Arabella was, in a way, Richard Strauss’s attempt
to create a counterpart to
Der Rosenkavalier, but set
a century later. Here the aristocracy is in decay. Count Waldner,
an incurable gambler, has managed to lose the family fortune
and only through his daughter Arabella’s approaching marriage
to the wealthy Mandryka can his honour be saved. There is party
life and festivities in
Arabella too, but the atmosphere
is staler and the champagne has lost some of its sparkle. This
is also the case with the music. It is certainly written with
Strauss’s usual professionalism, but the inspiration is
less exuberant and the characters seem paler. But Strauss wouldn’t
be Strauss if there weren’t some scintillating scenes.
Best known is no doubt the Arabella-Zdenka duet in the first
act,
Aber der Richtige, where one is reminded of the presentation
of the rose in
Der Rosenkavalier.
Und du wirst mein
Gebieter sein, Arabella’s duet with Mandryka, also
has something of the former glow and the final scene is another
highlight.
The present recording, the first studio production of this opera
and Solti’s first very first opera set, has many advantages
and only a few drawbacks. Recorded in the Sofiensaal in Vienna
it was the first in a long line of Decca recordings with the
Vienna Philharmonic and Solti. The famous
Ring cycle and
Strauss’s
Salome, Elektra and
Der Rosenkavalier were
to follow within the next decade. Solti was a good Straussian
and with the VPO in luminous form this set has a lot to recommend
it on orchestral grounds alone. Solti has regularly been accused
of being too relentless and hard-driven and there may be moments
when he is overemphatic. On the whole, however, his eagerness
injects some vitamins that make the score blossom. Arabella’s
cheeks are a little more rosy!
The sound, while not spectacular in the way the
Ring cycle
was, is full-bodied and atmospheric. The producer was John Culshaw
and this set might be seen as a blueprint for what was to follow
in his cooperation with Solti. They had actually worked together
as early as 1948.
Recording in Vienna it seemed natural to employ some of the best
singers from the State Opera. The choice of Lisa Della Casa for
the title role was unavoidable, since she was
the Arabella
at the time. Her only serious competitor was Elisabeth Schwarzkopf,
but she was under contract with EMI, and question is whether
Della Casa was even more accomplished in the role. Her warmth,
her creamy tone and her naturalness are so at one with the role.
Er
ist der Richtige, the long solo preceding the duet with Zdenka,
is so lovely and so restrained and in this scene Solti is at
his most relaxed. The final monologue is absolutely magical.
Hilde Güden was just as self-evident a choice for Zdenka.
I haven’t been able to find out when she first essayed
the role, but in January 1953 she recorded the Arabella-Zdenka
duet with Della Casa and the VPO under Rudolf Moralt. Sonically
this mono recording is no match for the Solti recording, but
the singing is
so lovely and I wouldn’t trade that
disc - now in the Legends series - or the Solti set, which I
have owned for ages in the LP version - for any modern recordings.
The third central character, Mandryka, is sung by Canadian bass-baritone
George London, who in the mid-1950s was at the height of his
powers. And there is no doubt that he makes a formidable and
brilliant Mandryka, but he is also rather coarse and gruff. It’s
true that Mandryka is no sophisticate but in London’s reading
one finds it difficult to understand how Arabella could have
fallen for him. In 1954 Lisa Della Casa recorded the second act
duet - available on the Legends disc just mentioned - with an
ageing Paul Schöffler as Mandryka. He was by then rather
lacklustre but there is warmth and humanity in his voice - which
I much prefer to London’s. Even Alfred Poell, briefly heard
in the final duet, recorded in 1953, is more appealing. No one
can, however, deny London’s intensity and expressive declamation.
Otto Edelmann and Ira Malaniuk are good as the Count and Countess
Waldner, though Edelmann is rather dry-voiced. We also hear a
mellifluous Anton Dermota as Matteo and among Arabella’s
suitors the young Eberhard Wächter is outstanding. Mimi
Coertse as Die Fiakermilli is superb in her coloratura song
Die
Wiener Herrn, with impressive virtuosity - not to mention
her yodelling!
On DG there is a somewhat later (1963) live recording from Munich,
conducted by Joseph Keilberth and with Anneliese Rothenberger
as Zdenka and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as Mandryka. Fischer-Dieskau
may be too much of an intellectual to be an ideal Mandryka but
he has his own integrity in the role. Rothenberger is not bad
but can’t challenge Güden. There are a couple of other
versions which I haven’t heard: on Orfeo with Julia Varady
in the title role and on Decca with Kiri Te Kanawa.
As with other issues in this Heritage Masters Series there is
no libretto, not even a synopsis. In spite of my reservations
about George London I still think this recording is well worth
the modest outlay for the ravishing singing of Della Casa and
Güden.
Göran Forsling
Otto Edelmann (bass)
- Grad Waldner; Ira Malaniuk (mezzo) - Adelaide; Lisa Della Casa
(soprano) - Arabella; Hilde Güden (soprano) - Zdenka; George
London (baritone) - Mandryka; Anton Dermota (tenor) - Matteo; Waldemar
Kmentt (tenor)
- Graf Elemer; Eberhatd Wächter (baeitone) - Graf Dominik; Harald Pröglhof
(bass) - Graf Lamoral; Mimi Coertse (soprano) - Die Fiakermilli; Judith Hellwig
(soprano) - Eine Kartenaufschlägerin; Wiener Staatsopernchor, Wiener Philharmoniker/Sir
Georg Solti 
