Siegfried Wagner - Sonnenflammen2CDs - DDD - CPO 2006
Performer: Roman Trekel (Baritone), Michaela Schuster (Soprano), Richard Brünner (Tenor),
Jürgen Trekel (Bass), Niels Giesecke (Tenor), Eva Bátori (Soprano), Ulrich Schneider (Alto), Ulrich Studer (Baritone), Ki-Hyun Park (Bass), Gerd Vogel (Bass), Anke Berndt (Soprano), Olaf Schröder (Bass), Jordi Molina (Tenor)
Orchestra: Orchester des Opernhauses Halle
Conductor: Roger Epple
This recording jumps off to a thrilling start with one of Siegfried Wagner’s strongest overtures, bursting with sweeping gestures, and ending with a chain of rising cadences recalling his father’s Parsifal. Lyrical string and wind phrases are punctuated by folklike wind figures that might recall a Dvořák tone poem or the music of his teacher, Engelbert Humperdinck. As for the rest of the opera: it is hard to imagine a stronger case for a score many listeners will likely find problematically uneven, but rewarding. Soaringly tuneful from the moment the undulating horn melody first emerges from the brooding string chords of the opening, the opera belies the contention that Siegfried’s operas tend toward faceless mediocrity, displaying instead kaleidoscopically shifting moods and orchestral colors, adeptly captured here in an almost filmic spirit of montage. For once, a complete opera recording captures some of the promise of cpo’s highly regarded sequence of recordings of the composer’s orchestral music from the mid 1990s.
The story of Sonnenflammen dips liberally into the mash of religious symbology, folk legend, and crusader knights that was the composer’s habit. It begins as the Byzantine imperial court makes fun of the poverty of the citizenry. Emperor Alexios strips a beggar of his crutches, causing the beggar to curse Alexios and everyone with him, including the knight Fridolin, the one nobleman to come to his aid. The curse hovers heavily. A mere guest at court, Fridolin is himself tormented by his unrequited love for Iris. Iris’s father, the court jester Gomella, breaks a precious vial of the emperor’s rose water, escaping punishment only by promising to give Iris to the emperor, who wishes to father a new heir with her. Gomella arranges to substitute the prostitute Eunoë for her in the meetings with the emperor, but at the thought of sharing a precious jewel with the lowly girl in order to secure the disguise, Iris momentarily considers giving herself to the emperor, and is only held back by the suspicion that Fridolin’s judging eyes are watching her.
Find more details at Arkivmusic
Synopsis in german at Siegfried-Wagner.org
Listen to the tracks at Amazon
