Customer Reviews

Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek: Ritter Blaubart

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Reznicek's score for his 1920 opera "Ritter Blaubart" is a blockbuster! Wow!! I can't say a single negative thing about it. It was a refreshing change of pace after alot of listening to Mahler, Zemlinsky, early Schoenberg, etc. Not because I don't love those guys, because I really do! But they all come from the Mahlerian strain of German music--lots of

yearning, angst, and introspection.

But Reznicek's music rings with the noble horns and heroic air of Richard Wagner. Reznicek aligned himself with Strauss and Pfitzner, and I heard some Strauss in "Ritter Blaubart" as well. But the overriding impression, which grew and grew as I listened, was that of a die-hard Wagnerian. It's really a very old-fashioned score for 1920, though it's none-the-worse for that. It has ensemble scenes, and a wonderful, almost "Forging Song" like aria for Bluebeard's servant Joshua just before the denoument--a wonderful dramatic stroke.

For the libretto, though, my enthusiasm isn't as unmixed.

The story is a variant of the same Bluebeard story set by composers such as Bartok, Offenbach, and Dukas. In this telling, Bluebeard is set to marry Judith (having killed and beheaded his first 5 wives), and gives her a key to a door which she must promise not to open. Of course, when Bluebeard goes travelling, she can't resist. The key becomes irreversably stained with blood, and when Bluebeard discovers this, he murders her as well. After the funeral, Bluebeard starts to woo Judith's sister Agnes, but Bluebeard's guilt-ridden servant Joshua burns down the Castle with Bluebeard inside, while Agnes leaps to her death.

The language itself is very skillful. But the plot seems unfocussed. Who are we supposed to identify with? Judith, Agnes, or Bluebeard? Hard to say. And Bluebeard, unlike in Bartok's tale, is clearly insane. He babbles incoherantly. In fact, at a wedding dinner, he rudely insults Judith's family, then apologizes to her profusely trying to salvage the wedding. He hardly seems so smooth as to have been able to win 6 wives. Doesn't it seem like someone might have been suspicious about why Judith died--specially since he apparently had hung onto her head?...And the issue of the key to the forbidden door--it seems a minor detail in the plot, and he tries to do in Agnes later despite the fact that he never offered her the key--so why bother with it? There are many plot holes.

Yet the ending is set so persuasively that I was nearly won over! Or maybe I was won over--but not without reservation. It seemed the story was too single minded about getting from one plot point to the next to be a great work of art.

The wonderful music, though, makes me eager to hear other works by Reznicek--especially his operas, which number fourteen, as well as his symphonic poems. I'm especially interested in the two operas which follow "Ritter Blaubart"--the one act "Holofernes", based on the Apocrypha, and "Satuala", a 75 minute three-act tragedy set in Hawaii that includes a Hula dance! Please, opera companies--let's hear them...

Urged and encouraged by the previous reviewer's honest, detailed and enthusiastic advocacy of this virtually unknown opera, premiered in 1920, I made the modest investment necessary and agree that this is worthy, interesting and even absorbing in parts.

It is really too rich and overloaded a concoction, reminiscent of Strauss in "Salome" and "Elektra" mode and also even of Bartok - not just from the obvious thematic connection with "Duke Bluebeard" but also musically - but full of arresting effects and unexpected instrumental colouring: restless, mercurial and disjointed, expressionist violence alternating with lyrical or melodic flights and punctuated by extended orchestral interludes. Amidst all the inventive note-spinning, one occasionally wishes for a more palpable attachment to melody. Otherwise, with sobbing, gypsy-violin riffs and manic, percussive outbursts, big brass blares and spooky, gothic scene-painting, there's no lack of variety of form or mood in this music and it requires playing and singing of virtuosic standard. In that regard, neither the Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin or the singers let us down: I was really struck by the beauty of the orchestra's sound and none of the singers, despite nary a name being known to me, is less than competent while some are really impressive. Michail Jurowski's spirited direction is unflaggingly pointed and attentive. The climactic ensemble ending Act 1 is a real belter, rivalling anything in Strauss. The opening two Act 2 sounds like a blatant rip-off from a judicious amalgam of the start of "Gurrelieder" and the beginning of Act 2 of "Tristan und Isolde". The grave-robbers' short scene seems to be a smaller-scaled homage to the appearance of the grave-digger in "Hamlet".

Technically, this radio broadcast recording is a triumph. The only sonic fault I detected was at 3:43 in track 4 of Side 1 where there is a really jarring and obvious digital "splice"; otherwise, the sound is superb: rich, with a wide dynamic range, balanced and very detailed.

