Beethoven - Fidelio - Hans Knappertsbusch

Review:

Anyone who has heard the legends surrounding German conductor Hans Knappertsbusch knows that "Kna" favored under-rehearsed, spontaneous performances and slow tempi. Well, yes, and those idiosyncrasies mark his recordings as well as "live" radio broadcasts that have survived. His 1961 Westminster studio recording of Beethoven's "Fidelio" has always been reckoned something of a failure for these very reasons, but I think it's time for a reappraisal, especially now that Deutsche Grammophon has cleaned up the sound so remarkably for this new reissue. Sure, Kna's tempos are often times slower than the norm, but this just underscores how attentive he is to giving his singers space to breathe (as well as carefully underlining Beethoven's harmonic structure). And what singers! Every member of this cast is world-class, headed up by the remarkable Sena Jurinac. Vocally secure and possessing an incomparably creamy legato, Jurinac was a true dramatic soprano and a memorable singing actress. Too few of her stage performances are available today and this, along with a wonderful Octavian on the Decca/Erich Kleiber "Rosenkavalier," showcases Jurinac at her best. Singing Florestan to Jurinac's Fidelio/Leonore is the American tenor Jan Peerce. Peerce was approaching the end of his operatic career when he made this recording and his voice at times sounds a bit worn. But that quality fits the role of the falsely imprisoned Florestan to perfection in a performance otherwise notable for a truly remarkable intelligence and sense of humanity. (It's amusing to recall that, about 15 years earlier, Peerce recorded the same role with Toscanini for RCA. Thus, Peerce has the distinction of working for both the fastest and the slowest "Fidelio" conductors on record!) The evil jailer Pizarro is a fabulously memorable Gustav Neidlinger, while the smaller roles are filled by such stalwarts as Deszo Ernster, Maria Stader and Murray Dickie. (The only performance that disappoints is that of a woolly-sounding Frederick Guthrie as the Royal Minister.) What we wouldn't give to hear such a cast today! But Knappertsbusch is the real star of this production and, if you're prepared to live with those slow tempi (and some sloppy ensemble now and then), he has many thought-provoking things to say about Beethoven's only opera. Note that the performance includes the Leonore III overture interposed before the final scene of Act II. That's the way many conductors performed "Fidelio" fifty and a hundred years ago after Gustav Mahler introduced the trick around the turn of the last century. People still debate whether it works as a musical device but, in Kna's hands, the performance of the interpolated overture helps transform a story about particular people living in a particular place and time into a universal epic of human love and freedom. Very moving.

Tracklist

Disc: 1
1. Overture
2. Act One, No.1. Duet: Jetzt, Schatzchen, Jetzt Sind Wir Allein
3. Act One, No.1: Jaquino, Jaquino!
4. Act One, No.2. Aria: O War Ich Schon Mit Dir Vereint
5. Act One, No.2: Guten Tag, Marzelline. Ist Fidelio Noch Nicht Zuruckgekommen?
6. Act One, No.3. Qt: Mir Ist So Wunderbar
7. Act One, No.3: Fidelio, Wenn Ich Auch Nicht Weiss
8. Act One, No.4. Aria: Hat Man Nicht Auch Gold Beineben
9. Act One, No.4: Ihr Konnt Das Leicht Sagen, Meister Rocco
10. Act One, No.5. Trio: Gut, Sohnchen, Gut, Hab Immer Mut
11. Act One, No.6. March
12. Act One, No.6: Ist Etwas Neues Vorgefallen?
13. Act One, No.7. Aria W. Chor: Ha! Welch Ein Augenblick!
14. Act One, No.7: Ich Darf Keinen Augenblick Saumen
15. Act One, No.8. Duet: Jetzt, Alter, Jetzt Hat Es Eile!
16. Act One, No.9. Recitative And Aria: Abscheulicher! Wo Eilst Du Hin? - Komm, Hoffnung, Lass Den…
17. Act One, No.9: Meister Rocco, Ich Ersuchte Euch Schon Einige Male
18. Act One, No.10. Finale: O Welche Lust, In Freier Luft
19. Act One, No.10. Finale: (Recitative): Nun Sprecht, Wie Ging's?/(Duet): Noch Heute! Noch Heute!
20. Act One, No.10. Finale: (Scene): Ach, Vater, Vater, Eilt!

Disc: 2
1. Act One, No.10. Finale: Leb Wohl, Du Warmes Sonnenlicht
2. Act Two, No.11. Intro, (Recitative And) Aria: Gott! Welch Dunkel Hier! - In Des Lebens… 3. Act Two, No.12. Melodrama And Duet: Wie Kalt Ist Es In Diesem Unterirdischen Gewolbe! - Nur… 4. Act Two, No.12. Melodrama And Duet: Er Erwacht!
5. Act Two, No.13. Trio: Euch Werde Lohn In Bessern Welten
6. Act Two, No.13: Ist Alles Bereit?
7. Act Two, No.14. Qt: Er Sterbe! Doch Er Soll Erst Wissen
8. Act Two, No.14: Vater Rocco! Der Herr Minister Kommt An/Es Schlagt Der Rache Stunde 9. Act Two, No.14: Meine Leonore, Was Hast Du Meinetwegen Erduldet!/No.15. Duet: O Namenlose Freude!
10. Overture 'Leonore III', Op.72a
11. Act Two, No.16. Finale: Heil Sei Dem Tag
12. Act Two, No.16. Finale: Des Besten Konigs Wink Und Wille
13. Act Two, No.16. Finale: Wer Ein Holdes Weib Errungen