Paderewski: Manru

[eschiss1]

cpo has announced for release on November first a recording (possibly the live performance announced in this forum as a broadcast back in March 2022) of Ignace Paderewski's opera Manru (1901), sung in German and in its original version. May be worth a listen...

[Alan Howe]

There is, of course, a recording from 2004 on Dux sung in Polish (conducted by Ewa Michnik), but I've no idea whether there's any other difference between that and the new recording. The issue for me wouldn't be the language involved, but the singing. Opera simply must be well sung - just as concertos must be well played.

[eschiss1]

Is the 2004 a recording of the 1901 version? It's not a question of the language involved, but original vs. revised version. This seems to be implying that it's a rare recording of the 1901 version. (If the 2022 broadcast was uploaded to our archive at the time, we can, before removing it if necessary - I suspect it's the same recording, but this would need evidence - check its duration. I suspect it may have a substantially different duration than the 3-act, 1 h 50 m, 2004 recording, but I don't know.)

[eschiss1]

This with the same performers, I think shows this production ran for 6 performances, and may be the one mentioned in Recordings & Broadcasts (but not in our Downloads section). (Yes, it's true that the language written means - or also means- original version as written in German, but I suspect there may be other differences between this and other recordings, e.g. it may be a complete recording, whereas I have no reason to believe that of earlier recordings. It might not be, too...)

[Alan Howe]

It's not an important enough issue to induce me to buy the new recording - especially if the singing's not that special. I'll be hanging onto the 2004 Dux release until I'm persuaded otherwise.

[Richard Moss]

As a brief aside to the main work, I have a copy of a 1999 KOCH CD of some of Paderewski's orchestral works and which includes 3 (non-vocal) pieces taken from this work: Prelude to Act 3, a Gypsy March and an orchestral Fantasy based on themes from the opera arranged by Walter Rabl. The CD's notes don't say much about the music except the opera itself was a runaway success and thus the publisher arranged for the Gypsy Dance and Rabl's Fantasy to be published on their own on the strength of it.

Cheers

Richard

[eschiss1]

I gather it was performed at the Met Opera NYC, among the only operas from Poland (Polish operas? it's not a Polish language opera) ever to be to this day.