When I first heard
that there was now a recording of the
Donna Diana opera I was
intrigued to know more about it. The
title had been well known to me since
the 1960s. Its sparkling overture was
available on an HMV 78 record (Böhm’s
performance on DB4560) and it was occasionally
played by the BBC and heard in concert
programmes. I wondered what musical
delights were to be found within its
pages.
Rezniček
is a little known composer
outside Austria where he was born into
an upper class family residing in Vienna.
With a grandfather as a bandmaster it
is no surprise that he found himself
heading for the Leipzig Conservatoire
where Reinecke taught him. He first
travelled around Europe as a theatre
conductor before becoming attached to
Warsaw Opera and the Warsaw Philharmonic
Orchestra. This was a connection that
led to Rezniček
writing his First Symphony. It will
have been during his tenure as a theatre
conductor, however, that he acquired
his knowledge of stagecraft. This would
later be put to good use in his operas.
In the late 1880s he was engaged to
write one opera a year. Titles
like Jungfrau von Orleans (1887)
and Satanella (1888) came from
this period. Donna Diana
arrived in 1894. Sadly some of the operas
are lost; only Donna Diana
is now known, principally because of
its overture. Kleiber (1932) was possibly
one of the first to record it, and Marriner
one of the most recent (1997).
Based on a Spanish
comedy that retains its characters and
setting, Donna Diana carries
a theme of pride and love. Rezniček’s
composition has leanings towards Puccini
in certain characteristics of orchestration
and style. Chirpy flutes and other outbursts
of wind add the necessary bright and
comic touches more than his choice of
catchy rhythms. The composer has certainly
been successful in conveying to the
listener a clever Spanish feel to the
piece. A vibrant opening to Act II reveals
Rezniček’s skill in writing in
this vein. The lines of the play are
set as written with little in the way
of detached lyric setting. Disappointing
for me is the absence of arias, duets
or trios and consequently few memorable
tunes are to be found. One exception
is Floretta’s song in Act III (CD2 tr.14)
which is emotionally uplifting.
All singers are strong,
have good voices and are well chosen
for their roles. Of them, Roman
Sadnik as Don Cesar is a particularly
powerful tenor with elegant voice and
light vibrato (try CD1 tr.3). Yet Simon
Pauly as Perin, another fine singer,
is sadly not placed forward enough on
the sound-stage to get the full clarity
of his diction.
The live recording
is generally excellent although inevitable
stage noise is evident. The orchestra
is well captured in a warm ambience,
while spectacular off-stage trumpets
add a particular brilliance to the opening
scene.
The notes contain full
libretto (with omitted dialogue). This
is preceded by a long and somewhat obtuse
essay on Rezniček
dealing with the psychology of composers
tangential to the main focus of the
material. It is written in German with
English translation.
Raymond Walker
Kiel Opera Chorus and Philharmonic Orchestra/Ulrich
Windfuhr 
