Bruch: Die Loreley

Opera no 64

Bruch: Die Loreley

Soloists

Munich radio orchestra

Stefan Blunter

I knew that Bruch had written more than the violin concerto but until I started researching this project I didn’t know that he had written operas. This one is an early work written in his mid 20s - it had some early success (Mahler conducted it) but soon faded from the repertoire. The libretto was actually written for Mendelssohn but he died after only completing a few fragments.

I thought that it was a rather curious piece. There was certainly some beautiful music here but for a lot of the time it didn’t actually feel like an opera. The choral sections in particular seemed to come from an oratorio - they were impressive but didn’t have any sense of drive or drama. There was no real sense of transaction - some of the links between sections were very abrupt and reminiscent of French Grand Opera at its worst. Stylistically is was all rather inconsistent. Some of the music was highly complex and then we got passages which seemed naive. The apotheosis at the end was impressive in a way but only just escaped from being kitch and overdone. Altogether then a curious work which I think showed well why Bruch largely kept away from the stage for the rest of his long career. He wrote some massive secular choral works later in life and, although I have not heard any of them. I can imagine that those are more suited to his temperament.

It some ways this opera has some of the same characteristics as both the Schubert and Schumann operas which I have featured in this series.  Musically they are of high quality but the sense of the theatre is just not there. It is the minor composers who seemed to have the grasp of what worked in the threatre.

Cornelius: Der Cid

Opera no 63

Cornelius: Der Cid

Soloists

Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra

Gustav Kuhn

I was particularly looking forward to this. Cornelius’ Barber of Baghdad is one of my favourite operas and certainly one of the greatest comic operas of the mid 19th century. So I was keen to discover what a more serious opera by Cornelius might be like. To be honest it took me quite a time to get on its wavelength - I couldn’t quite understand what Cornelius was doing in the first part of the work. Yes there were some attractive melodies and moments of harmonic piquancy, but it did all seem rather shapeless. But as the work continued, and perhaps as my focus improved, I really started to appreciate the piece. There was some remarkable music here - an intense love duet and then a big ensemble which really had an impact with energy and rhythmic drive. By the end I was captivated - perhaps I need to go back sometime and listen again to the first part of the opera - perhaps I was just not quite in the right mood to appreciate it.

Schumann: Genoveva

Opera no 62

Schumann: Genoveva

Soloists

Chamber orchestra of Europe

Nicholas Harnoncourt

Schumann is one of the composers I turn to a lot - his song cycles have been a central part of my musical experience since my student days. Yet rather to my surprise I have never heard Genoveva, his only opera, before. 

It was well worth the wait. There was some superb music here. Much of it was unmistakably Schumann, but there were some elements which reminded me of Mendelssohn, a few moments of Marschner-like gothic excitement and more than a hint of middle period Wagner. The opera is largely through-composed with a fairly fluid structure without obvious distinction between aria and recitative. The musical langue is sophisticated with some really piquant chromatic harmony that is so characteristic of Schumann’s musical language.

So why it this such a rarity? I think that it is partly because this style of opera got superseded by Wagner, but also because in many ways it has the feel of an oratorio or other concert work rather than a work for the stage. Schumann gives himself the luxury of long postludes to arias and highly developed choral writing - things which sound wonderful but probably feel overlong on the stage. Ultimately I missed the spell of the greasepaint which you get in some of the other works in the selection of German operas I have been listening for this blog - even though in purely musical terms they are not on the save level of invention as Schumann’s work. The comparison between what works on the stage and purely musical values is a fascinating one.

Wagner: Die Feen

Opera no 61

Wagner Die Feen

Soloists

Munich Opera

Wolfgang Sawallisch

This was Wagner’s first complete opera, though it was not given its first performance until after his death. I knew the overture and I think that I heard at least some of the opera when it was revived on Radio 3 in the 1970s as a part of a series of uncut performances of the early Wagner operas.

For a 20 year old with only a modest musical education this was an astonishing achievement. It is assured and full of drama. Weber is the most obvious influence and you can also hear passages reminiscent of the choral music of Schubert and Mendelssohn. But already Wagner had a distinct voice and I am sure that parts of this could have been incorporated into Lohengrin or Tannhauser without anybody noticing anything amiss. You get some moment of comic relief amid the drama - there is a long duet for the subsidiary characters in act 2 - which reminds us that Wagner’s next opera Das Liebesverbot was a comic opera. Who knows - had Die Feen been performances and Das Liebesverbot been given more than a single disastrous performance the whole direction of Wagner’s career might have been quite different.

