Nearly 75 minutes of this recording of Doktor Faust were
released on a single disc by LPO Live. John Quinn’s review
of that disc drew attention to the omissions that this entailed,
and pointed out that prospective purchasers should approach
it with caution. Those who accordingly waited for a fuller version
are now rewarded with this issue of what would seem to be the
whole opera as performed in 1959. There are nearly 50 minutes
more music. Admittedly there are still large cuts to the music
but nothing like the 81 pages of vocal score apparently missing
from the earlier issue.
Sir Adrian Boult’s championing of complex and important
works with which his name may not be obviously associated is
worth more attention. He conducted the British premieres of
Wozzeck, Mahler’s Third Symphony and Roy Harris’s
Third Symphony as well as an enormous number of British works.
He first conducted Doktor Faust in a concert performance
in 1937 with Dennis Noble and Parry Jones. The present performance
was similarly in concert form and had the advantage of a cast
that is comparable in quality with any assembled later. Dietrich
Fischer-Dieskau had already sung the work in the opera house
and was later to record it again, in a less truncated form,
for DG. His performance rightly dominates the opera and shows
a complete understanding of the complexities of the character.
Richard Lewis was at times clearly taxed by his role, but his
performance is still worth hearing for his usual clarity of
tone and immaculate diction. It is good to be reminded of his
commitment to complex modern scores - he sang in the premieres
of The Midsummer Marriage and King Priam as well
as the British premiere of Moses and Aaron (as it was
in English). Heather Harper sings with great beauty of tone
as the Duchess of Parma. The many minor roles are filled with
variable success but overall this is a very satisfactory cast.
The chorus may sound desperate at times, as does less frequently
the orchestra, but there is the real excitement of a live performance
here in which the music is being allowed to develop its own
fascinating logic. It would be idle to suggest that this is
a performance on a level with later studio versions but it does
have real virtues of its own, and would be a very useful supplement
to any of those.
Arlecchino is a kind of commentary on the idea of a comic
opera, rather than a comic opera in itself. There are echoes
of Richard Strauss, (late) Verdi and Mozart and yet the whole
remains entirely individual. It is a delightfully subtle score,
short but full of invention. It is perhaps unsurprising that
it appears seldom in the opera house, but makes a delightful
experience on disc, although for full enjoyment you need to
download the libretto and translation. Although the performance
heard here starts and ends with the typical BBC announcement
of the 1950s taken from a broadcast from Glyndebourne, what
is actually heard between them is the EMI studio recording made
about a month later. According to Richard Caniell’s very
full and interesting notes it was originally intended to issue
the broadcast performance but he later felt that to have been
inferior to the studio version. I do not know to what extent
that may be the case but certainly what we have here is a performance
that musically and dramatically could hardly be beaten. Given
its age the recording quality is excellent, enabling the complexity
of the work to be fully appreciated.
The three orchestral works are amongst the composer’s
more frequently played pieces. The Comedy Overture is
the epitome of neo-classicism (of Wolf-Ferrari’s or Richard
Strauss’s style rather than that of Stravinsky) and is
always worth hearing in such a spry performance despite sound
that is only just acceptable. The other two items, recorded
at a live concert, apparently suffered from very poor sound
as originally transmitted. What we hear here is however at the
very least adequate to appreciate what were obviously idiomatic
and spirited performances. The start and finish of the Rondo
Arlecchinesco are replaced here from an earlier performance
to remove defects in the 1949 version. This is done imperceptibly
and the overall results ensure that the orchestral works are
more than mere fillers.
This is an issue which should appeal to all enthusiasts for
the composer’s music. I am not sure that it would be a
better choice for anyone unfamiliar with the music than more
recent, better recorded and less cut versions, but the riches
of performance and of performance history found here are of
immense value in themselves and make this an important and highly
desirable set.
John Sheppard
Full Details
Doktor Faust [132:49] Dr Faust - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
(baritone); Mephistopheles - Richard Lewis (tenor); Duchess
of Parma - Heather Harper (soprano); Duke of Parma - John Cameron
(baritone); Wagner and Master of Ceremonies - Ian Wallace (bass);
Mary Thomas and Rosemary Phillips (sopranos); Ambrosian Singers;
London Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra/Sir Adrian Boult; recorded
at a live performance in the Royal Festival Hall, London, on
13 November 1959: text and translation available at website
Arlecchino [55:23] Arlecchino - Kurt Gester (speaker); Ser
Matteo - Ian Wallace (bass); Abbate Cospicuo - Geraint Evans
(bass); Dr Bombasto - Fritz Ollendorff (bass); Colombina - Elaine
Malbin (soprano); Leandro - Murray Dickie (tenor); Glyndebourne
Festival Orchestra/John Pritchard; recorded July 1954; text
and translation available at website
Comedy Overture [7:07] London Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir Adrian
Boult (conductor); recorded April 1962
Berceuse Élégiaque [8:36]; Rondo Arlecchinesco
[10:17] NBC Symphony Orchestra/Arturo Toscanini; recorded 10
December 1949
IMMORTAL PERFORMANCES IPCD 1017-3 [3 CDs: 78:15 + 72:03 + 55:23]
