Humperdinck: Dornröschen
Soloists
Munich radio orchestra
Ulf Schrimer
After a series of French operas it is time for a change of direction. I’m now three quarters of the way through the year and have already neared 150 operas. The original plan was to get to 100 operas from 100 composers but I have almost got to 150, so at this rate I might get to nearly 200. I want to continue the exploration of Russian operas and then look at some more operas from other countries which I have not yet explored. Then I will try to pick up as many others as possible. But I am going to start with some post-Wagnerian German operas.
I’ve never really explored this repertoire in any detail and it is not something which I have ever warmed to. So this is the right opportunity to fill in some gaps. Humperdinck is one of few post-Wagnerian composers who retains a place in the repertoire - Hansel and Gretel deservedly earns its reputation as one of the great late romantic operas. Last year I also listened to Koningskinder which I thoroughly enjoyed. Donröschen is a version of Sleeping Beauty intended for children. It is very much in the tradition of Hansel and Gretel though it has some extensive spoken dialogue and passages of melodrama. There is some gorgeous music here in that very lyrical style which which Humperdinck was a complete master of - there is also some very effective spooky music for the magic scenes and so plenty of good tunes.
So a really good start to this sequence of German operas - I suspect that what follows may be more of a challenge.
No comments:
Post a Comment