Bayreuth, 1943.
World War II starts to go wrong for criminal Nazi Germany, although it was still far from being completely defeated. The Germans, after Joseph Goebbels' total war speech, start to suffer from more and more economic deprivations, but many are still convinced that this is necessary for the final triumph that their "Führer" promised so much, and also many still believing that they were the Herrenvolk, the master race. Just few movements like the White Rose, are enough corageous to stand for liberty and peace amidst such evil. On the other hand, millions of people classified as "inferior" or "undesirable" were dying under repression, starvation and genocide encouraged by the Third Reich throughout all the nations the Nazis were occupying, and the Jews, the regime's main enemy, were rotting for a long time in heinous, polluted ghettos across Eastern Europe or already being deported en masse to concentration camps from all parts of the continent, heading to their own annihilation.
Handbill of the 1943 Festival, including the extremely antisemitic article by Richard Wilhelm Stock, "Richard Wagner and his Mastersingers"
Meanwhile, the charming city of Bayreuth seemed to be aloof from all this. The Wagner Festival, which had become one of the cultural banners of Nazism since 1933, sponsored directly by Hitler and with the approval of the composer's family, continued, despite the war, to be held every year, despite the fact it was also affected by war limitations. Miraculously during the pre-war years it had not only maintained excellence but its independence, from Goebbels' talons, under whose yoke were other opera houses throughout the country. Since the beginning of the war, and fulfilling Hitler's dream that the working class would attend the festival, the so-called Kriegsfestspielen, or "War Festivals" were organized, exclusively for soldiers and other members of the army such as SS, Wehrmacht, and so on, as well as workers from industries and military hospitals, among others. Held by the notorious organization Kraft durch Freude, these Festivals were organized under a strong ideologization, in addition to which the programming criteria were quite curious, since the organizers came to believe that the soldiers could understand the suffering Siegmund in the Valkyrie, but feel identified by the pain of Tristan during Act 3, reason for which this opera wasn't programmed since the beginning of the war. Finally, in 1943, the decision was made to brighten things up a bit, and during that year and the following one, the most "German" work of the Wagnerian canon was scheduled, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, a favorite of the regime, and the only one in the bill in '43 and '44. The ideologising conferences prior to the performance, instructed the guests to feel inspired by this opera, to defend the "German" pure world that it represented, from the danger of the international Jewry and Bolshevism. To make things worse, given the limitations of the war, the help of SS musicians was used both for the choir - in decline these years - and to play the fanfares at the beginning of each act.
Depravity in C major: Soldiers attending Bayreuth Festival and SS troops playing the fanfares. Courtesy by Wagneroperas.
From left to right: Wilhelm Furtwängler, Hermann Abendroth, Heinz Tietjen and young Wieland Wagner.
And in this athmosphere of moral and material misery, one of the greatest conductors of all time, Wilhelm Furtwängler, conducted one of the most notable versions of Die Meistersinger, ever recorded, and remembered. The most famous Wagnerian conductor of the time with the quintessential Wagnerian orchestra. The only almost complete testimony of the German conductor at the festival, since the first scene and the quintet are missing, it also shows us the excellent chemistry he had with the orchestra, with a good number of musicians from the Berlin Philharmonic. Furtwängler performs a more modern direction than what the old "Bayreuth style" dictated, with an agile, powerful musical conducting but at the same time full of freshness, in which his interpretation gives a breath of humanity to a work then taken as a nationalist banner. And this is noticeable from the prelude, done with ease, with the composer's own majesty, but at the same time theatrical and with touches of comedy, since this is not Tristan und Isolde. During the first and third acts, the orchestra shines for this approach, connecting with listeners from all time. The second act is a delight. The prelude to the third is perhaps the best orchestral moment. That moment of reflection, so deep, the calm after the whirlwind of the fight of the previous act, which is reflected in a strong, resounding sound of the strings, which, taking into account the time that was passing, giving this rendition a dramatic dimension, a moment of serenity in the midst of barbarity outside the Festspielhaus. The final scene sounds festive, happy, vibrant, in a conducting that seems to announce the post-war Bayreuth and its theatricality. The Festival Chorus, despite not going through its best moment, sounds as sublime as possible in a work that it not only knows but feels and vibrates with.
