Post by erik on Aug 5, 2023 21:35:50 GMT -5
One of Richard Strauss' greatest contributions to the world of Opera is in this week's Classical Works Spotlight.
Richard Strauss: DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN
With one of the longest life spans of any composer, being born while Brahms and Schumann were alive (in 1864) and passing away at age 85 in 1949 (with Stravinsky and Schoenberg paragons of 20th century music), Richard Strauss had quite a vast canon of works that greatly expanded the size and scope of the orchestra, sometimes even surpassing Mahler and Wagner. Beyond his many great symphonic tone poems, Strauss’ great specialty was unquestionably the post-Wagner world of opera. And while “Der Rosenkavalier” remains arguably the most popular of Strauss’ works in the operatic realm, he and his “Der Rosenkavalier” scenarist Hugo von Hofmannsthal were able to compose yet another grand opera in the form of “Die Frau Ohne Schatten” (translated as “The Woman Without A Shadow”). Composed over a six-year period from 1911 to 1917, “Die Frau Ohne Schatten”, which concerns itself with an Empress who is captured by an evil emperor as being half-human, half gazelle, and casting no shadow whatsoever, was premiered at the Vienna State Opera on October 10, 1919. The Viennese audience of the time was extremely unenthusiastic to Strauss’ and Hoffmannsthal’s latest endeavor, primarily due to the complicated and heavily symbolic nature of the libretto. In the final three decades of Strauss’ life, however, save for the horror of World War II, “Die Frau Ohne Schatten” did get more attention and more praise; and by the final quarter of the 20th century, even with its extreme size and length, it had become a standard part of the operatic repertoire in Europe and the United States in general. While still alive, Strauss also conceived a “Symphonic Fantasy” of themes from the opera, which gained considerable currency among orchestras in concert performances and on recordings.
Emperor: BEN HEPPNER
Empress: DEBORAH VOIGT
Nurse: HANNA SCHWARZ
Barak: FRANZ GRUNDHEBER
Sein Weib: SABINE HASS
One-Eyed Man: ANDREAS SCHEIBNER
One-Armed Man: ANDRE ECKERT
Hunchback: ROLAND WAGENFUHRER
Dresden State Opera Chorus
Dresden State Orchestra/GIUSEPPE SINOPOLI (Teldec)
Richard Strauss: DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN
With one of the longest life spans of any composer, being born while Brahms and Schumann were alive (in 1864) and passing away at age 85 in 1949 (with Stravinsky and Schoenberg paragons of 20th century music), Richard Strauss had quite a vast canon of works that greatly expanded the size and scope of the orchestra, sometimes even surpassing Mahler and Wagner. Beyond his many great symphonic tone poems, Strauss’ great specialty was unquestionably the post-Wagner world of opera. And while “Der Rosenkavalier” remains arguably the most popular of Strauss’ works in the operatic realm, he and his “Der Rosenkavalier” scenarist Hugo von Hofmannsthal were able to compose yet another grand opera in the form of “Die Frau Ohne Schatten” (translated as “The Woman Without A Shadow”). Composed over a six-year period from 1911 to 1917, “Die Frau Ohne Schatten”, which concerns itself with an Empress who is captured by an evil emperor as being half-human, half gazelle, and casting no shadow whatsoever, was premiered at the Vienna State Opera on October 10, 1919. The Viennese audience of the time was extremely unenthusiastic to Strauss’ and Hoffmannsthal’s latest endeavor, primarily due to the complicated and heavily symbolic nature of the libretto. In the final three decades of Strauss’ life, however, save for the horror of World War II, “Die Frau Ohne Schatten” did get more attention and more praise; and by the final quarter of the 20th century, even with its extreme size and length, it had become a standard part of the operatic repertoire in Europe and the United States in general. While still alive, Strauss also conceived a “Symphonic Fantasy” of themes from the opera, which gained considerable currency among orchestras in concert performances and on recordings.
Emperor: BEN HEPPNER
Empress: DEBORAH VOIGT
Nurse: HANNA SCHWARZ
Barak: FRANZ GRUNDHEBER
Sein Weib: SABINE HASS
One-Eyed Man: ANDREAS SCHEIBNER
One-Armed Man: ANDRE ECKERT
Hunchback: ROLAND WAGENFUHRER
Dresden State Opera Chorus
Dresden State Orchestra/GIUSEPPE SINOPOLI (Teldec)