Schreker 'Der ferne Klang' from Royal Swedish Opera

[adriano]

I strongly recommend "Der Ferne Klang" from the Stockholm Opera:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFiIGESb0ss

An excellent, intelligent (rather Freudian) and respectful staging - some Deutsches Regietheater guys could learn something!
I like the singers, the playing and Stefan Blunier's expert and sensitive conducting.

[Alan Howe]

Thought this deserved a thread of its own...

[adriano]

Thanks, Alan :-)
I am really enthusiastic about this new production. Even though it is always risky to "stage" the longer orchestral interlude between the two last scenes, this time it is "gelungen". Christof Loy (a German director!) manages to illustrate Fritz's artistic crisis.
In our Zurich production of 2010, director Claus Guth had the abysmal idea of showing Fritz wandering around in a modern, almost empty flat, then fingering a long time with a Melitta coffee machine - an object, incidentally, which was present, as placed on a little table besides the stage during the whole production! I thought at first that some technique guy, after using it during the set-up, had forgotten to remove it...

[Kevin]

I've listened to several of Schreker's operas recently and I've found Der ferne Klang the best of the lot. It could very well be his masterpiece.

[Alan Howe]

It's early, of course (completed 1910) - his second opera, after Flammen.

[Kevin]

I enjoyed those operas as well. My rule of thumb is I only listen to audio versions of opera, opera is more of a musical than theatrical experience for me, saves me many headaches!

[adriano]

In any case I've already provided myself to create audio files of both mentioned productions :-)

[adriano]

I remember that too, joelngaard. But there are a lot of La Scala private recordings on which the prompting is much louder!