Humperdinck’s Königskinder was first performed
at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in December 1910, just a few
days after the premiere there of Puccini’s La Fanciulla del
West. While it has never achieved the huge popularity of Hänsel
und Gretel, it has maintained a position at the fringes of the
repertory. In Germany it has in recent years achieved a stronger position
than that.
The story is an original one but has its roots in German folklore.
It is a deeply tragic tale in which the leading characters - the Prince
and the Goose-Girl - both die of poisoning. Anyone who knows Humperdinck’s
music will recognise his personality in this score. Even more than
in its predecessor Hänsel und Gretel, the musical language
in Königskinder is distinctly Wagnerian. It’s through-composed
and places a strong reliance on a system of leitmotifs, delivered
amid richly-scored chromatic harmonies. There is a good English synopsis
to be found at the website
of the Bavarian State Opera, which is much clearer in both style and
presentation than what is found in the booklet accompanying this Oehms
Classics recording.
Sebastian Weigle conducts a strongly articulated performance, recorded
very successfully, live at Frankfurt in the autumn of 2012. Audience
noise is minimal, nor are there those bangs and crashes from the stage
which can so easily mar a recording or a live event. The singers acquit
themselves with distinction. They are either beautiful in tone and
contour, or dramatically involved, as the case may be.
The chorus has an important role and sings very well, while the orchestral
playing is splendid too, including a significant part for solo violin,
though the concert master is not identified in the booklet. The recorded
sound responds to the chamber music delicacy of much of the score.
It also delivers the fuller-toned outbursts, as for example at ‘Vivat,
der Holzhacker! Vivat, der Besenbinder!’ during Act Two, when
the chorus and orchestra could hardly project the music more powerfully.
Another highlight comes at the opening of Act 3 with some wonderfully
refined playing. Full marks then for the musical standards achieved
here.
The cast is a strong one with a good sense of teamwork. The dark character
of the `Hexe’ (Witch) is altogether more sinister than her equivalent
in Hänsel und Gretel. This is hardly surprising since
she eventually promotes the children’s deaths. The Swiss mezzo-soprano
Julia Juon takes the role most effectively, and her interpretation
is more than a mere caricature. The Russian baritone Nikolay Borchev
sings the role of the Minstrel, who has the task of explaining the
tragic resolution of the story. He is a lyric tenor of some distinction,
and his music is given a most appealing allure. The German tenor Daniel
Behle, in the role of the Königssohn, is also assured, and he
copes well with the demands of the frequently high tessitura. The
American soprano Amanda Majeski as the Goose-Girl is on excellent
form too.
The musical aspects of this performance of Königskinder
are very satisfying, but the accompanying documentation offers the
opera only indifferent support. There is a full libretto in German
but no English translation; nor is there any attempt to match the
accessing cue points with the outline in the synopsis of the story.
There are abundant illustrations taken from the Frankfurt production,
but these achieve little or nothing. The experience for the listener
encountering this recording of the opera is that it is possible for
their own sake to enjoy the sounds that are generated, both vocal
and orchestral, while not having any more than the faintest idea of
what is going on. For the non-German speaker, this is a missed opportunity.
Terry Barfoot
Previous review: John
Sheppard
