Of all the independent recording companies dedicated to the discovery
of rare and unfamiliar repertoire I am not sure any has a better
record than CPO for consistently producing discs of excellent
quality containing music from little known composers of considerable
artistic and technical merit. They seem to have managed to create
a niche where their catalogue is built almost exclusively on rare
repertoire. Even such stalwarts of the undiscovered such as Chandos
and BIS have core repertoire in their catalogues. Just occasionally
CPO tiptoe towards the more familiar. As has been the case with
their hugely valuable series of discs devoted to complete performances
of the operettas of Franz Lehár. The key word there is
complete - particularly when it concerns the better known works.
When you consider that most highlights of the work in question
here -
Der Zarewitsch - usually fit comfortably on a single
disc and you realise that the two discs here run to over two hours,
even allowing for the presence of some extended dialogue, there
is quite a lot of unfamiliar music here. There is also the question
of which edition is used. I am not enough of an expert to know
the intricacies involved and I have to say the liner-note leaves
me more confused than enlightened. As far as I can understand
it there seems to be the original 1927 Berlin edition as premiered
by Tauber. Then Lehár, an inveterate reviser, returned
to the score ten years later to create a 1937 version. The liner
explains that various songs were moved, edited or replaced between
editions. But it
seems that this performance includes elements
of both editions. Nowhere in the notes is it made clear what version
this performance is based upon. Frankly, this is not an issue
that overly concerns me but I suspect real aficionados would demand
some explanation of the choices made.
In the series to date there have been several real highlights
- restoring works to the catalogue that for too long have languished
in the shadow of
Die Lustige Witwe or
Das Land des Lächelns.
My personal favourites have been the early attempt at dramatic
opera
Tatjana and the still little known
Sterngucker.
The latter might lack the sumptuous glories of the bigger better
known works but its charms are considerable. The pleasure in the
unknown works has been the discovery of new glorious tunes from
the inexhaustible pen of Lehár as opposed to the pleasure
in revisiting well-known works where familiar excerpts are returned
to their original dramatic context. I suppose the key to the success
of the latter is just how effective the dramatic contexts turn
out to be. This version of
Der Zarewitsch is entrusted
to the same instrumental team - Ulf Schirmer conducting the alert
Munich Radio Orchestra - that CPO used for
Das Land des Lächelns
and as with that recording this was made at live performances.
Or in fact, if we are to believe the information on the sleeve,
a single performance. CPO follow their previous practice of supplying
a detailed synopsis but no libretto. Given the production values
exhibited elsewhere I think this is a considerable shame. As a
non-fluent German speaker there are considerable tracts of the
recording where I do not know what is going on. This is all the
more curious given that the rest of the liner is a model of interesting
insight with several extended and very informative essays on various
aspects of the work. CPO do have a knack of using translations
into English that add verbosity at the expense of vernacular but
the basic content is very good indeed. One slightly unfortunate
aspect of this is it underlines the significance of Richard Tauber
in the conception and performance of this work which in turns
draws one to the inevitable conclusion that Matthias Klink who
sings the Zarewitsch/Tauber role is no Tauber. Although not originally
offered the role, this was the first great triumph of the Lehár/Tauber
collaboration. Although Tauber had had great success with
Paganini
the previous year it was this operetta where for the first time
Lehár wrote a part specifically with Tauber’s voice
in mind and actually deferring to him over certain elements of
the music. Without this partnership it is hard not to reach the
conclusion that both their careers would have been considerably
foreshortened. It took the extraordinary stage charisma of a Tauber
to make audiences accept the essential absurdities of operetta
in the cynical modern 1920s. Conversely, it needed a Lehár
to produce the melodic vehicles that suited Tauber’s voice
and personality at that point in his career. This might be a live
performance - with an audience as silent as the tomb - but one
of the central pillars of a Tauber performance - the varied reprise
is resolutely absent. I think it could be argued with some validity
that this expected, indeed demanded, reprise was built into the
format of the work and without them can it
really be termed
complete.
The performance starts very well. The playing of the Munich Radio
Orchestra is neat, alert and nicely balanced in what feels like
a realistic theatre acoustic. The scale of the orchestra sounds
perfect as well - not overblown but at the same time not scrawny
or too thin. The ‘novelty’ instruments like the mandolins
- are well balanced. A big plus is the presence of the Bayerischen
Rundfunks Choir who add real quality and weight to proceedings.
