There have been just two recordings of this Walter Braunfels
opera to date, the 1996 Decca CD set (recorded December, 1994),
led by Lothar Zagrosek, with Helen Kwon as Nightingale and Endrik
Wottrich as Good Hope, and this effort, a production of the
Los Angeles Opera. Because this new one is the only video release
of the opera and is as good or better a performance as the Decca,
it is quite an essential acquisition for those interested in
the byways of early-20th century opera.
Braunfels was a talented composer, particularly of opera, one
of the most prominent in Germany in the 1920s. He actually became
a rival of Richard Strauss and, along with Schreker, was the
most highly regarded young composer of opera at the time. The
Birds (1920), based on the Aristophanes comedy of the same
title, was Braunfels’ third opera and achieved wide popularity
in Germany.
Why did the opera and the composer fade? Braunfels, a practising
Roman Catholic, was half-Jewish, but still had a chance to curry
favor with the fledgling Nazi party in 1923 when he was asked
to write an anthem for their movement. He refused, cognizant
of their political extremism and evil. One reliable account,
by the composer’s grandson, the architect Stephan Braunfels,
has it that Braunfels threw Hitler out when he asked the composer
for the anthem.
Many German citizens with partial Jewish ancestry were arrested
and deported to death camps, but Braunfels survived in exile
in Switzerland, having been dismissed by the Nazis from his
post as director of the Cologne Academy of Music in 1933, with
all performances of his works banned in Germany. He was a talented
concert pianist and continued to compose throughout the 1930s
and war years. He regained his post at the Cologne Academy in
1945, but in the post-war years his music was largely ignored
because he was a conservative at a time when Boulez, Stockhausen,
Cage and members of the Darmstadt School were coming into vogue.
The Birds was revived in Karlsruhe in 1971 and finally
recorded by Decca in 1994, based on a Berlin production. But
it still remains an obscure work. The story is fairly simple,
if a little silly. Good Hope, a man feeling betrayed in love
by women, and Loyal Friend, disappointed by declining art, abandon
civilization for the place of their dreams — the domain of the
birds, ruled by Hoopoe, who was once a man. The birds are initially
suspicious of the men — as they are of all mankind — but are
eventually convinced by the two to build a fortress around their
world against the wishes of the gods. In the end, Zeus becomes
displeased and summons a powerful storm that destroys the birds’
fortress. The two men return to civilization, but with the enamored
Good Hope feeling transformed by a kiss he had shared with the
captivating Nightingale.
What is remarkable about this production of The Birds are
its visual aspects, from the resplendent costumes (including
lavish headwear for the birds) and imaginative sets to the brilliant
lighting effects and dancing. For once, we have a modern production
not visually barren or anachronistically annoying. In the Second
Act the lighting effects are spectacular: shortly after Good
Hope kisses the Nightingale luminescent images of flowers appear
on the stage floor, eventually covering the entire surface.
The birds’ costumes are brilliantly and colorfully designed,
and when the singers flap their arms a waving and fluttering
of the fabric makes them seem almost airborne. Often the colors
on stage from the lighting, costumes and sets combine to create
delightfully colorful images and befitting atmosphere to deftly
complement the highly imaginative music. Stage director Darko
Tresnjak and staff have lavished the greatest care and artistic
insight on this effort. Bravo to them!
But what about the singing? Désirée Rancatore is charming throughout
as the Nightingale. Her Second Act number Ah! Ah! Narzissus…
is really a sort of challenging vocal cadenza, wherein she delivers
the twittering notes beautifully and accurately. Brandon Jovanovich
soon joins in and the two offer some of the finest singing here
in this production. Some of Rancatore’s high notes in the opera
are a bit weak, but overall her voice, a beautiful lyric coloratura
soprano, is attractive and ample in volume. Stacey Tappan, as
the Wren, sings with equal charm, and Martin Gantner makes a
fine Hoopoe. In the brief role of Prometheus Brian Mulligan
is brilliant in his dire demeanor: he gives the character a
Wagnerian depth and offers a much needed contrast to the often
lighthearted atmosphere. The ballet sequence in the opera, a
dance to celebrate the marriage of two doves, is brilliantly
executed, and features good though not particularly imaginative
choreography.
James Conlon conducts with a real sense for Braunfels’ style,
a style which, while exhibiting the influence of Richard Strauss
and Wagner, is less saccharine than the former’s can sometimes
be and more colorful and varied than the latter’s. Conlon’s
tempos are brisker than Zagrosek’s: although the opera’s overall
timing is given as 138:54 (as compared with Zagrosek’s nearly
identical 138:46!), Conlon’s is padded by ten minutes of curtain
calls and opening and closing credits. The Los Angeles opera
orchestra and chorus turn in fine work, though I must comment
that the French horn is perhaps too closely miked in some softer
passages. It could be, however, that Braunfels’ orchestral writing
often featured slightly more prominent horn writing in quieter
passages. It’s a minor matter in any event, and does not detract
from the overall success of this wonderful production. Although
Zagrosek’s CD set is worthwhile, this Blu-ray DVD is certainly
the way to enjoy this still neglected opera. In sum, this is
a superb recording that merits the highest praise!
Robert Cummings
Los Angeles Opera Orchestra and Chorus/James Conlon 
101530 BLU-RAY [138:54] 
DVD 101529