The high point in this opera is probably the big soprano aria in Act 2 - which can best be described as Weber on steroids. It is a real tour de force of the early romantic style. It is perhaps too long, but then even in this cut performance of the opera there were several moments where one wanted Wagner not to dwell quite so long in the moment and get on to the next bit of action. But overall this was a really good experience and I think that it is only the sheer weight of the impact of Wagner’s mature operas that has led Die Feen to be only of curiosity value. It deserves more than that.

Flotow: Alessandro Stradella

Opera no 60

Flotow: Alessandro Stredella

Soloists

Bavarian Radio Orchestra and Chorus

Heinz Walberg

Flotow is known almost exclusively for Martha, although that opera has now itself virtually faded from view. Alessandro Stradella is the only other of his operas to have any lasting success - it was performed quite extensively in the decades after its first production.

I didn’t know what to expect. From the opening I imagined that we were going to get something in the German romantic tradition of Weber and early Wagner, with horns very much to the fore. But after a while it settled down into a rather lighter style which , like several of the operas in this part of the project, shows just how strong the influence of Singspiel still was in German at the time. But there was also more than an hint of Italian Buffo , particularly in the ensembles. The music was pleasant enough without being particularly memorable but some of the harmony was fairly crude and there were some awkward gear changes in places. So a real curiosity this time and I can’t imagine that this opera will ever be staged again.

Lachner: Catharina Cornaro

Opera no 59

Lachner: Catharina Cornaro

Soloists

München Rundfunkorchestra

Ralf Weikert

Lachner is now remembered, if at all, for writing the recitatives for the version of Cherubini's Medea that until recently was the only version of the opera that was ever hear - the famous Callas recordings of the work all use Lachner's recitatives.

This opera is a fascinating example of the way that opera was developing in Germany in the middle part third of the century. It is a curious mixture of styles both forward and backward looking. Some of it could would not have been out of place in Lohengrin whereas other parts were reminiscent of some of the cruder and noises moments in the operas of Spontini. There were episodes that could have come from Singspiel, some parts which were dangerously near to kitch and an apotheosis which seemed like a pre-echo of the end of Faust. Altogether a curious mixture which was certainly did not amount to more than a sum of its parts. There was some pleasing music here in places as well as some very ordinary material. Grove is pretty dismissive of Lachner,  saying' contemporary opinion undoubtedly overestimated Lachner as a composer, misled by his abilities as a conductor and above all as the trainer and developer of an orchestra without whose preparation Wagner's works could not have been fully realised in Munich'. On the basis of this opera I couldn't disagree with that verdict.

Loewe: Die Drei Wünsche

Opera no 58

Loewe: Die Drei Wünsche

Soloists

Rundfunkorchester des SWF

Peter Falk

I enjoyed the Loewe ballads in last year’s project https://andrew365newpieces.blogspot.com/2025/12/blog-post.html . I know that he was a prolific song composer but I hadn’t realised that he had also written operas. In fact he wrote 5 but this was the only one which was ever performed. In reality is more like a Singspiel than an opera - essentially it is a series of individual numbers connected by dialogue. I wasn’t expecting anything too serious but in fact this is a very light-weight piece which for its time must have seen rather old-fashioned. There is little here that couldn’t have been written a generation earlier. That’s not a criticism of course- on its own terms the piece works well. One senses that Loewe was happiest with the song form rather than anything more symphonic and there is nothing here which looks forward to the development of German opera into the middle years of the 19th century. An enjoyable listen but I didn’t think that it had the characterfulness of the Lortzing opera which preceded it in this series.

Lortzing: Der Waffenschmied

Opera no 57

Lortzing: Der Waffenschmied

Soloists

Munich Radio Orchestra

Leopold Hager

This was a complete delight from beginning to end. I was fortunate to be able to conduct performances of Lortzing’s Undine  at University and I have heard Tsar und Zimmerman but this opera was new to me. It is a lighthearted work in the Singspiel tradition - a love story of the rich man disguising himself as a poor blacksmith to win the lady of his love. It gives Lortzing the opportunity to use anvils in a way which prefigures their use in Il trovatore.

The whole opera has a lightness of touch with both looks back to Mozart and Weber but also forward to the lighter operas of Johann Strauss and Lehár. But there are also passages which could have come from the Savoy operas and some which reminded me of Cornelius and Humperdinck. Lortzing has a great melodic gift and a real sense of fun. The whole thing passed by without any longuers and left me wanting to explore the remain Lortzing recordings on my shelves.

