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Franz Schmidt's opera Fredigundis

Started by Alan Howe, Thursday 19 May 2016, 11:17

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Alan Howe


mbhaub

Wow! About time for this to appear. I was unaware of this site, thanks for bringing to our attention!

I've had the bootleg LP recording for 40 years, and have complained regularly about the lack of a proper cd edition. I made a cd transfer from the LP but always worry about the longevity of CD-ROM. I keep hoping Capriccio would do it to complement their worthy Notre Dame.

Anyway...the opera has some beautiful music that is wonderfully scored. There are some very moving scenes - the last one is very effective and gripping. But it does share something in common with a LOT of other forgotten operas: dramatically, it's weak. Again Schmidt had an amateur write the libretto and it shows. Following the story is difficult if your German isn't excellent - the score is in German only, as is the printed libretto. Nonetheless, for the curious, Fredigundis is well worth investigating. For Schmidt fans it's mandatory.

adriano

Yes, of course, it's really maginficent! I already had this performance on private LPs! House of Opera offers a clean version on private CDs against a very small fee...

minacciosa

Fantastic opera, magnificent music. The plot is difficult, but it shouldn't matter; operaphiles put up with a lot worse and get very passionate about their likes and dislikes. Like so many worthy operas, it needs a courageous staging and new recording.