To come across any work
of Hallström outside Sweden is a rarity and for one of his operas
to be recorded complete will be welcomed by researchers of the romantic
opera tradition. Only one entry exists in the Gramophone catalogue,
one aria from Den Bergtangna (Bride of the Mountain King)
(recorded on BIS-CD-1053). We owe this recording to the existence of
a yearly festival at Vadstena Castle, Sweden's earliest opera house,
where the International Vadstena Academy performs rediscovered gems
of early opera. Since this very castle was the setting for Hallström's
opera and a Duke Magnus really did visit the place makes this 2000 performance
somewhat special.
Neither Ivar Hallström's
background nor career is given in the notes, and I guess that he
came from a comfortably well-off family and probably learnt his art
at a German conservatoire. His music has more than a passing resemblance
to the music of Mendelssohn, Schumann and Brahms. Orchestration is at
times light-weight in texture with a marked absence of counter-melodies
and decoration. Arias are often found to be dark, in a minor key and
hymn-like.
As an opera composer, one
particular characteristic is the introduction of folk-song melodies
within his music. He was striving towards a national musical 'tone'
by incorporating themes of a national character. He also tended to match
his music to a singer's stage character rather than the operatic mood
of a situation and this makes an assessment of this work interesting.
While his Bride of the
Mountain King was widely played throughout Sweden, Duke Magnus
and the Mermaid was less fortunate. It was written from knowledge
gained by the writing of two cantatas (1860/1865).
It was staged in January
1867 but for economic reasons was mounted with only eleven days rehearsal,
and with scenery and costumes borrowed from other productions. This
shortcoming was to some extent off-set by good soloists and so the first
night was claimed as a reasonable success. However when on the third
night the opera was to have been given strong publicity and the stamp
of royal approval given by the attendance of King Oscar II, the principal
soloist (Fredrika Stenhammar) fell ill. Without any understudy available
the performance had to be cancelled. This interruption to the opening
run (as with Wallace's Lurline) sealed the fate of the work;
in total only six performances were ever given. It was not revived until
121 years later. The failure of Duke Magnus did not dampen Hallström's
determination to continue composing for the stage. He produced The
Enchanted Cat in 1869 and, of course, The Mountain King.
Incredibly, before being assured of any success, Hallström had
spent much time reducing the scoring to suit a standard pit orchestra
so that the work could be more widely performed.
Duke Magnus and the
Mermaid (Hertig Magnus) involves a real location and Vadstena
Castle does exist. In Act I the characters are introduced on a rising
scale of social status while in Act II they feature in a descending
order. In Act III the characters' genuine opinions and relationships
are revealed. This is a subtlety, which would not come across in its
stage production, which I'll discuss later.
Act I: Briefly the
plot concerns a village of fishermen and wives preparing for their day's
work. Peder is bitter at having lost everything when the Crown took
the Vadstena monastery. He relates this fact to Duke Magnus, a feeble
and unstable nobleman who believes that a mermaid is trying to entice
him to the depths of the lake surrounding Valstena Castle where a tranquil
and glorious existence awaits. Peder realises that his daughter, Anna,
has been noticed by the Duke and decides that he might steer a marriage
union and bring prosperity to the family. A monk, equally bitter at
having lost status as a result of the Crown's interference, joins Peder
with a plan to lead Anna and the Duke back into the Catholic faith,
thus getting the Church and monastery to regain their power. Their plotting
is overheard by Lisa who dislikes the monk's advice. Lisa's fiancé
arrives to tell her he has been appointed to a position in the Duke's
employ, and the two decide that they can now afford to get married.
Sir Brynolf enters and
reminisces about his attraction to Anna: she enters and soon joins in
a duet, declaring her love to him. Anna has momentarily forgotten their
social differences, yet reassures her that this is not a problem. In
a romantic aria, I played as a child, she soliloquises before
the Duke arrives with a hunting party. The duke sings of his tormented
mind and his need for the mermaid to grant him his peace. The tension
heightens as he starts to hear sounds coming from the shore. Anna in
a boat pretends to be the mermaid and sings, 'Come son of the King to
my longing breast beneath the waves'. Magnus answers and jumps from
a hill into the lake. A cry comes from Anna. We continue with Peder
recognising his daughter's off-stage cry of shock and Sir Brynolf going
to the Duke's rescue. The Duke is saved to general rejoicing in contrast
to the Monk's sour words of 'Heaven's revenge'.