Act One
It's a pity that we only have the photos and a one-minute video of the production by Heinz Tietjen, who had Wieland Wagner as set designer, in a new classic production, different from the one Tietjen himself made in 1933, in the first edition of the Nazi tyranny. Here there were hundreds of people on stage, although one can hear quite a bit of stage noise, as well as some strange "olé" screams in the arrival of the masters of the third act, from what comes to us from the recordings. Although Wieland was already training in Altenburg (where he directed a Ring in which he simplified the sets and experimented with lighting) and Berlin, his then conservative aesthetics, so tied to the period and so associated with this work, the most "German" of the Wagnerian canon, pales in front of that of an experienced Preetorius, who did the set design in 1933, and judging by the sets, with nods to German expressionism, then recently banned. And in this way, also to exacerbate nationalist feelings among the public, added to the Nazi penchant for staging massive crowds (just like their mass rallies in real life), Wieland and Tietjen spare no resources. The first act is more reminiscent of a large Gothic cathedral than of the simpler St. Catherine's Church in Nuremberg. The second act tries to faithfully reconstruct a street in Nuremberg from the 16th century, being the most successful set. Wieland's conservatism, more tending to postcard portrait than realism, clashes with the photographs that come to us of the 1933 set design by Preetorius, with some slight expressionist traces. The second scene of the third act, called "Festswiese", whose final minute survives, is the most spectacular, as a massive choir appears, barely leaving space for the singers, with the city of Nuremberg in the background (being the penultimate production where would see) and a tribune with an impressive shield of the Holy Roman Empire.
Furtwängler's cast, from left to right.: Maria Müller (Eva), Max Lorenz (Stolzing), Jaro Prohaska (Sachs), Josef Greindl (Pogner), Eugen Fuchs (Beckmesser), Erich Zimmermann (David)
The cast of Furtwängler's recoring is of a supreme level, but it does not mean that the renditions were perfect. At this moment, Jaro Prohaska, Max Lorenz and Maria Müller were a bit vocally aged for their parts, but that doesn't mean that they won't be able to use their experience and enormous sense of drama and music, and their still rich vocal means to give unforgettable performances. Prohaska is a Sachs not so vocally deep, but in his "light" voice, his character acquires a humanity and a sensitivity that we do not find other singers that give the role more authority. Its culminating moment is the monologue of the second act, beautifully sung. Lorenz was at the peak of his career then, but his voice sounds too heroic. In this year he recorded his spectacular, referential Tristan with Heger, but such force does not fully fit into Stolzing. The singing is aristocratic, sublime, but sometimes it goes too far, as evidenced by the Am Stillen Herd, although the prize song is excellent. Müller, despite having a mature voice, and also a bit dramatic for Eva, is nonetheless one of the greatest performers of this role, and proof of this is given in the second act, where her singing is just delightful, in addition to having that beautiful tone, which makes her Eva a beautiful, fragile, virginal but also strong-willed young woman.
Act Two
At this time Beckmesser was performed as a comical character. And in this tradition Eugen Fuchs sings his character, which I find fun and convenient, although it has a less serious timbre than others, serves well to this portrait of this grouchy and low-tempered man. A very young Josef Greindl, only 30 years old, is already one of the greatest Wagnerian basses of all time, creating an anthological Pogner, as in his aria from the first act "Das schöne fest", as solemn as it is venerable, despite the fact that there would still be time for that artistry to grow and give those classic performances in the 50s and 60s. Erich Zimmermann, also in a mature age, is a referential David, not only because of his youthful and comic tone, but also because of his beautiful and lyrical spieltenor voice. A tenor like this today would sing Florestan, Max or even Walther, although the good Zimmermann couldn't skip his decades-lasting indentification with the role of Mime (which can be noticed in his brief part in the recording of Siegfried's Forge with Lorenz in 1936). At the acting level, the candor and mischief of this adolescent character in the voice of Zimmermann is felt. Camilla Kallab is a correct Magdalena, and the almost tenorile voice of Erich Pina's Night Watchman is surprising.
Act 3 Finale, with Furtwängler's cast.
