Raff opera premieres

[Mark Thomas]

As I've mentioned previously, as part of the Raff bicentenary celebrations two operas by Raff are receiving their premieres in the next few weeks. Firstly there's the Zurich Opera Collective's production of Raff's final opera Die Eifersüchtigen in the Theater Arth, Switzerland on 3 and 4 September, followed by performances in Zurich itself on 16 and 17 September. Full details here - tickets bookable now. The poster promises an appropriately light-hearted staging, though clearly not 16th century Florence as intended by Raff.



That's followed a week later by Raff's second opera, the five act music drama Samson, which will premiere at the National Theatre in Weimar, Germany on 11 September, followed by a further eight performances. Full details here - tickets bookable now. Weimar has been one of those venues which in the past has indulged in some controversial Regietheater stagings, so all bets are off as regards the production itself, but judging from this publicity shot it does at least look as if Samson's hair loss will feature:



For any Raff enthusiast this is a dizzying prospect and I'm delighted to be going to both first performances, following each of which I'll post a report here. Samson (but not this production) will definitely be recorded next year by the Schweizer Fonogramm label as reported in this thread. I believe that a recording will be made of the Die Eifersüchtigen production, but it's not yet clear whether this will be a commercial release or just for private circulation. Interest has also been shown in recording Dame Kobold, Raff's most successful opera, but I've nothing concrete to report unfortunately.

[Alan Howe]

...which is all terrifically exciting. Thanks for the report, Mark.

[ewk]

Yesterday, I got to know that Finnish conductor Joonas Pitkänen stepped in last-minute for Die Eifersüchtigen (don't know what happened to the original conductor, though). Funny how small the world of classical music is – Pitkänen is, among others, the conductor of an orchestra I played in until recently.

What might be of more interest to you – he reported that the music of ,,Die Eifersüchtigen" is very good, only the libretto "could use some retouching". Well, it's a comic opera after all, they seldomly have reasonable plots.

A shame that I can't make it to the performances. However, I read that there will be a recording and it sounded as it might be not only for private purposes (though I can't find the citation anymore – I might ask the conductor).

[Mark Thomas]

One of the later, Zurich performances will definitely be recorded but as far as I know it's not being made for any particular label to issue - that may depend on the quality of the recording. As for the libretto, even Raff's actress wife described it as "innocuous", and it is indeed more than a bit silly but as you say that's pretty much par for the course when it comes to comic operas.

[ewk]

Mr. Pitkänen could not tell more than this, either – but he will notify me as soon as he knows anything about the publishing.

[Mark Thomas]

I went to the well-attended premiere of Die Eifersüchtigen last night at the cosy theatre in the little lakeside town of Arth. Hearing a "new" Raff piece is always a pleasure, of course, but a staged opera lasting over two hours throws up so many fleeting impressions and distractions that it's very difficult to give more than a general view of the piece in advance of getting to know it better.

Firstly the music: This is late Raff, so one is treated to a kaleidoscope of orchestral colour, melody, mood and tempo. I certainly heard echoes of Welt Ende and the Shakespeare Preludes. Vocally the lines are unfailingly lyrical, as they are in Benedetto Marcello. The tenor Don Claudio in particular has a couple of splendidly melodic set pieces, while the servant Beppino has more dramatic or comedic material to work with. Beppino's is perhaps the largest role, with the rest of the cast having a roughly equal share. Overall, this opera is Raff in relaxed and inventive mode and anyone who enjoys the music of Benedetto Marcello will savour Die Eifersüchtigen.

I'm less sure of its dramatic success. Structurally it's unbalanced, with a very long first act in which Raff (his own librettist) introduces the seven characters and indulges in extensive exposition to set up the, not very complicated, plot. Musically it is full of incident, but on stage it did have its longeurs. I was told that some of the tempi may have been slowed down during rehearsals to make the orchestra's job less challenging, but the piece was played in full. In contrast, the second and third acts, when the plot gets underway, fairly flew by and were great successes.

The staging was minimal but effective - mainly umbrellas, lights and 20th century costume - but little more was needed and it worked. We were spared Raff's setting of 1500s Florence. The seven singers (there is no chorus) were all young professionals who generally did an excellent job with the wordy libretto, only being taxed on a couple of occassions. Despite an earlier idea that Raff's orchestration be pared down, that was not the case and a full orchestra was used, although a modestly-sized one of 36 players. This was certainly adequate in a theatre of this size, more would be needed in a larger venue.

