In spite of his incomparable
success as an operetta composer, Franz
Lehár nourished the dream of
writing a "real" opera. Zigeunerliebe,
probably comes closest to this dream,
even if Giuditta from 1935, his
last stage work, also had operatic ambitions
and was premiered at the Vienna State
Opera.
With two world-wide
successes behind him (Die lustige
Witwe [The Merry Widow] and Der
Graf von Luxemburg [Count of Luxembourg])
Lehár in 1910 came up with something
quite different, breaking the rules,
so to speak, of what an operetta should
be. First of all this is a ‘dream drama’,
the subtitles of the three acts reading
Marienacht (Lady Night), Zorikas
Traum (Zorika’s Dream) and Das
Erwachen (The Awakening). Secondly
the structure of the work is far more
operatic than any earlier operetta with
often long continuous stretches of music
involving several characters. There
are several solos (arias if you like)
but they mostly appear within this ensemble
framework. Thirdly the cast is unusually
large with two major soprano parts and
two important tenor parts plus the usual
comic couple and a major baritone part,
added to which are a number of minor
parts. It is also a long work for an
operetta. This recording plays for almost
two hours and then there is no spoken
dialogue at all included. I don’t know
how much spoken dialogue there
is since the libretto in the booklet
only prints what is sung, but anyway
Lehár didn’t go the whole way
and produce a through-composed work.
In that respect it still follows the
convention, but it could just as well
be regarded as a Singspiel. Lovers
of Lehár’s "traditional"
operettas need not, however, fear that
they won’t like the piece; over and
over again throughout the score we come
across typical examples of Lehár’s
soaringly beautiful melodies. Sweet?
Yes! Sentimental? Yes, sometimes, but
we like them that way, don’t we? What
also should be mentioned is the Hungarian
influence that permeates the music.
Lehár was of course Hungarian
by birth and here he uses the csardas
quite frequently, so much so that one
sometimes feels that this could just
as well have been composed by his fellow-countryman
Kálmán. Die Csardasfürstin
isn’t far away. Since Józsi,
the leading tenor, is a "Zigeuner
primas" (the leading fiddler in
the gypsy band), the solo violin plays
a prominent part in the operetta, very
well played by Andrej Bielow. In the
orchestral texture two cymbals (cymbalom
in Hungarian, Hackbrett in provincial
German) are so important for the local
colour that the names of the players
appear in the cast list.
The plot isn’t easy
to summarize in a few lines: Zorika,
a rich boyar’s daughter, is supposed
to be engaged tp Jonel, a boy from her
own class. On the day of her engagement
she meets Józsi, the wild gypsy
with the magical violin. Shall she choose
him or Jonel? In act 2, which is her
dream, she has lived with Józsi
for two years and their love has turned
into a nightmare, which, when she wakes
up in act 3, makes it easy to get engaged
to Jonel. Józsi has an affair
with Ilona, both in the dream and in
real life but in the end she turns him
down and they separate. This is perhaps
a happy ending, since they would probably
not have lived a contented life together,
but it certainly is not a conventional
Happy End. From that point forwards
Lehár seldom chose librettos
with happy endings, The Land of Smiles
being one obvious example.
After the elegantly
orchestrated overture, which is of the
potpurri-type, pompous, sentimental
and joyful, the curtain rises in the
midst of a raging thunderstorm. This
is graphically illustrated in the music,
not only with traditional instruments
but also using "sound effects",
e.g. the wind machine. This is indeed
very un-operetta-ish and so is Zorika’s
entrance aria, beginning Heissa,
heissa! Heiss, juchhei!, like a
latterday Hungarian Brünnhilde,
but continuing as a kind of radio reporter,
describing the terrible weather and
even imitating the cuckoo! It isn’t
exactly an aria and the libretto has
the heading "Introduction and Entrance".