Marschner: Der Templer und die Jüdin

Opera 56

Marschner: Der Templer und die Jüdin

Soloists

Grosses Orchester Der RAVAG

Kurt Tenner

Marschner along with Lortzing (who will be next in this project) was the leading composer of German operas between Weber and Wagner. He is most notable for the gothic elements in his two most famous operas, Hans Heiling and Der Vampyr but his style picked up many elements of early Romantic music. This opera is his version of Scott’s Ivanhoe. It has a place in the footnotes of musical history because Schumann quoted an aria from Act 3 of the opera, in which Ivanhoe sings of the virtues of England, in his Symphonic Etudes. This was as a tribute to the English composer Sterndale Benrett, to whom Schumann’s work is dedicated.

I have heard this opera before but I was glad to re make its acquaintance. It is less distinctive thn the two more famous Marschner operas I mentioned earlier but on its own terms was very enjoyable. While it has its dramatic moments much of it is quite light in character, reminding us that early Romantic opera in German used folk like elements and simple choruses as a key ingredient. This was a very old recording derived originally from a radio performance so the sound quality was not great - I suspect that some of the nuances were probably lost. I made the same comment in relation to another Marschner operas - Der Holzldieb https://andrew365newpieces.blogspot.com/2025/12/marschner-der-holzdiebsol.html- in my 365 project last year. It would be really good to get some modern recordings of a range of Marschner operas - I rate him highly and would like to hear more of his work.

Kreutzer: Das Nachlager in Granada

Opera 55

Kreutzer: Das Nachlager in Granada

Soloists

Kölner Rundfunkorchestra

Helmut Froschauer

Konradin Kreutzer (not the person to whom Beethoven dedicated a violin sonata) was part of the circle of musicians in Vienna at the turn of 19th century and certainly knew Beethoven and, perhaps, Haydn.  He was a prolific composer whose work included many operas. This one, his last, is the only one to have maintained even the slightest toe-hold in the German repertory. 

It shows just how influential the works of Weber, particularly Der Freischütz had become in Germany. It seems almost that Kreutzer had used that score as a recipe book when putting together his opera. All the elements that define German Romantic opera are there - hunting horns, peasant choruses, pastoral scenes, lyrical arias and dramatic ensembles. I found the score enjoyable but not particularly memorable - except perhaps for the rather striking use of bell-like effects near the end of the first act. I suspect that there are dozens of operas of this type lying forgotten on dusty shelves in the back of German opera houses - the chance of revival now are extremely thin.

Schubert: Fierrabras

Opera 54

Schubert: Fierrabras

Soloists

Chamber orchestra of Europe

Claudio Abbado

Schubert was a prolific composer of operas - there are a least a dozen of them although the exact number depends on how you count incidental music and unfinished works. Fierrabras was his last completed opera but it was not performed until 1897.

Given the sense of the dramatic that Schubert brings to his songs it is perhaps a surprise that he didn’t establish himself as an opera composer. There is some lovely music here but somehow if doesn’t all hang together as a coherent drama. Perhaps one of the problems is that Schubert’s tendency to be prolix and unfocussed - the ‘heavenly length’ of the 9th symphony comes to mind. The choruses are extensive and so make the work seem rather like an oratorio rather than an opera when you listen without the benefit of the staging.  Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the work is the quite extensive use of melodrama (spoken word over music) in the latter part of the opera - I’m sure that Fidelio was an influence here but there are also echoes of The Magic Flute.

I do think that Schubert opera is a lost cause, delightful as some of the music is. But it is worth remembering that he was only 26 when he wrote this, his last opera. As the CD booklet which comes with this recording points out, this was the age at which Mozart wrote the first of his operas which has remained in the repertoire - Dir Entfûhrung. As so often one can only wonder what the music of a mature Schubert would have been like. Alas we will never know.

Mendelssohn: Die Hochzeit des Camacho

Opera 53

Mendelssohn: Die Hochzeit des Camacho

Soloists

Anima Eterna

Jos van Immerseel

I knew that Mendelssohn had written some early operas - though to speak of early works of a composer who wrote masterpieces in his teens seems slightly odd - but I had assumed that they were modest domestic pieces. So this took me by surprise. It is a full scale work lasting about 90 mins with a full cast, chorus and sizeable orchestra. It didn’t make much of an impact when it was first performed and indeed some of the criticism seems to have persuaded Mendelssohn that opera was not for him. That was a great pity because there is much to enjoy in this piece and it could have formed the basis of a significant operatic oeuvre had things turned out differently.