Theirs is the first singing heard and it bodes extremely well
- the sound and balance and controlled power is exactly right.
So the absence of the chorus in the work except as book-ending
for the Acts is a shame. As a not strictly like-for-like comparison
I used the extended highlights in English recorded for Telarc
by Richard Bonynge with the English Chamber Orchestra and various
soloists. His chorus is a group of pick-up session singers called
London Voices and good though they are they are not a fraction
as idiomatic as their Bavarian counterparts. Likewise the Telarc
recording sacrifices atmosphere for detail and overall I find
this disc and indeed the other Lehár recordings by this
label to be nothing like as satisfying as the series of Gilbert
& Sullivan recorded at much the same time.
For all of the scale and opulence of this work the key to its
success is the performance quality of the two central characters
of The Zarewitsch and his forbidden love, Sonja. Their music either
separately or mainly in duet comprises the huge bulk of the score
and accounts for even more of the work’s emotional impact.
The two singers here certainly look and sound the part as young
lovers. Yes, pretty much all of the dialogue is delivered in that
slightly stilted way that singers ‘speaking from the diaphragm’
seem unable to avoid and that adds an extra layer of mannerism
to a libretto not wallowing in naturalism to start off with. That
being said - I have heard a lot worse. Ultimately though, and
this was true when Tauber sang, nobody really cares a jot about
dramatic veracity and subtle character nuance once the tenor starts
to sing. Which is where the problems start for this recording.
Winkler has a reasonable voice and he sings well enough. But to
my ear it lacks any defining personality. My knowledge of Lehár
really started by listening to compilations of Fritz Wunderlich
recordings. OK, so there was a man with a voice and a musical
intelligence that could make the singing of a shopping list sound
passionate but next to him Winkler sounds pale in every regard.
Likewise soprano Alexandra Reinpracht as Sonja lacks the bright-eyed
pertness that a Lucia Popp would inject into the role. I see there
is/was a recording with this same orchestra from the early 1980s
featuring Popp with the sometimes stiff René Kollo but
I am certain her performance alone will pack the emotional punch
lacking here. As a one-off evening in the theatre this performance
is perfectly acceptable; as a library edition for regular revisiting
it shows up Lehár’s limitations rather than his strengths.
In what might seem a rather bizarre and random comparison - the
previous disc I reviewed for this site was of Antheil’s
Ballet Méchanique which by chance dates from the
exact same time as this operetta. In that context the resolute
backward-looking rejection of anything even the littlest bit modern
- be it plot, music or even emotion - in
Der Zarewitsch
does appear increasingly anachronistic.
After the all too brief choral opening (no overture) we are straight
into the first extended dialogue - about half of which is underscored.
The first duet proper is assigned to the secondary leads of Mascha
and Iwan. Again all is perfectly pleasant without turning one’s
head in the way the best singers can. The orchestra acquit themselves
well; again the balance is ideal and Schirmer allows the music
to lilt with an easy smiling elegance. About half of the track’s
six minutes consists of the duet and then the dialogue resumes.
Best not to dwell on the plot - the central tenets of it are as
potentially annoying as would be quite such a retentive character
as the Zarewitsch were one to meet him in real life. Enough to
say that decades of repression are overthrown within seconds of
the uptight heir to the throne meeting wild-child Sonja. The balance
of Act I revolves around songs expressing individual angst. The
first big set-piece is the Zarewitsch’s marvellous
Wolgalied.
This is not the Tauber-lied of this work as such - but it is the
first big sing for the tenor. Unfortunately it shows up Klink’s
weaknesses, both technically and musically. The voice sounds thin
and positively fragile - the high head-notes sounding under-supported.
Much worse though is the utter lack of emotional fire - he sleepwalks
through the number and even Schirmer, who elsewhere injects some
real vim into proceedings, is unable to generate any kind of passion;
this really is a big let-down. Even Jerry Hadley on Telarc, who
is not my favourite singer in this repertoire, connects with the
text. Klink’s tiptoeing through it all but destroys the
song’s impact. Hearing the extended Act I
Finale
is one of the benefits of having the work recorded complete although
again the lack of any emotional heft and Klink’s fatiguingly
tight voice dulls the interest. It’s an old adage but one
that is very true; the slighter and more improbable the plot the
more intensely the characters have to engage with it. Charisma
in performance helps, perhaps the physical presence of these performers
on stage adds an element their vocal performances alone cannot
substitute. There seems to be little chemistry between the leads:
where is the ardour, the sinuous lyrical inter-twining of the
musical lines implying so much more than just notes? This is all
very matter of fact - a kind of ‘
Speed-dating the Operetta’.