The plot and libretto are very Grand Guignol - absurdly melodramatic but great fun when delivered with such gusto. Why no-one notices within half a minute that Bluebeard is a homicidal psychotic who should not be allowed within a mile of anyone's marriageable daughter is a question you cannot ask if you are to enter into the spirit of this so-called "Märchenstück" (fairy-tale?!). "Es leben unsere Leiben" ("Long live our corpses!") toasts Bluebeard and tells horrendous tales like how he threw his wife's lover's body into the pond, to be met by the tolerant response from his audience that he is obviously either drunk or simply being darkly ironic and remains essentially loveable.

David Pittman-Jenning's throws himself into his assumption of the eponymous lead character; his baritone is not the juiciest or steadiest, with a vibrato that loosens under pressure, but he has the top notes and creates complete and convincing psychological portrait of a tormented lunatic. Celina Lindsley as Judith has a slightly acidic timbre but sings very truly and touchingly while her sister Agnes, who in turn falls for the irresistible Bluebeard once Judith has joined her similarly decapitated predecessors, is very sweetly sung by Andion Fernandez. The tenor roles of Werner, Bluebeard's latest buddy, and the blind servant Josua - faithful until he can stand no more bloodshed, turns pyromaniac and effects the mini-Götterdämmerung which brings the opera to a close - are sung competently if with rather tight-tone.

Definitely an operatic byway worth exploring.

The CPO revival of the music of Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek continues with this full-blooded grand opera slightly reminiscent of Schreker or Strauss (although somewhat more conservative). It is no masterpiece, not by a long shot, but Reznicek's unerring sense of dramatic pacing and his ability to score effective, fiery orchestral parts saves much when invention starts flagging (which it admittedly does at a couple of points in this opera). Bluebeard is here clinically insane from the very start, providing the opportunity for some migraine-like turbulent fin-de-siecle coloration and gloom which persist throughout the whole work. After murder, gore and madness aplenty, the whole work culminates in the castle going up in flames (consuming Bluebeard while Agnes, sister of the main female character Judith - murdered and decapitated earlier in the opera - throws herself into a ravine upon learnin the truth). In short, plenty of room for musical firework and turmoil.

While Reznicek doesn't display, say, Schreker's mastery in the musical setting of grandiose decadence, the dramatic tension and urgency never really flags and the vocal parts, which, while not containing any really memorable stand-alone arias, are violently expressive. And the soloists here are really good. Pittman-Jennings in the title-role is superb, both in his characterization of the insane Bluebeard (full of horror, but without turning him it into anything parodic) and in his ability to tackle the hurdles thrown at him with aplomb. Celina Lindsley as Judith is dramatic and powerful, but lacks, perhaps, some subtlety and tender innocence. Andion Fernandez as Agnes, on the other hand, is suitably nuanced but perhaps without the fiery edge one might think her character needs. The rest of the cast is excellent, and Jurowski drives the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra forward with passion and propulsiveness. Sound quality is superb as well. All in all, this is again no masterpiece, and isn't even close to withstanding comparison with the operas of Schreker, Strauss or others. But in a performance as good as this one it comes across pretty convincingly. So if you don't expect anything profound or very memorable this will be a truly worthwhile and enjoyable set. And under those conditions it is recommended with confidence.

I don't know what the previous reviewer was smoking when listening to this, but to my ears the work is very uninspired, it never really takes off. The best moments are in Act 1, with the first Interludium (for orchestra) packing quite a climax, followed by a beautiful section, and then another enjoyable Interludium. And Tracks 10 and the last half of 12 have glimmers of ideas and inspiration. On the second CD, the first two tracks of Act II are quite beautiful, but the rest is rather manufactured/second rate. The tenor aria on Track 15 is rousing, in the manner of a good number from one of the operas of Siegfried Wagner, but not even in the finale can von Reznicek reach the heights.

The opera is written for large orchestra, with impressive brass, with the music emulating the idiom of Siegfried Wagner, with hints of Richard Strauss, and Pfitzner. At least it's superior to von Schilling's "Mona Lisa", but then, that's not saying a lot! If you like the Siegfried Wagner operas, you might want to add this also to your collection. But with as-yet unrecorded operas by Humperdinck and d'Albert, I think it's a shame that CPO came out with this. And it benefits repeating that this is very different indeed to Reznicek's other opera "Donna Diana". Singing, conducting and recording quality are solid and reliable.