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Richard
STRAUSS (1864-1949) Intermezzo (1924)
Felicity Lott (soprano) – Christine
John Pringle (bar) – Robert Storch
Ian Caley (tenor) – Baron Lummer
Elizabeth Gale (soprano) - Anna
Glyndebourne Festival Opera
London Philharmonic Orchestra/Gustav Kuhn
rec. live, Glyndebourne, 1983
Director: John Cox
Region Code: 2,3,4,5; Aspect Ratio: 4:3; LPCM Stereo WARNER CLASSICS 5051442 885729 [154:00]
It’s unlikely that Intermezzo will
ever be anyone’s favourite Strauss opera, but it’s at the
very least a fascinating work with lots of lush Straussian
melodies, and it’s given a marvellous performance here.
Not untypically from
a composer who was never exactly modest, Intermezzo is
an autobiographical piece which drew inspiration from a
real-life incident in the Strauss family. Once when Strauss
was away on a tour of England a telegram arrived at his
house from a lady named Meinz Mücke asking for a pair of
opera tickets in Berlin. Pauline, Strauss’s notoriously
difficult wife, found it and jumped to the conclusion that
her husband was involved in an affair which she had finally
discovered. She immediately sent him a telegram demanding
a divorce. The affair was finally sorted out when it was
discovered that the telegram was meant for Josef Stransky:
the woman had mixed up their names in the directory and
sent the telegram to the wrong address.
The opera mirrors the
real-life situation almost exactly. Robert Storch is Strauss
himself, while Christine is Pauline. The misdirected telegram
is meant for Herr Stroh at the opera and when Christine
finds it she sets in motion the plans for a swift divorce. It
is only when Herr Stroh travels to the family home at Grundlsee
that the confusion is cleared up. Pauline herself seems
to have been unaware of the opera’s subject until its premiere. Perhaps
unsurprisingly she was not best pleased when she found
out. After the premiere, Lotte Lehmann, who sang Christine
for the first performance only, congratulated Pauline on
the “marvellous present from your husband”. Pauline allegedly
replied, “I don’t give a damn”. The real theme of the
opera, however, is the steadfast love between Strauss and
his wife. The opening and closing scenes show the couple
alone in the house squabbling and falling out, but making
up and showing the strength of their enduring love in the
end. In the final scene, in particular, Robert stands
up to Christine rather than letting her win for the sake
of peace, and this only makes her love and respect him
all the more. This takes place to the accompaniment of
some gloriously surging string melodies that we associate
with Strauss’s later period; perhaps surprising when we
consider that Intermezzo comes firmly from his middle
period.
This performance is
the release of a BBC recording of the opera from Glyndebourne
in 1983. It is performed in Andrew Porter’s English translation.
This has the advantage of bringing the opera right up close
to our experience and making it easier for us to both understand
and identify with, though subtitles are also on offer if
you’re struggling. John Cox’s production places this firmly
in Strauss’s own time, the 1920s, with fashions and setting
all impeccably observed. It also preserves the magnificent
performance of Dame Felicity Lott as Christine. Lott sings
this role as if it was written for her. Her singing is
beautiful when it comes to the soaring love melodies, but
shrill and bad tempered for the frequent scenes where she
thinks she is being hard done by. She also acts the part
most convincingly and shows great comic timing in the 6th scene
of Act 1 when she is choosing a rented room for her protégé. Furthermore
her diction is impeccable, making every word clear and
immediate. She is matched by the equally skilled John
Pringle as her husband. His diction is similarly excellent
and his baritone voice has a solid and dependable ring
to it, but also conveys the virility and excitement with
which Strauss surely wanted himself to be seen. The final
scene, when he slowly but surely wins Christine over, is
really masterly. The lesser roles are taken very convincingly
too. Elizabeth Gale is a very musical maid who reacts
with humour to all of Christine’s abuse. I wasn’t so convinced
by the affected accents of the other serving staff, though
I’m assured that their German equivalent exists in the
original libretto. Ian Caley gives a thoroughly well rounded
performance as Baron Lummer, the young man who threatens
to de-stabilise Christine’s equilibrium in her husband’s
absence. His light tenor begins in a thoroughly romantic,
exciting vein, but as the opera progresses he becomes more
boorish and irritating, as Christine must surely have seen
him. The lesser roles, including the Notary and Strauss’s
companions at the card party, are all sung and acted very
well indeed.
Gustav Kuhn shows himself
to be a skilled Strauss interpreter with an eye to the
architecture of the piece: he is especially good at shaping
the symphonic interludes which separate each scene. Similarly
the London Philharmonic play with all the surging neo-Romantic
opulence that this music needs. Be warned, though: the
picture quality on the disc is rather grainy and unclear,
and the stereo sound is adequate but a bit boxy by modern
standards. The production’s age might be an excuse for
this, but that’s really not good enough for today.
Sawallisch’s studio
recording on EMI - with Lucia Popp and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
singing in the original German - is still the most reliable
version in the catalogue, though it’s currently unavailable. Let’s
hope that EMI reissue it soon, and that they provide an
English translation with the libretto, a shocking omission
in this of all Strauss operas where the dialogue is so
important. Recently, however, Orfeo have released a live
recording from Bavaria starring Hanny Steffek and Hermann
Prey, conducted by Joseph Keilberth. I haven’t heard this,
but it’s bound to be a fascinating take on this quizzical
but profoundly satisfying work. Anyone wanting the work
in English or on a DVD can be very happy with this present
issue.
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