Korngold’s Ring des Polykrates (on the occasion of the Freiburg performance)

[ewk]

Dear all,

as announced earlier in the Violanta thread, I report about the Freiburg Performance of Korngold's early opera »Ring des Polykrates«. On that occasion I would be interested in a discussion about the work in general.

I found three reviews, all of them in German:
http://www.omm.de/veranstaltungen/musiktheater20192020/FR-korngold.html
https://www.die-deutsche-buehne.de/kritiken/humorfrei-durch-die-buergerliche-hoelle
https://www.badische-zeitung.de/kosmos-korngold-ein-komponist-wird-besichtigt--181851507.html

1) The apparent: The mixture of concert and opera. This worked very well for me, although I wouldn't have needed the little gags that should tie the two parts of the evening together (the Hofkapellmeister from polycrates sits on stage during the »theme and variations« and reads along in a score and, after the piece, is praised by the conductor as if he was the composer of the piece). I think there would have been possibilities to create real links between the pieces, but this didn't help a lot I think. The »Passover Psalm« and the  Sechs einfache Lieder op. 9 impressed me most (some of the Lieder were very touching!), while I was not very impressed by »Der Sturm«.

2) The opera itself. It was critisized for a lack of mise-en-scene in the Deutsche Bühne review. Well, the orchestral stage of the first half was the theater stage of the second half, the orchestra having moved into the pit. Well, for me, an opera with near to no plot can do with very little mise-en-scene and for the subject, I found this a rather clever idea. It may be  caused by my dislike for the plots (or lack thereof) of many comic operas, but I found the plot relatively dumb, to be honest. The finale is funny and enjoyable and also during the piece, there are some very funny moments. However, in my opinion, it takes to long for no action when the Hofkapellmeister Wilhelm thinks about putting his wife on test and finally does so and also during the beginning.
That being said, the music impressed me far more. Again, the beginning was not the part that impressed me the most. Relatively fragmentary, no big lines or melodies. But the more the work progressed, I absolutely loved the music, the orchestration, the melodies, the atmosphere created. Wonderful!
While I am no expert to judge the singing, especially the women sang very nicely for my ears. Irina Jae-Eun Park (Lieschen) also impressed and touched me with the Sechs einfache Lieder. The orchestra under Fabrice Bollon played well, wonderful piano, bombast where needed, but doing the young genius justice.

I may want to listen to the music again without reading the surtitles in order to fully concentrate on the music which was, for me, the undisputed highlight of the evening. Especially, but surely not only as it was written by a teenager, very impressing.

What are your opinions about »Ring des Polykrates«?

Best wishes,
ewk

[Maury]

Well 5 years later the first reply ewk! I think the problem is that Korngold composed in the afternoon of the German music making machine. So the way he wrote was with singers like Lehmann and Jeritza in his ear. Richard Strauss did the same. But you live by Jeritza you die by Jeritza because now no one can sing it adequately. The only Korngold recording that has some of that pixie dust was the Leinsdorf Die Tote Stadt but that was in 1977 in the last gasp of the style with someone who had grown up in that milieu.

When I first heard that Die Tote Stadt (on the original vinyl) around 1990 I was angry believe it or not. Not from the music but from the nay saying and insulting references to Korngold's music from all and sundry (including infamously Opera Magazine) which discouraged me for years from giving it a listen.

I only know Polykrates from the CPO recording which is OK but doesn't approximate remotely what it must have been like with Selma Kurz at the Vienna premiere. What a concert that must have been, first in Munich with Bruno Walter and then Vienna with the second one-acter Violanta with Jeritza. Listening through the CPO recording I agree that the opening is a bit lacking dramatically. However only Korngold could have turned such a slight story into a fairy tale and I end up enjoying even the CPO recording because of Korngold's wonderful music.

[John Boyer]

OK, I'll be the second person to reply.

The music is wonderful, but I don't care for the libretto.  Most people seem to work their way around the bad librettos that drag otherwise fine operas down, but I'm sensitive to it because of my view of an opera as a theater piece with music rather than as a pure musical composition.  (Or is it a musical work with theater?)

In the instant case, I find the libretto a bit mean spirited. The character of Peter Vogel is every bit as pitiable as Laura found him when she first met him, but there is no pity or compassion for him from the libretto . There's no attempt to bring him around to help him  out of his clumsy, unlucky life. Instead, he's just jettisoned, first by Laura and later by Wilhelm, when it becomes convenient for them to do so. It takes the shine off of what should be a charming lightweight comedy.

I can't live without the Diary Song, but as for the rest...  No, the protagonists are too unlikeable and the antagonist too pathetic to make for a satisfying experience. 

[Alan Howe]

The cpo recording has an excellent tenor but a poor Laura, sour-toned and wobbly.  Not good enough, IMHO. Not enough tunes either. In a word: dispensable. Had me longing for Lehar...

[Maury]

The music is wonderful, but I don't care for the libretto. 

If listening to a recording the libretto doesn't bother me; only if forced to watch it. Case in point: Clemenza di Tito.

 

Not enough tunes either.

While I like tunes they can sometimes be annoying on repetition or intrusive to the extent that you are consciously or subconsciously waiting for them to appear. Not a deal breaker for me anyway as long as the music flows with sparkle and spontaneity. But I generally agree that one listens through the various CPO opera recordings for the most part which are often the best we have faute de mieux. Sadly we don't have the Selma Kurz performance in audiophile stereo.

[Alan Howe]

Sadly we don't have the Selma Kurz performance in audiophile stereo.

True. However, I can think of a number of contemporary sopranos who would have done a better job than cpo's choice. As I said, sour-toned and wobbly just doesn't cut it. Try the great Gundula Janowitz here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmlH8wEJxMo

[Maury]

I assume CPO is working on a strict budget so that is why they have trouble assembling a complete cast. And of course the work is not something that younger sopranos have prior experience with on stage. But that is an increasing problem these days in general except possibly for Baroque opera.