On encountering
a disc entitled
"Wagner's overtures",
one immediately
expects to
see such
favourites as
Die Meistersinger, Lohengrin,
Tannhäuser and so on. Not
so in this case,
as Naxos have here assembled
quite an unusual
selection of
Wagner’s earlier
overtures, including
Rienzi, Faust, King
Enzio, The Ban on Love, The
Fairies and Christoph Columbus.
The combination of the
extremely capable
Malaga Philharmonic
Orchestra under
their principal
conductor Alexander
Rahbari is already
known to the
CD market
for their recent recordings
of two Puccini operas,
also for Naxos.
Rienzi,
which opens the CD, and is probably
the best-known of the overtures gathered
here, is based
on the
1835 novel
by Edward
Bulwer-Lytton,
seen by
some as
a pioneer of
the science fiction
novel. Some
of the
recent Wagner
opera productions
seem to
reflect this
association!
Rienzi was
Wagner’s first major success, yet the
composer was still feeling his way,
and the work was but a shadow of the
great things yet to come. He was living
at that time in Paris, and had intentionally
set out to write a French-style opera
after Meyerbeer as an audience-pleaser.
The overture
reflects some
of the
weaknesses in
the score,
and to counter this necessitates
a passionate
and committed
performance,
which we certainly
get here
on Naxos.
The other
works on
this disc
are of an even
earlier vintage.
Wagner wrote the
Overture to
King Enzio
not long after
leaving Leipzig
University at
the age
of 18.
At this time he
was obsessed with Beethoven,
even writing
a piano transcription
of his
9th Symphony,
of which he arranged
performances
in the 1840s
when it was still
seen by
many to be
unplayable.
King Enzio is a
play with
a rather similar
plot to
Fidelio, and the overture has
definite Beethoven overtones. It shows
the young composer with a good grasp
of dramaticism and orchestration, and
is here given an exemplary performance.
Die Liebesverbot
(Forbidden love),
the next
work on
this disc,
is based
on Shakespeare's
Measure for
Measure.
Shakespeare had
also proved to
be a
great influence
on Wagner
but unfortunately
his influence
in this
work did
not extend
to ensuring
the work's
success.
The first
couple of performances were fairly
disastrous, with almost empty houses
and last-minute cancellations after
the tenor was attacked by the prima
donna’s jealous husband! In fact, the
premiere performance played a large
part in bankrupting the Magdeburg Opera
Company! The overture itself is not
a poor work, and has definite promise.
As with all the pieces on this disc,
the Malaga Philharmonic Orchestra give
an accomplished and dedicated rendition.
The
next two
overtures Die
Feen (The fairies)
and Christoph
Columbus are
also very
early works,
competently written
and proficiently
played.
Die Feen, although not performed
until after Wagner’s death, was his
first complete opera, with his own libretto,
based on a play by Gozzi and greatly
influenced by Weber. Christoph Columbus,
on the other hand, was a play written
by Wagner’s friend and near-contemporary,
Theodor Apel, who, obviously with a
vested interest, facilitated the work’s
performance by assisting with generous
financial contributions.
The
final work
on this
disc, Faust,
is all
that remains
of Wagner's attempt
to emulate
Berlioz in the
field of the tormented and doom-laden
dramatic symphony. It is a reworking
of the first movement of his abandoned
1839 Faust Symphony, and has
a lugubrious air similar to the Flying
Dutchman, yet without the all-important
notion of eventual salvation. By 1855,
when this work was written, Wagner had
already established himself as the most
innovative and forward-thinking operatic
composer of the 19th century,
and to my
mind,
this short work
is much
the most
successful work
on this CD.
It gives
the Malaga
Orchestra and
Alexander Rahbari the
chance to
play a
truly mature
Wagner work,
and they
do it
magnificently,
rounding off
a highly
successful and
unusual, albeit
slightly heavy, disc.
It would have been very welcome to hear
the orchestra playing, in addition,
some more familiar Wagner overtures
and, at just under one hour on this
disc, there is plenty of room for another
overture.
Although a couple
of the
works played here
are also available
on other
CDs with conductors
as great as Bohm, Klemperer, Stokowski,
Beecham and Toscanini (and it is difficult
competing with such names, especially
with the outstanding orchestral forces
they will have available), you will
not find
this compilation
anywhere else,
so for Wagner
devotees the
disc is
a must!
Em Marshall
Malaga Philharmonic Orchestra/Alexander Rahbari
(conductor) 