Erich Wolfgang KORNGOLD (1897-1957)
Die Tote Stadt, Opera in 3 Acts
Paul, Klaus Florian Vogt (tenor); Marietta/Marie, Camilla Nylund (soprano); Frank / Fritz, Markus Eiche (baritone); Brigitta, Sari Nordqvist (mezzo-soprano); Juliette, Kaisa Ranta (soprano); Lucienne, Melis Jaatinen (soprano); Victorin Per-Håkan Precht (tenor); Count Albert, Juha Riihimäki (tenor); Gaston, Antti Nieminen (tenor)
Finnish National Opera Chorus, Children’s Chorus and Orchestra/Mikko Franck
rec. live November 2010, Finnish Opera, Helsinki,
OPUS ARTE OACD9050D [2 CDs: 143:42]
There are about six recordings of Die Tote Stadt available now. Leinsdorf’s from 1975, Segerstam’s Swedish Opera discs from 1996, Sebastian Weigle’s 2011 performance from Frankfurt Opera, Petrenko’s Munich video from 2019, and now this 2010 production from Mikko Franck, are in my collection. When the Leinsdorf recording was issued in UK in 1976 – RCA 3 LPs - I was quick to investigate this strange and absorbing work. It fascinated me from the start in much the same way as two other 20th century operas, Martinů’s Julietta and Szymanowski’s King Roger. All three are dramatisations of the surreal, and in many ways the best theatre in which to “view” a production is inside one’s own head. A staging only helps if it can capture the unreality. That poses a problem for my single video, Petrenko’s, but of course not for this present CD or for Leinsdorf’s studio recording. That said, Mikko Franck’s performance is actually the soundtrack of a video recording. Plenty of extracts are available on YouTube so it is easy to satisfy one’s curiosity as to how Finnish Opera staged the piece. A DVD is also available, not, be it noted, a Blu-ray, but an old-fashioned standard definition DVD. Only Opus Arte knows why that decision was made. The other mystifying decision is why anyone felt it necessary to issue the soundtrack on a CD where the booklet, in English only, has cast list, track details, synopsis and notes but no libretto. Reviewing this required reference to the excellent LP booklet with full libretto from RCA, as well as Dutton Labs SACD remastering of the original quadraphonic sound tapes of this same Leinsdorf performance, which gives that old recording a new lease of life and helps one appreciate Korngold’s luxuriant use of the orchestra. Petrenko’s Munich performance has excellent surround sound, a lovely high-definition Blu-ray video and subtitles allowing the story to be followed carefully. The occasionally clever modern production both helped and hindered understanding of the surreal tale. It is worth noting that the regietheater staging already looks dated after just one decade; so much for being “with it”!
Die Tote Stadt is about the power of a past love to overwhelm the present perception of a new relationship. It asks if it is better to betray a cherished past or to accept it has gone and move on. Both the past love, Marie, and the present infatuation Marietta are sung by the same soprano. Korngold intended the voice of Marie to be distant and disembodied because she exists only in Paul’s memory; he describes the role as “the apparition of Marie”. Marietta is very much real and in the present. Paul’s perception of reality is so distorted by his hopeless longing for his dead wife that most or all of the events taking place over the three acts, including Paul murdering Marietta in a jealous rage, might not have happened. What definitely does happen is Paul’s recognition that he must move on and live life without Marie. Which brings us firmly back to the theatre of the mind mentioned above, to ask whether the Opus Arte CD creates a suitably surreal soundscape. Insofar as it reproduces the sound of the performance moderately well, yes it does. But that it also reproduces the multiple bangs and crashes of an active staging, it doesn’t. The only one of my recordings that sounds like an imaginative soundscape is the Leinsdorf, produced as it was specifically for surround listening at home. It may be well over forty years old, but it sounds gorgeous, with voices floating in from different directions and crucially with Marie at a disembodied distance.
It is obvious from the opening notes of this live Finnish Opera recording that the orchestra is not as analytically recorded as it might be. They do seem to play with gusto. It is most certainly not a matter of poor orchestral playing, but they sound constricted, possibly by the orchestra pit itself. Sari Nordqvist, who sings the maid Brigitta, has a strong voice and her loud notes challenge the microphones. It is quite likely that the cast were individually miked-up so that post-production could handle the final balance. Paul’s friend Frank, sung by Markus Eiche, is more cleanly caught. Both singers handle their opening minutes well. This is important because much of the situation is set out in their dialogue. What matters most is the two main roles, Paul sung by tenor Klaus Florian Vogt and Marietta/Marie sung by Camilla Nylund. Vogt has the right sort of edge to his voice to portray a man who is almost maddened by grief. It is worth noting that this is one of two performances of the role recorded by Vogt. The other is the very well recorded performance from Frankfurt Opera on the Oehms label, very positively reviewed on MWI. Nylund characterises Marietta well but is perhaps defeated by the closeness of her microphone when it comes to the apparition of Marie. By the end of act one I was yearning for more space even though an audible attempt at distance is being made. Moving to Leinsdorf nonetheless is a relief. It is worth adding that this is the best moment in Segerstam’s recording. His Marie/Marietta is Katarina Dalayman and she sounds wonderfully ethereal here. Much else is let down by a rather foggy recording from Swedish Radio though at least Segerstam mostly seems to get the drama across.
Act 2 is a huge challenge for the three main singers. Markus Eiche as Fritz makes an impressive job of Pierrot’s Song Mein Sehnen, mein Wähnen, and Nylund and Vogt make quite super-human efforts to complete the final love duet of the act. The knowledge that this was a live performance makes them still more remarkable. There is a welcome clarity in the orchestra in this act too. Korngold makes great demands with several long passages of loud playing to which the Finnish forces rise impressively. I suspect not knowing what is happening on stage and just having a libretto to follow is beneficial to one’s enjoyment! More theatre of the mind.
None of the recordings can make as much of the final act as one would like. Despite the wonderful final farewell of Paul to the memory of Marie, the music seems to seek a great climactic moment that it doesn’t quite achieve, even in Paul’s dreamt murder sequence. Leinsdorf on Dutton Labs SACD, again, and the Frankfurt recording from Oehms, manage this best. I certainly do not dismiss this new issue, but the two recordings just mentioned better it in most respects.
Dave Billinge
Previous review: Nick Barnard