"Not even I could do it better"
Furtwängler was believed to tell this to his wife during a performance of the second cast, conducted by Hermann Abendroth, the conductor who alternated with him in the orchestra pit, during those performances.
Act 3 Finale, with Abendroth's cast.
If Furtwängler's, despite not being complete, has risen to the altars of Wagnerian discography, this alternative version is at the same level, as well as being complete and with a better sound. And although it is legendary and well-known, it does not enjoy the same status as that by the legendary director of the Berlin Philharmonic. A disciple of the historical Felix Mottl, Hermann Abendroth represented the old Germanic style. However, in his musical direction, although we find that Germanic majesty and opulence, and which elevated the Nazis so much, it is also quite fresh and modern at the same time. Perhaps imbued with the theatricality of Bayreuth, despite the mannerisms of the Nazi era, Abendroth achieves an electrifying renditon, which is never boring and which has nothing to envy either Furtwängler's or Knappertsbusch's ones. It's a pity that by staying in East Germany after the war, his recording legacy hasn't been as well known as it deserves (we've got a lot of wonderful Bruckners in the late '40s there).
Video of the Finale, with Abendroth's cast. Copyright by Critical Past.
Differences between these two versions have always been sought, but the truth is that, as far as casts are concerned, they are complementary. Furtwängler had a cast full of legendary names, many of them the same ones who sang at the premiere of this production in 1933; but Abendroth has a cast that is younger and in better vocal shape than the first one.
Paul Schöffler is one of the most important Sachs of all time, and here he surpasses the veteran and overacting Prohaska, showing a firm, deep, authoritative voice at his best. His monologues in acts two and three are the best moments in the recording. Ludwig Suthaus, who would sing and record with Furtwängler after the war, is in better shape than Lorenz, and the voice, also unlike his famous post-war records, sounds youthful at base, albeit with that characteristic baritone tone, although sometimes the voice has some trouble, as in the Fanget An, where he has problems with some high notes. Hilde Scheppan was at that time a young soprano, more closely linked to Verdi, with a rather light voice and a pristine and delicious timbre, which makes her Eva fresh and youthful, although she does not have the magnetism of a diva such as Müller. Friedrich Dalberg is Pogner, who is still in top form. Erich Kunz is a Beckmesser who, unlike Fuchs and what was done at the time, sings his role, and also beautifully, focusing more on singing properly than several of his colleagues at the time who focused more on the comic and buffoonery of the character. That is why his Beckmesser can measure up to the rest of the cast in musicality, and not remain a grotesque nemesis of a Sachs. Erich Witte is a fresh David with a beautiful tone, who was just beginning his career. Compared to the mature voice of a veteran Zimmermann that sounds like Mime, Witte shows us another way of interpreting the young apprentice: giving him youth and lyricism, singing with his voice to the full. Like Zimmermann, this tenor today would also sing Lohengrin, Tannhäuser, and everything else that came his way and he would be king of nowadays' opera houses.
The rest of the cast is the same as in Furtwängler's.
The choir benefits from the good sound and seems to sound better, albeit still facing the musical limitations, and the depravity of having SS members among them.
Why do I end my post with this photograph with the empty stage of the first scene of the third act? Because when the war ended, the set was already set for the 1945 festival, which according to Hitler was going to be the "Festival of Peace." However, far from having a festival, the city of Bayreuth was devastated and Wagner himself fell from grace. A Jewish US Army sergeant, who fled his native Czechoslovakia after the 1938 Nazi annexation, Joseph Wechsberg, is said to have entered the Festspielhaus and seeing it empty, dilapidated, went to the set and sang the "Wahn" Monologue from Sachs with no more public than the empty seats. What was to be the glorious Festival of "Peace" (sic) was replaced by tremendous loneliness.
Every lover of Wagner's work should know both recordings, which show us a golden age, with two excellent batons, featuring singing legends in both casts, a traditional and old way of understanding Wagner that would be replaced by the visceral and theatrical portraits in the stagings by Wieland and Wolfgang Wagner since 1951. It also shows us how art can flourish amidst of absolute evil, serving it and shining despite it, in the most wicked political regime in Contemporary History.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario