
various characters. As Caliban represents the opera buffa,
his contributions are mostly rather simple and often of a declamatory
character, with hardly any coloratura. The role of the sylph
Ariel, though, is much more elaborate: her arias feature plenty
of coloratura and are quite virtuosic. Another key character
is Fernando, prince of Naples. His royal status is emphasized
by the sophisticated nature of his music. Miranda, the daughter
of the former duke of Milan, Prospero, is portrayed as "a girlish
character, [built] far from civilization" - as Adrian Kuhl writes
in his liner-notes - but through the coloratura passages of
her role we are reminded of her "superior social status". The
choirs are interesting: one of them is accompanied by wind alone,
another is a cappella. The orchestral colours are also
eloquently used to express dramatic development.
It cannot be appreciated enough that pieces like this are brought
to our attention. Historically they are often interesting, and
therefore mentioned in history books. A recording like this
gives the opportunity to hear for ourselves why they are of
historical importance. This Singspiel has its musical
merits as well. As this is a recording of a live performance
it is understandable that large parts have been cut. A number
of sung passages are omitted - printed in grey in the booklet
- and the whole spoken text is also left out. This part is not
printed in the booklet which is understandable as it would be
incomprehensible to non-German readers. Although the synopsis
is extensive this is no compensation for the lack of English
translations of the lyrics.
As in his previous recording of Knecht's Die Aeolsharfe
Frieder Bernius has brought together an impressive cast which
has no weak links. At first I thought that Falko Hönisch
had too little presence, but while listening I got used to it;
maybe it was deliberate that they chose not to deploy a more
powerful voice. Andrea Lauren Brown has the vocally most demanding
part as Ariel, and she masters her role magnificently. She sings
her arias with impressive ease, but also portrays her character
convincingly. The tenor Benjamin Hulett is also impressive in
the role of Fernando. He has a beautiful and agile voice, and
his delivery is immaculate. Christian Feichtmair is spot-on
as Caliban, and Sophie Harmsen does well as Fernando's squire
Fabio. Göran Forsling, in his review of Knecht's Die
Aeolsharfe, listed the many qualities of the Kammerchor
Stuttgart but felt that they missed "raw uninhibited power".
I understand what he means, and to a certain extent agree. Some
choruses are probably a bit too polished, like the choir of
the crew-members of the ship that is to sink at the end of Act
1. But the choruses of the spirits in Acts 1 and 2 and the chorus
in the closing episode of the work are very well sung. The orchestra
includes a full battery of wind and percussion, and plays with
vigour and dramatic flair.
We should be thankful for this recording of a previously neglected
piece of music for the stage. It is a shame, though, that this
kind of work seems only to be recorded live, and as a result
almost inevitably are heavily cut. I believe this piece - and
that also goes for Knecht's Die Aeolsharfe - are good
enough to be performed at full length, preferably staged. Probably
the time hasn't yet come that an opera such as this is fully
appreciated and assessed alongside the operas of, for instance,
Mozart.
Johan van Veen
http://www.musica-dei-donum.org
https://twitter.com/johanvanveen
Andrea Lauren Brown (Ariel); Christiane Karg (Miranda) (soprano);
Sophie Harmsen (Fabio) (mezzo); Benjamin Hulett (Fernando) (tenor);
Christian Feichtmair (Caliban); Falko Hönisch (Prospero); Christian
Immler (Stefano); Patrick Pobeschin (Orinzio) (baritone) 
