How privileged we are
to be able to enjoy the fruits of 1960s
Salzburg! Richard Strauss’s magnificent,
dramatically virtuoso Ariadne auf
Naxos is on offer with a cast that
includes Sena Jurinac (Composer) and
the somewhat under-rated (I always feel)
Jess Thomas. Add to this a delightful
Zerbinetta (Reri Grist) and that expert
Straussian, Karl Böhm in the pit,
and the result is magic. Perhaps it
is more surprising that Ariadne herself
is no super-name. In fact, Christa Ludwig
was due to take the role here, and Hildegard
Hillebrecht stood in at short notice.
This is actually a
black-and-white Austrian Television
telecast, preserved in the archives
of ORF (Austrian Radio). Böhm gives
an interpretation of the utmost sensitivity.
The chamber-music feel is evident from
the very outset, as is the light touch
so necessary when characters from the
commedia dell’arte are on the scene.
Marvellously agile woodwind, also so
necessary to this work, are a delight;
no wonder, this is after all the Wiener
Philharmoniker.
Of course, it is the
Composer who provides much of the impetus
of this Prologue. Here we have Sena
Jurinac, strong of voice and also superb
when affronted by the proposed goings-on.
Jess Thomas is imposing as ‘The Tenor’
- a quality he will reinforce as Bacchus
later.
The star of the show,
though, is Zerbinetta and this remark
applies throughout the entire composition.
A gift in pert, cheeky looks, Reri Grist
renders Strauss’s difficult lines as
if they are no problem at all. She can
sound on the thin side if a more legato,
extended line is called for, yet the
bulk of her part calls for roulade upon
roulade, and here she is more than happy
to oblige. Grist enunciates her words
impeccably, even when at speed.
The encounter between
Composer and Zerbinetta is here highly
charged. Zerbinetta’s loneliness and
the Composer’s comments on being misunderstood
seem close to the composer’s (lower-case:
the real one!) own heart. And is there
any doubt that the Composer’s lines
on Music as Holy Art are actually a
statement of Strauss’s own belief?.
Throughout, Böhm’s
pacing is near-perfect, so much so that
one cannot believe it could be one any
other way. This is so much more
than a mere Prologue.
Staging for the Prologue
takes us believably back-stage. For
the Opera proper, evocation of exotic
Naxos evidently posed more of a problem,
but of course the artificiality aids
the distanced effect.
The Overture to the
Opera proper is vintage Böhm. Delicate,
excellently balanced strings set the
mythological scene, aided in due course
by a well-balanced trio of Naiad, Dryad
and Echo. Their trio is truly beautiful
... could there be a finer preparation
for Ariadne’s entrance?
Hillebrecht impresses
in her vocal range - a marvellously
warm tone on the low, ‘Wo war ich?’
Her ‘Es gibt ein Reich’, possibly the
single most famous part of Ariadne,
might not quite exhibit the initial
sense of wonder. Yet her announcement
of what that realm actually is (‘Todesreich’)
is well-rendered. Throughout this aria,
the orchestra is so well handled;
orchestra and singer later on rise together
to a believable ecstasy.
Balancing ‘Es gibt
ein Reich’ heard shortly afterwards,
is Zerbinetta’s ‘Grossmächtige
Prinzessin’, here delightfully deft,
coquettish and underpinned by simply
superb orchestral definition. Grist’s
trills and her sense of phrasal shape
are of the highest order, and her bow
thereafter (interruptive to the dramatic
impetus though it is) is thoroughly
deserved.
Bacchus (Thomas) is
lusty of voice, something that is clear
even when he sings off-stage and the
response of the Naiad, Dryad, Echo trio
is simply stunning in its beauty. When
he gets to the stage, his dress sense
might, in reality, make you wish he’d
stayed there; if someone dressed me
in tights and a top that barely covered
my bits, I’d be embarrassed. Yet vocally
Thomas is as ardent as one could ask
for and together with Ariadne they soar
towards ecstasy. In fact Thomas has
just the right heroic sound for this
role ... if not the outfit.
Of course the interaction
between Commedia dell’arte and opera
seria is an interpretative challenge
of the highest order, and one that Böhm
meets with consummate skill. The members
of the Wiener Philharmoniker play their
hearts out for him.
Highly recommended.
One of the best DVDs I have seen.
Colin Clarke
TDK
FESTSPIELDOKUMENTE DV-CLOPAAN [130’00] 
