Raff: Samson

[mikehopf]

Well it's here!

Tonight on DFK:


Opernbühne (Starts at 1705/1:05PM): Nationaltheater Weimar
Aufzeichnung vom 11.09.2022

Uraufführung nach 170

Jahren Joachim Raff
,,Samson"
Musikdrama in drei Abteilungen auf ein Libretto des Komponisten

Samson – Peter Sonn, Tenor
Oberpriester des Dagon – Avtandil Kaspeli, Bass
Abimelech – Uwe Schenker-Primus, Bariton
Delilah – Emma Moore, Sopran
Gefangenenwärter – Jörn Eichler, Tenor
Micha – Taejun Sun, Tenor
Oberpriesterin der Astarte – Sayaka Shigeshima, Mezzosopran
Frau aus dem Volke – Franziska Löber, Sopran

Opernchor des Deutschen Nationaltheaters
Extrachor aus Studierenden der Hochschule für Musik
Franz Liszt Staatskapelle Weimar
Leitung: Dominik Beykirch (3 hrs., 55 min.)

[Alan Howe]

Can anyone record this, please?

[Mark Thomas]

Yes, please. Unfortunately, I'm away from home.

[Finn_McCool]

I got to hear some snippets of the broadcast today.  Everything I heard sounded great!

[Justin]

Although I think the music is gorgeous, this recording is not suitable for commercial release. The singing is less than adequate and the stage noise detracts greatly for a listening experience. Let's hope they'll do a studio recording sometime in the future!

[Alan Howe]

I agree with that assessment, sadly - particularly with regard to the singing. Mind you, what a wonderful work this is.

[Justin]

I forgot that Schweizer Fonogramm will be recording this opera in August 2023, according to our friend Frédéric Angleraux!

[Alan Howe]

That's the recording to look forward to.

[Justin]

I must say the Preludes to Acts III and V are marvelous, especially the flowing lyrical melody played twice by the strings in Act V. Do we know if there were ever attempts to get the opera off the ground in the late 19th or 20th century?

[Mark Thomas]

No there weren't Justin. It was almost premiered in 1865, but when that prospect disappeared Raff seems to have lost heart and put the manuscript away. After his death it was quickly forgotten, like the rest of his music.

[Alan Howe]

An absolute tragedy, that. Time to put things right.

[eschiss1]

And the first publication, afaik, was the one 3 years ago. Having to work from manuscript, even clean ones like Raff's, can discourage performance.

(Well, it's -one- factor that can. If the only published parts are priced at $125, like a string quintet I've mentioned before, that work's not very likely to receive new performances either...)