The part is very high-lying and Johanna
Stojkovic manages it admirably. She
has a fine, bright voice and and is
quite expressive. The duet that follows
has some characteristic Lehárian
"Schmaltz" and is quite melancholy
and well sung. Maybe the highpoint in
the whole work is Zorika’s song in the
second act (CD2 track 3) which is music
worthy of a Hanna Glawari. Johanna Stojkovic
sings very well indeed and she is also
good in the duet with Jonel in the same
act (track 7). The other major soprano
role, Ilona, is sung by Dagmar Schellenberger,
who is more of a household name. Hers
is a more rounded, fuller and deeper
voice, which unfortunately sometimes
develops a wide vibrato under pressure.
She is a dramatic singer, though. Her
long solo in act 2 (CD2 track 4), Durch’s
Leben da klingt eine Melodei, is
another fine waltz-melody out of Lehár’s
top-drawer. Schellenberger can also
produce a wonderful pianissimo, as at
the end of her duet with Józsi
(CD2 track 6). Best of all is her last
act aria, Hör’ ich Cymbálklänge
(CD2 track 13), which is inserted from
the second version of the work. This
is music – and singing! – that should
draw standing ovations in the theatre.
As Józsi, the
gypsy fiddler, we hear Zoran Todorovich,
born in Belgrade but living in Germany
and singing in many of the world’s great
opera houses. He was recently praised
for his Sandor Barinkay in a recording
of Johann Strauss’s The Gypsy Baron.
He takes part in BMG’s live recording
of Halévy’s La Juive from
the Vienna State Opera and has a recital
on Arte Nova, where his singing of the
romance from The Pearl Fishers
challenges even Nicolai Gedda’s. His
is "a lyric tenor with dramatic
outgrowth" (his own description),
quite dark in timbre and with lots of
power. He has a lively stage presence
and is a convincing actor, important
for the role of Józsi. In the
first act he has a lovely solo in the
long third scene (CD1 track 4) and in
the finale of the same act he sings
what is one of Lehár’s finest
melodies, Glück hat als Gast
nie lange Rast (CD1 track 6). Todorovich
sings it well with a good ring but is
taxed on some of the top notes. He compensates
for that, though, in the fiery second
act song Weisst ja doch, ich bin
Zigeuner (CD2 track 1) where he
rips off a gleaming high C in the concluding
duet with Zorika. The part was originally
offered to Louis Treumann, the first
Danilo in The Merry Widow, but
he turned it down, saying "Wouldn’t
occur to me in a dream – am I Caruso?"
Well, Zoran Todorovich may not be a
Caruso but he has all the qualities
that make a splendid Józsi, and
throughout his is expressive singing
and acting of the highest order. The
other leading tenor, Bernhard Schneider
as Jonel, is lightweight and can feel
too weak at times, which makes him press
his voice beyond his natural limits.
However where he keeps within his compass
he can express passion with small means,
as in the second act duet with Zorika
(CD2 track 7).
The comic duo also
have small voices. Stefan-Alexander
Rankl as Kajetán sings very beautifully
indeed. Of the others Andreas Hörl
has a fine rounded bass, which can be
heard to good effect on CD2 track 3
(after Zorika’s aria) and in the second
act finale (CD2 track 8). Interestingly
in this scene there is a short quotation
from Carmen (The Toreador song)
when Ilona says "Gypsy girl, forward,
you must dance, sing!"
The chorus plays a
more important part in Zigeunerliebe
than in any other operetta I know and
the NDR-Chor sings splendidly. The orchestra
is good and the conductor, Frank Beermann,
keeps things moving. The sound is excellent
and the booklet, besides printing the
sung texts in German and in an English
translation by Susan-Marie Praeder,
also has a very interesting long essay
by Stefan Frey.
In toto this
is a very good performance of a work
that should be better known. Lehár
lovers should rush to the nearest record
store and others, who are not directly
allergic to operetta, should also lend
this recording their ears. They will
be in for several pleasing surprises.
Göran Forsling
NDR-Chor, NDR Radiophilharmonie/Frank Beermann