Overall, then, a very welcome and successful debut for Die Eifersüchtigen and it's to be hoped that the planned recording will be generally available.

[Alan Howe]

Very, very interesting, Mark. Now for the recording...

[Mark Thomas]

Having had a day to think about it, I do feel very positive about Die Eifersüchtigen. It really is a sunny piece. Anyone who knows the Overture from the various recordings will get a fair idea of the atmosphere of the whole work, even though that doesn't draw on material from the opera itself. The plot is slight (three couples with obstacles to their marriages, all of which are overcome) but doesn't seem any sillier than many others once it's on stage, and my German friends assure me that Raff's libretto, although clunky in places, is also quite witty and amusing. Certainly there were chuckles in the audience, and you  can't say that about Wagner's "comedy" Die Miestersinger! The length of Act I is undoubtedly a weakness, one acknowledged by the Company who debated whether to prune it before deciding not to, but it does have some lovely music and I doubt that it will drag quite so much with familiarity. No such problem with the other two acts, which fairly sped along. Considering Raff's delicate health near the end of his life and the problems he was grappling with running the Hoch Conservatory, it's a minor miracle that he could pen such sparkling music.

I do hope that the planned recording will be generally available, but that's a decision for the Zurich Opera Collective, for whom it's being made.

This coming weekend sees the premiere in Weimar of Raff's music drama Samson, a fully-fledged five-act epic with many principals, full chorus and on-stage band, given by one of Germany's prestigeous provincial companies. It's a very different prospect and one I can hardly wait to see.

[Alan Howe]

We await your report with bated breath...

[tpaloj]

Thanks so much for your report and thoughts, Mark. Was the non-inclusion of a chorus a decision applied to this particular performance, or does the work come with no chorus at all?

Considering Raff's delicate health near the end of his life and the problems he was grappling with running the Hoch Conservatory, it's a minor miracle that he could pen such sparkling music.

Indeed that it was. We are thankful that music came to him as a gift and that he was such a workhorse throughout his very productive career.

Looking forward to the weekend very much. Raff's had a long time to wait for Samson, but I'm sure it's going to be worth it. I was not happy I couldn't make it to that performance myself.

[Mark Thomas]

Thanks Tuomas. Die Eifersuchtigen has no chorus, just seven soloists and a couple of silent parts. If it wasn't for its length it could almost be a chamber opera.

[Ilja]

Also, congratulations. This is a sure sign that Raff is increasingly getting the attention he deserves. Opera productions are complex even at modest scale, and the mere fact that people decided to perform these works says something about the fact that they consider the music worthy of that time and energy investment. I think you should consider this something of a personal triumph of your long dedication to Raff's cause.

[Gareth Vaughan]

I agree wholeheartedly, Ilja.
Take a bow, Mark.

[Alan Howe]

Agreed.

My only observation would be that there would need to be more than one-off operatic productions for a proper recognition of Raff's genius to be taking place. And there haven't exactly been many concert performances of his other major compositions in this, his bicentenary year. This is, of course, an absolute scandal.

[Mark Thomas]

Huge thanks for the plaudits, chaps, but in this case they're undeserved. I'll certainly take my fair share of the credit for lifting Raff's profile over the years and getting recordings made, but when it comes to these two opera productions I've merely been a very enthusiastic bystander. All credit for Samson must got to Volker Tosta, proprietor of Edition Nordstern, who not only created the modern edition of the score, but also lobbied unceasingly for its production. He has also produced the critical edition of Die Eifersüchtigen, but in this instance the heavy lifting of getting it staged is down to Res Marty, president of the Swiss Joachim Raff Gesellschaft.

I must take mild issue with Alan's comment. In neither case are these one-off productions - there will be four performances in all of Die Eifersüchtigen and no less than nine of Samson, the final one on Christmas Day. Particularly in the later case, such a run in the prestigious venue of the Weimar German National Theatre is big, ground-breaking stuff. During the bicentenary year there will be 122 concerts featuring, or wholly comprising, music by Raff, including several performances of the symphonies and of Im Walde in particular. I think that's a very substantial achievement. Where I do agree with Alan, though, is that they're almost wholly confined to Germany and particularly Switzerland. A breakthrough there has happened, I believe, but Switzerland is only a small corner of the classical music world and there's still a long way to go before we see the Philadelphia Orchestra playing Raff at all, never mind as often as they're currently playing Florence Price!!