This is very much the Mendelssohn of the Octet and the overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream - light and airy with a real sense of style and rhythmic impetus. The Magic Flute is an obvious influence as probably were the early works of Weber. What surprised me most was the choral writing - this was much more developed and extensive that one would expect from operas of this period (other than in France). It pointed the way towards the Mendelssohn of Elijah is some of the grander elements, though it never became sentimental in the way that some of the composer’s choral writing sometimes become.

So quite a discovery. One which gave me a lot of pleasure but ultimately was the ‘road not taken’. Had things turned out differently I a well image that Mendelssohn would have taken a place alongside Weber as the distinctive voice of early 19th century Romantic opera.

Weber: Silvana

Opera no 52

Weber: Silvana

Soloists

Hagen Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus

Gerhard Markson

As I said at the conclusion of opera 51 I am now turning to German Romantic opera. It is natural to start with Weber as Der Freischutz as that is really the foundation of everything that follows. But Freischutz did not spring from nowhere and this earlier opera (the first of his that has survived in complete form) shows the composer gradually finding his voice. I found it a charming work with a lot of signs of what was to come. All the elements are there: drama, comedy, melodrama, dance and choruses. It doesn’t quite have the maturity of the better known Weber operas but it is clear that even at an early age he was a master of the operatic form.  I included another Weber opera, Abu Hassan, in last year’s project https://andrew365newpieces.blogspot.com/2025/09/weber-abu-hassan.html. This was a promising start for this part of the project.

Handel: Rodelinda

Opera no 51

Handel: Rodelinda

Soloists

Raglan Baroque Soloists

Nicholas Kraemer

Handel is another of those composers to whom I came late. I wrote about this in last year’s blog https://andrew365newpieces.blogspot.com/search/label/Handel and now Handel, with Rameau, is one of the composers I turn to more than almost any other. 

I know several of the operas well but Rodelinda is one which I have not seen and I although I was familiar with some of the arias and the overture I hadn’t heard the whole opera before. What a superb work it is. Winton Dean in his seminal book on Handel’s operas says that Rodelinda is the third major masterpiece produced by Handel in less than twelve months, an achievement without parallel in the history of opera.

His enthusiasm for the piece is completely justified-  this is a superb work which shows Handel at his very best. Aria after aria proceeds with an almost unbroken series of pieces of the highest quality. We get all of the moods from tragedy through to exuberance and excitement. It all seems effortless - the Vivaldi in the previous opera seemed rather laboured by comparison - but of course it is Handel’s genius that makes it all possible. Some of the music is absolutely ravishing and expressive. Handel’s harmony seems straightforward on the surface but in fact it is highly sophisticated with some extraordinary chromatic inflections.

This is the end of this short exploration of Baroque opera.  I don’t find myself naturally sympathetic to the earlier composers but towards the end of the Baroque era Handel and Rameau in their very different ways are among the greatest of all opera composers and I return to them again and again. But the next stage of the project moves into very different territory. German romantic opera.

Vivaldi Ercole sul Termodante

Opera no 50

Vivaldi Ercole sul Termodante

Soloists

Europa Galante

Fabio Biondi

As far as I know I have never heard a single note from any of Vivaldi’s operas. Until recently they were more or less unknown territory but many of them have now been recorded. 

I didn’t have high expectation of this piece. I had in my head the cliche that Vivaldi wrote the same concerto 600 times and thought that it might apply also to his operas. In other words we were going to get lots of painting by numbers as Vivaldi turned the handle on his compositional machine.

To start with my fears seemed justified because I found the first few numbers very routine and uninspired, but the piece grew on me. Vivaldi introduced some interesting harmonic diversions here and there and there was quite a few few places where there were some unexpected rhythms. I felt that the slower and more lyrical music worked better than the faster sections. He has a real flair for the pastoral idiom whereas I thought that some of the faster, more extrovert music was way over the top - the singers, particularly the tenor., really struggled with some of it.

Stylistically the nearest point of reference to this music is probably the operas of Handel, but I don’t think that this is the same league. Pleasant at parts of it certainly it didn’t really make the impact that Handel at his best really can achieve. Handel is next in this project so a side-by-side comparison will be interesting.

This is the 50th opera in this project. When I started I wasn’t sure how how I was going to pace things but I have managed to get half way after only 4 months. So at this rate I might well get to something closer to 150 operas. Still I won’t set a target and I’ll see what happens - I’m not going to run short of composers or operas.