Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897 – 1957)
Bildquelle: © Monika Rittershaus
Late in 2018 Naxos released a 3-CD set of Korngold’s rarely heard opera
Das Wunder der Heliane (The Miracle of Heliane), which I
reviewed in January this year. In that piece I advised Korngold mavens to
acquire the recording, writing “there won’t likely be another new one for some
time to come.” Well, famous last words—not only is there a new one, but it’s
also on the Naxos label! I was amazed when I saw this new production at their
website not long after that review appeared. I must wonder now if Naxos had
released that CD performance as a sort of appetizer for this grander video
account. Not that the CD set was a weak effort - indeed, it was quite good - but
this new DVD version (it’s also available on Blu-ray) is even better.
Heliane scored considerable success at its 1927 Hamburg and Vienna
premieres but was received coldly in Berlin. Yet nine opera houses staged it
before it finally faded from the repertory, its last performances coming in the
early 1930s. The Nazis banned Korngold’s works in 1933, owing to his Jewish
ethnicity, and the following year the composer traveled to Hollywood, where he
would produce a number of popular film scores, but little in other genres of
music. Except for his opera Die Tote Stadt and Violin Concerto, his
music was largely ignored until the late 20th century. Die Katrin,
another fine Korngold opera, appeared to considerable acclaim in 1998 on a 3-CD
set from CPO. Other works of his, including the Symphony in F sharp major, have
been performed and recorded with more regularity.
Heliane is based on a story by Hans Kaltneker called Die Heilige
(The Saint), from which Hans Müller-Einigen drew the libretto. As I pointed out
in my first review, the story is a bit silly. Yet, it has a message, if hardly a
new one: love conquers all. The opera is set, presumably in medieval times, in a
nameless kingdom ruled by a tyrant who doesn’t allow any of his subjects to
experience love because his beautiful wife, Heliane (the only character in the
story with a name) rejects his love. The Stranger appears at the outset of the
opera as a charismatic figure opposing the ban on love and giving hope to the
people. He is imprisoned on orders from the Ruler, who comes to his cell and
then sentences him to death.
When Heliane visits him in prison, she is attracted to him and he to her. He
asks that she disrobe, which she does but stops short of acceding to his request
to give herself to him. The Ruler learns of all this when he goes to the cell
again and Heliane returns still naked. She is tried before a panel of judges.
The Stranger is brought in to testify, but is then allowed a moment to be alone
with Heliane. He kisses her and then takes his life to protect her. The Ruler,
having the support of a mob of rebels, commands that Heliane, to prove her
innocence, must raise the Stranger from the dead to satisfy the test called the
‘bier trial’. At the Stranger’s bier she cannot say the words “arise and
transform,” feeling them blasphemous, but states instead that she loved the
Stranger. The mob takes her to the stake, but then the miracle occurs: the
Stranger rises. Heliane goes to him but the Ruler slays her. He is then banished
and stripped of all power by the Stranger. The people can now enjoy freedom and
happiness. The Stranger raises Heliane up and the two ascend from mortal life
into brightness.
As mentioned above Korngold was Jewish, but lapsed in his faith. Still, it is
somewhat odd that this opera would have certain Christian elements present in
the story. Odder still is the mixture of those aspects with a then-progressive
view of human sexuality. Had the opera’s popularity grown further and
performances of it begun appearing across Europe and the Americas in the 1930s,
it surely would have been banned in certain locations—or features of the story
changed at the very least.
In any event the production at hand is a reasonably good one. The story is
updated to modern times in the costuming. Most of the people, including the mob,
wear white shirts, tie and black business suits and the like, thus appearing in
more formal attire than the Ruler: he wears a black shirt and never a tie. Sets
are sparse, with elongated steps leading to a platform at the rear and on both
the left and right sides of the stage. There are ornate wooden paneled walls
with large windows surrounding the stage and a table in the center. This serves
as the scenery in all three acts. Lighting is fine throughout the opera, never
overly bright or dark.
As for the performances by the singers, both the major and minor roles are well
sung. American soprano Sara Jakubiak sings Heliane with passion and commitment
and in ravishing vocal tones. Try her Act II number, the most famous one from
this opera by the way, Ich ging zu ihm… (track 6, disc 2), to sample
her superior artistry. She is stunning throughout, even if she occasionally
comes across as slightly underpowered in a few places, mainly due to Korngold’s
often sonorous orchestration. Indeed, she subtly and wisely varies her dynamics
and almost always does so effectively.
American tenor Brian Jagde as the Stranger and Austrian bass-baritone Josef
Wagner as the Ruler both have fine voices and are excellent in their dramatic
skills. Try their First Act encounter in the consecutive numbers Dich, der
das Lachen angezündet im Lande (track 5, disc 1) and Wie? Sterben?
when the Ruler sentences the Stranger to death and the latter then pleads
desperately for his life. Both are thoroughly compelling here, bringing high
drama to the opera early on. Another outstanding scene is the Stranger’s Act II
death scene (Tötet mich!--track 9, disc 2) with Heliane: it is filled
with passion and tension as Jagde meets every vocal and dramatic expectation, as
does Jakubiak, but this is more his moment than hers. Derek Welton as the
Gatekeeper is quite fine too, and the rest of the cast, as earlier suggested,
are more than adequate. The chorus sings splendidly too.
On the orchestral side of things, Marc Albrecht conducts the Orchestra of the
Deutsche Oper Berlin with an insightful grasp of Korngold’s rich post-Romantic
idiom. His phrasing is consistently sensitive to the emotional flow of the music
and his tempo choices are judicious, never going to an extreme. Coincidentally,
this new recording has a very similar overall timing for the opera to the
earlier Naxos issue.
Korngold’s opera is scored for a very large orchestra (over one hundred players),
which includes five keyboard instruments—piano, organ, celeste, harmonium and
the rarely encountered glockenklavier. The orchestration is masterly throughout
and the opera is certainly worth knowing if you haven’t yet heard it. In my
earlier review I think I was fair in my assessment of the work’s artistic
ranking when I called it a “minor masterpiece”, and I stand by that evaluation
now. I hope that verdict is not viewed as a case of damning with faint praise
because Heliane is a very fine piece, as good or perhaps even better
than some of the more popular operas in the repertory.
The sound reproduction, camera work and picture clarity are all first rate on
this DVD set. A bonus track contains an audio recording from a 1928 performance
of the Zwischenspiel preceding Act III conducted by one Dr. Frieder
Weissmann, and on another track there is also a photo gallery, which among much
else contains many photos of the composer. Album notes by Brendan Carroll, noted
Korngold biographer and scholar, are very informative. If you’re a Korngold
admirer and even if you possess the very fine earlier Naxos CD set, you’ll still
want this new recording, not just because the performances and production are
superb but since it is the only available video recording of the opera. This
time I won’t predict that another won’t likely be coming soon, but I’ll be at
least a little surprised if it happens!
Robert Cummings