Korngold Das Wunder der Heliane

[BerlinExpat]

what is an 'incredulous last scene'?

Sorry, Alan. I guess that should have been "incredible" in the "unbelievable" sense.

I found no fault in the lead singers and I've heard many who couldn't match their competence. The Blind Judge could have been stronger, but then he isn't one of the main protagonists.

I would far rather have such a rarity performed by such a group of singers than to have the "stars" that I probably couldn't afford to see.

There's more Korngold in Berlin next season with a new production of Die tote Stadt at the Komische Oper. That won't have any stars but on past experience will have a line up of good singers.

[Gareth Vaughan]

And yet Brendan Carroll speaks highly of this very production (see discussion of Schreker). Perhaps we should wait for its release when we can judge it in its entirety. Mind you, Alan, your comparison of Jagde, Kaufmann and Domingo in Tosca was most instructive - Domingo carrying the palm, although only Kaufmann gives the correct, clear and precise delivery of "O dolci baci, O languide carezze". Almost every other singer I know either elides the "i" of baci into the "o" (I know exactly why, being a singer myself: nobody wants to sing "ee" when they can sing "o", it's a better vowel to sing on) which makes nonsense of the comma (or else produces something ungrammatical!), or makes a very, very, very short "ee" and a disproportionately long "o". There is, I note, little light and shade in Jagde's delivery, compared with the other two. But let us hear how he performs in this very different, and differently exacting, operatic role.
Incidentally, is it me or are Jagde and the orchestra not quite together on "mai tanto la vita"? - something doesn't seem quite right there.

[Alan Howe]

If Jagde can't manage the end of Die Walküre Act 1 without straining and wobbling, he'll be sorely tested in Korngold. I'll almost certainly be buying the forthcoming DVD, but I just don't accept what reviewers are saying about Jagde because my ears tell me something quite different. He's a good singer; but Korngold needs a great one.

[Ebubu]

"Now, if only the magnificent (and magnificently named) Nuttaporn Thammathi were singing instead of Jagde..."


Yes, Nuttaporn's singing is excellent (and is even better live than on any of his Youtube videos).  He was excellent in his 2 productions and recording of Die Königin von Saba (Goldmark).  BUT he's not ready yet to tackle the main tenor role of Das Wunder.  And you talk about Jadge putting his voice in danger ?  I HOPE that Nuttaporn would have the intelligence to refuse such an offer.  But I know he's a very wise young man and artist, and has been very well-advised so far.

[Ebubu]

"If Jagde can't manage the end of Die Walküre Act 1 without straining and wobbling..."
That video was made 4 years ago, in the context of an audition (and yes, it was far from perfect). You don't think that artists can make such progress in 4 years time ?

"I just don't accept what reviewers are saying about Jagde because my ears tell me something quite different."

So the ears of so many different witnesses who have heard the guy LIVE in a LIVE role and a LIVE complete production can't be trusted because YOU've heard the guy on some excerpts of some youtube videos and you don't like it ?
Well, well, well, no need to discuss it any further, I guess.

[Alan Howe]

It's not simply that I don't like what I hear; it's that there is objectively verifiable evidence of strain at the top of Jagde's range. This is not a matter of opinion, but of fact. Of course, it's possible that he has transformed himself from a good tenor to one good enough for this score, but again, you'll have to forgive me if I wait to make my own mind up when the DVD comes out.

Believe me: I will be only too glad to eat humble pie and admit Jagde to the pantheon of Korngold-capable tenors. After all, we need singers who can sing this stuff.

[Alan Howe]

Incidentally, does anyone know the range the tenor has to sing in this opera?

[Alan Howe]

Here's further evidence of Jagde's unlovely, strained singing - this time as Calaf last year, which suggests that the deterioration noted earlier has actually got worse:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_bFWE0xwd8
And here's how it should be sung (Jonas Kaufmann):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suj-2sbSFKs
Not to mention Bryan Hymel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMu9AkvMbuw or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inifaEI5tvo
Or Simon O'Neill:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUP7JzDSKqs

Any one of Kaufmann, Hymel or O'Neill would be great choices for this repertoire. Far better than Jagde. If friends want to persuade me otherwise, they need to furnish me with evidence, not opinion.

Oh, and I'd forgotten Stuart Skelton - try him in the ending of Die Walküre Act 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIsOpBLYRM8

Incidentally, the tenor soloist at the first performance of Heliane, Carl Günther (1885-1958), can be heard (briefly) in various operatic excerpts here:
https://www.amazon.de/s/ref=ntt_srch_drd_B0038QLPSO?ie=UTF8&field-keywords=Carl%20G%C3%BCnther&index=digital-music&search-type=ss
I get the impression that even relatively unknown singers a century ago would be world stars today...

[Alan Howe]

Played my opera-mad mother CD1 of the Decca recording of Das Wunder this afternoon. I enjoyed it immensely, but it sent her to sleep, so we switched to Godard's Dante. She loved that!

BTW I noticed how close the extended duet between Heliane and der Fremde was to similar scenes in Zandonai (Francesca da Rimini) and Montemezzi (L'amore dei tre re). Perhaps Strauss was the common factor?

[adriano]

Bravo Alan, that really may be the case 

[Alan Howe]

Any connection with Respighi too, Adriano? You're the expert here!

[adriano]

Not so sure about this... Would have to relisten the whole opera in more details - at present still too busy with the editing of my Fritz Brun documentary...

[der79sebas]

Friends of mine have been in Berlin and they have been all enthusiatic about Jagde. I have heard Kaufmann several times live here in Vienna - his throaty way of singing seems technically incorrect and highly irritating not only to me (Villazon 2.0; cf. his recent voice troubles). Skelton and the rather faint O'Neill are just usual business - heard once, forgotten immediately; not too bad, but not impressive. Calaf (which is most of the times a roaring role) and especially Siegmund (where you have to sing long without time to rest, but also without any high pitches) are not at all the roles comparable to Der Fremde, which is a genuinely lyric role with many high pitches. However, I find the Korngold tenor roles easier than they sound. I tried Paul some years ago and found its difficulties well dosed - Korngold knew exactly what is just possible (as an illustration: Vogt was brilliant as Paul but a disaster as Bacchus). I never tried Der Fremde, but I assume things are similar there.

[Alan Howe]

I hear no evidence - yet - of Jagde being anything other than strained and out of control in his upper register. His Calaf (San Francisco) shows that he is simply not in the same class as the other singers I mentioned. I heard Skelton live in Otello at the ENO in London a few years back (2014, I think) and his tenor hit the back of the auditorium: there wasn't a hint of strain or wobble. His Grimes at the Proms/Albert Hall (2012) was shattering, both in in terms of interpretation and sheer vocal prowess. To describe him as 'not impressive' beggars belief: singers like him only come around once in a generation. Try this from around 5:11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKb1n_JH1Tk. This is simply one of the great voices of today.

Of course, as I have said before, reactions to voices differ greatly. Kaufmann's rather 'breathy' timbre can divide opinion, for example, although his upper register is amazing for such a dark voice; however, what I'm talking about is not a singer's natural vocal character (e.g. O'Neill can sound rather 'metallic', à la Melchior), but uneven vocal production. What Kaufmann, Hymel, Skelton and O'Neill share is the ability to soar without losing control; this something that Jagde, if he ever had it, has entirely lost - and that's what I object to.

Here's O'Neill in Walküre Act 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iqm3CX5bRV4 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Lu__GiRnlc

[Alan Howe]

I'm sorry to bring Jagde's deficiences up again, but they're here for all to hear: strangled tone, unsteadines - all in general indicating that he is trying to be more than he actually is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTJWaWvLMUM