Franck - Hulda (Freiburg Oper)

[Ebubu]

Oh, thanks for the information... I was really looking forward to that, as it also featured the excellent young tenor Nutthaporn Tammathi.... 
(Well, HE hadn't even been informed, apparently !!!)

[Kevin]

Is there going to be a recording of this, does anyone know? A work so rare as this, performed every 100 years it looks like, deserves a decent recording I think.

[ewk]

Freiburg's Hulda (studio production, so probably no machine guns) is going to be aired tomorrow 26 April 8:03 pm on Southwest German radio SWR2 (web radio swr2.de)
best wishes, ewk

[Kevin]

Thanks for the info. Please someone record it. Might be the only chance to hear it...

[Alan Howe]

I echo that. Is anyone available, please?

https://www.swr.de/swr2/musik-klassik/cesar-franck-hulda-swr2-oper-2020-04-26-100.html

[BerlinExpat]

SWR2 can't decide if it's an opera in 2, 3 or 4 acts! In Freiburg it was prologue, three acts and an epilogue and lasted about 135 minutes

It's heart-warming to read that it's a studio production and not a recording from the theatre which had an awful amount of stage noise. It'll also be interesting to hear if the complete ballet music is included rather than the half the stage performance was given.

[ewk]

If you download the "Manuskript zur Sendung", which includes some info about the work, you can see that they will air all 4 acts and the epilogue.
I think somehow that they would not have done a studio recording if there wasn't a CD release planned
Some of their previous CDs were co-productions with the SWR.

[adriano]

Will tray to record it - even though I am rather disappointed by Franck as an opera composer. "Stradella" is quite so so la la :-)

[BerlinExpat]

The opening pages states "Oper in 2 Aufzügen"

Then in the "Manuskript zur Sendung" I read 'You will hear the first three acts'. It's badly worded. Act 4 and the epilogue presumably runs after a break. They've obviously turned the prologue into an act.

[Kevin]

I have no idea what's going on there about the acts. I just realised the cast is the same as last year with one notable exception: Hulda herself is now played by Meagan Miller. I wonder why? Never heard of her, she any good?

[Alan Howe]

Very average:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3WkSQGMcvY

She's sung a lot of very heavy repertoire - which you can hear in her wobble, unfortunately.

[Kevin]

"Stradella" is quite so so la la :-)

He was only 19, not even Rossini wrote a convincing opera at that age, surely the more mature Wagnerian Hulda will be better... just guessing though.(hope its good, always loved Franck)

[adriano]

Just in case nobody else has done so, I've recorded the "Hulda" broadcast from a digital channel, not from the internet. During the very last chord there was a half a second's drop-out, which I could repair. Hope the rest will be OK as well. Will edit the whole tomorrow morning.

[ewk]

Thank you Adriano!

[Mark Thomas]

Yes indeed, many thanks.