In the second Act, Hallström
relaxes more and provides better melodies and orchestration. Act
II: In Peder's cottage his wife is found spinning and he mending
fishing nets. He finds out from Lisa that his daughter, Anna, is in
love with Sir Brynolf. The couple are summoned to the Castle constable.
The scene changes to a Castle interior where courtiers sing of the silent
unease of 'the prince on the shore'. Lord Sten asks his son, Brynolf,
'Did someone push the Duke?' Brynolf protects Anna in his reply and
later announces his love for her. Anna is now summoned and Sten asks
if her father made her lay traps. Puzzled by this Anna is told to forget
Brynolf on grounds of ill feeling towards the Duke. Suddenly the Duke
arrives, and seeing in Anna the mermaid, he rushes to her, asserting
his love for her. After an argumentative duet Brynolf now enters and
pushing the Duke away embraces her. The Duke intervenes and Brynolf
draws his sword. The Act finishes with the Duke chasing Brynolf and
Anna with drawn sword as they try to hurry away.
Act III: On the
shore again the scene mirrors the opening of Act I with a fishermen's
chorus declaring a splendid catch. Lisa presents her fiancé to
them and their engagement is celebrated. A dance follows. The gaiety
now subsides as the chorus retire and the monk enters with Peder. The
monk is annoyed at hearing Anna's love for someone else and their plan
for her to marry the Duke is in jeopardy. Peder declares that he and
his wife found Anna abandoned as a baby by the Castle at the time when
a Prince and Princess were guests there. Her clothes showed she was
of high birth. They agree that Brynolf must not stand in their way.
They hide as Brynolf and Anna arrive and in a sextet they embrace. The
monk re-enters with dagger raised and heads for Brynolf. Sten intervenes
and the monk is taken prisoner. The Duke who has previously entered
in bewilderment, also with sword in hand, stands in amazement. In confusion
at the complicated skein of sub-plots everybody stares at each other
with astonishment unable to understand what crime has been concealed.
The Duke comes to his senses, understanding that his mermaid was only
a dream. He sentences the monk to death. Information reveals that Anna
turns out to be Brynolf's cousin and the Duke agrees to their marriage,
allowing mercy to go before justice.
From the above one considers
that there is a fair plot, allowing the contrasts of pastoral/court
settings, action and drama. The dramatic situation at the end of Act
I must have been difficult to stage effectively, yet although the libretto
gave Hallström a golden opportunity to excel in fine music yet
there is a lack of inspirational energy in the result: much is written
in a minor key. Hallström seems to detach the emotions he expresses
in the music from those expressed in the lyrics. Neither does he see
the need for using musical passages to portray the on-stage changes
in mood. At the start of the Finale, Magnus's soliloquy (CD1 tk.11)
contains a musical blandness that does not relate to excitingly descriptive
lyrics or hearing sounds off-stage. This could have provided a powerful
conclusion to the Act but, despite Hallström's practice in choral
setting, there is no intensity of musical excitement, nor any integrated
choral work where the characters interact vocally. This is a wasted
opportunity since at this point the music could have provoked a crescendo
of emotional intensity.
Act II opens with a plodding
introduction and heavily weighted verses that don't seem to match 'I
will be rich again … everyone will be your friend' but then we have
to remember that Hallström set for character rather than situation.
After this, Act II and Act III improve and the score becomes more lively.
It is here that we find a few operatic gems from the work. Anna and
Lisa's duet 'How can you be so full of joy' (CD2 tk.3) comes like a
breath of fresh air. The Act II finale is better written with the music
well matched to the lyrics and dramatic crescendo.
Comparing the similar opening
of Act III with Act I the writing is much more fluent (CD2 tk.12) and
a well-written polka follows. The operetta ends with a reprise of Anna
singing the mermaid song; but what a pity Hallström did not work
harder to provide a less melancholic tune, for the Act finishes on a
sombre note.
The singers on this recording
are all experienced, well respected Swedish names. There is little point
in discussing their individual merits when no other version is available
for comparison, so we are grateful to Marco Polo for making the set
possible. The orchestra works sensitively under Niklas Willén,
who studied conducting at the Royal College of Music, Stockholm and
works internationally. The recording is excellent, though the choir
are at times rather too recessed for my liking.
The 2 CD set comes with
a 52 page booklet containing good background notes on the work. The
libretto is given in Swedish and English and is clearly typeset, Plot
development is described in boxed-notes between the vocal numbers.
Raymond Walker