Viktor Ullmann (1898-1944)
Der Kaiser von Atlantis, Op.49
Juliana Zara, soprano – Girl, Soldier
Christel Loetzsch, mezzo-soprano – Drummer
Johannes Trum, tenor – Harlequin, Soldier
Adrian Eröd, baritone – Kaiser Overall
Lars Woldt, bass – Loudspeaker
Tareq Nazmi, bass – Death
Munich Radio Orchestra/Patrick Hahn
rec. live, 10 October 2021, Prinzregententeater, Munich,
BR KLASSIK 900339 [53]
There can surely be little doubt or argument about the reasons why we all need to experience Victor Ullman’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis. Scheduled for a première in the Theresienstadt concentration camp, the ‘spiel’ was designed as a satirical opera on the horrors of the Nazi state to be staged by Jewish prisoners who were – unbeknown to themselves – en route to extermination at Auschwitz. It seems extraordinary that those responsible for the composition and rehearsal of the opera could ever have imagined that an actual performance of the work would possibly be permitted, but hope or naïvety appear to have won out and the music was not only completed but even revised preparatory to the première that never was to take place. The score (saved from destruction by a friend of the composer) languished almost forgotten and unknown until the 1980s when Decca as part of their invaluable Entartete Musik series produced a complete recording, and the opera has subsequently been staged on a worldwide scale with several other recordings and video presentations following.
This recording derives from a live performance given in Munich in 2021, although it appears to have been given in concert conditions rather than on the operatic stage (the audience are commendably quiet throughout). It differs somewhat from previous recordings in that it seems to have been consciously designed to present the work as a musical composition rather than a dramatic polemic or demonstration. Thus, whereas earlier performances, from the Decca recording on, have viewed Der Kaiser von Atlantis as a development and extension of the Berlin cabaret style of Brecht and Weill, this performance lays emphasis on the more lyrical aspects of the score such as the pitiful and abortive duet between the two lovers who encounter each other on the wasteland of the battlefield [track 19]. Even the Kaiser Uberall, surely intended as a parody of the Führer, is accorded sympathy and the prospect of redemption at the end as he rapturously embraces the return of Death to the world which he has abandoned in despair. The result is to furnish depths of emotion that are unexpected on first acquaintance with a work which could so easily have lapsed into purely political protestation. Der Kaiser von Atlantis is revealed as a work of true humanity, despite the horror of the processes that produced it.
The moments of satire are not overlooked – the burlesque of Deutschland uber Alles near the beginning [track 10] and even more devastatingly the brutal parody of Lutheran chorale at the end [track 28] – but they are integrated into a performance and recording that do much to treat the opera as a purely musical work. Whether that is what the composer and his librettist intended must remain a matter for speculation, but it serves to demonstrate than even in the most inhuman of circumstances beauty can be the result. Those who have already made an acquaintance with the opera may find themselves moved again by the emotional undertow of the composition. The singing, playing and recording are all superbly designed to enable this kind of interaction; everyone involved operates and acts as part of a team, and Adrian Eröd and Tareq Nazmi even manage to evoke sympathy in their war-mongering roles.
But – and I am afraid there is a ‘but’ – there is one drawback. Comprehension of the opera really depends on a full understanding of the text; and neither text or translation are provided here. Even the generous cued synopsis cannot substitute for the close engagement with the details of the argument, such as Death’s gruesome recollections of his campaigns with Attila and Hannibal. Translations of Peter Kein’s words are available on line, but we really need them with the discs; and the most interesting booklet article by Nicole Restle, which lays emphasis on the musical and symbolic structure of the opera, is no real substitute. Other recordings not only supply the missing material, but also extend the playing time by letting us hear other works by Ullmann which help to round out our evaluation of the unfortunate composer. This release will, I fear, be best appreciated either by those already familiar with the work and wishing to experience a different and interesting approach to its performance, or those whose German is fluent enough to engage with the sung text without having it in print (and the diction of the singers is certainly clear).
Paul Corfield Godfrey