For some time Lehár had been trying to give his works greater
emotional weight and this is evidenced by the gentle reflective
close to the Act. Again this is dependent on the singer being
able to hold the stage. In this performance the tension simply
wilts and dissipates providing further proof that in the symbiotic
relationship between Lehár and Tauber each needed the other.
The opening of Act II provides a bit of local colour and energy
- here the strength of the ensemble performance shines through.
In direct comparison with the Wunderlich highlights accompanied
- if memory serves correctly - by the Graunke Symphony Orchestra
under Carl Michalski, this earlier version, for all the roughness
of the recording, has even more attack and vigour. However, the
chorus is as crisp and idiomatic as they were before and the orchestra
enjoy the national-dances element of the writing. Where Klink
lacked tenderness in Act I he now lacks authority in the presence
of his fellow officers in Act II - it is still all terribly wan.
More extended dialogue links the opening of the act into the first
main duet -
Hab nur dich allein - one of Lehár’s
most sensuously lilting waltz songs. There are lovely little touches
in the orchestration and musically this is a real highlight. As
with the rest of this performance, I cannot say this is bad, but
it refuses to sweep the listener off their feet as it undoubtedly
can. Not that the blame for this rests with the composer whose
ability to write melody after melody is proved with the very next
number - the solo
Napolitana for the Zarewitsch character.
It’s another memorable and beautiful song and I would rather
dwell on the quality of the piece rather than the poorness of
its execution. After some more dialogue the second CD opens with
Sonja’s walzerlied
Das Leben ruft. Alexandra Reinprecht
finds considerably more light and shade than her stage lover.
Personally I find her voice a fraction too heavy for the role
but at least she sings with some genuine style. As before, more
than half of the track consists of dialogue. Quite why CPO chose
not to separate out the dialogue I cannot imagine, it would be
technically simple and offer the listener a ‘music only’
option. For the next duet -
Liebe mich, küsse mich -
Reinprecht does lighten her sound initially and this benefits
the song greatly, giving it room to expand as it develops. However,
Klink’s technical demons seriously limit the emotional impact
of the climax. CPO again choose to band the seventeen minute finale
of the Act as a single track. As readers might imagine, by now
the traits apparent earlier reappear - the orchestra play the
Russian-flavoured dance-music with real flair and character, and
the choral entry cranks the excitement up perceptibly. Again,
completists will enjoy all the underscoring here and on into Act
III - praise at this point for some lovely violin solos here and
throughout the work played with taste and skill by Henry Raudales.
Ultimately, it is the big set-pieces that drill into the memory
and in the final Act Lehár proves his remarkable melodic
gift with two more fantastic tunes. Unfortunately, tailored as
they were to Tauber’s strengths they again reveal Klink’s
weaknesses. The final floated high C of
Kosende Wellen
[4:00 into track 6 CD 2] lacking the earlier singer’s trademark
freedom and legato grace. One last oddity with this performance:
the speaking part of the Grand Duke is taken by an actor with
a speaking voice that sounds younger than the other characters.
In true operetta fashion the transition from everlasting love
to resigned separation takes barely a minute or so of calmly reasoned
dialogue leaving the character of Sonja alone to ponder her loss
with a final curtain of poignant regret. This is performed reasonably
well here without having that needful last ounce of noble anguish.
Usually I would prefer a complete performance of any dramatic
work for the simple reason that bridging and linking passages
allow the highlights to register in their proper context as well
as the fact that often lesser gems are lost in the cutting down.
Yes there are passages of music here well worth hearing. However,
the meat of this work resides in the already famous songs and
for repeated listening the conventions of operetta - particularly
ones written well into the third decade of the 20
th
Century - do become increasingly absurd. I would direct listeners
to any of the several ‘historical’ highlights recordings
of this work. There you will hear singers immersed in the genre
perform with flair, skill and best of all passion. The good things
on this recording are overshadowed by central vocal performances
of too little personality or musical appeal to merit a recommendation.
Nick Barnard
Alexandra Reinprecht - Sonja (soprano); Christina Landshamer - Mascha
(soprano); Matthias Klink - Zarewitsch (tenor); Andreas Winkler
- Iwan (tenor); Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks; Münchner Rundfunkorchester/Ulf
Schirmer 
