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Opera World, 14 January 2015
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Griet Leyers |
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Jonas Kaufmann’s Dream Factory |
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Why
limit these fantastic songs to an occasional encore? That is the
basic idea behind Jonas Kaufmann’s project ‘Berlin 1930.’ In a
documentary, a recital series with orchestra, and a CD ‘Du bist
die Welt für mich,’ star tenor Jonas Kaufmann pays tribute to
the forgotten and unsurpassed operetta and film music of the
Weimar Republic.
In January 1926 the celebrated belcanto
tenor Richard Tauber becomes a superstar thanks to the song
‘Gern hab’ ich die Frauen geküsst.’ Supported by new media forms
such as radio and talkies, the hit song from Franz Lehar’s
operetta “Paganini” transforms the name Richard Tauber into a
household word overnight – simultaneously creating renewed
success for composer Franz Lehar.
Those were the golden
days for tenors. Besides Lehar, composers such as Robert Stolz,
Emmerich Kalman and Paul Abraham vied to outdo each other by
writing ever more wonderful melodies for their favorite tenors.
In spite of the eventually acidified friendship between
composers Lehar and Kalman, described by daughter Yvonne Kalman
in the documentary ‘Berlin 1930,’ the friendship, cooperation
and professional flexibility within a group of very talented
artists based in Berlin at that time is striking. For example
Kalman’s favorite tenor Hubert Marischka staged operetta
productions in which Richard Tauber starred as the lead tenor.
His brother Ernst Marischka, known as director of the Sissi
trilogy with Romy Schneider, wrote the lyrics for the worldwide
hit ‘Du bist die Welt für mich’ in the operetta ‘Der Singenden
Traum’ – which was composed and often conducted by Richard
Tauber – while tenor Joseph Schmidt sang the leading role.
Joseph Schmidt was yet another great star tenor of that period.
At the diminutive height of 1m55 he was too short for the opera
stage, but in the new media of radio and talkies, his gorgeous
voice and underdog charm turned him into a star.
Im Traum
Despite Germany’s pioneering role in
women’s rights – the Weimar Republic’s Constitution of 1919
granted suffrage to women – no one seemed to object to lyrics
like “Take her, just kiss her, that’s what women are here for”
(from “Gern hab’ ich die Frauen geküsst). This apparent
contradiction probably fits in with the joyous atmosphere of the
post-war and post-depression era. The enormous desire for
carefree entertainment and unfettered dreaming achieves yet
another dimension after the great depression of 1929. The flight
from reality is illustrated by the song ‘Im Traum’ by Robert
Stolz, rediscovered by Kaufmann in preparation for this project.
In an interview presented in a 2009 documentary, the late Martha
Eggerth, widow of star and sex symbol/tenor Jan Kiepura, reveals
how she expressed her objections to Stolz when he made her
husband sing “Blonde or brown, I love all women.” Her Jan was
supposed to love her and her alone. However, her objections do
not seem to have had any effect on Stolz and his collegues. Many
of the song lyrics cannot be considered anything other than
erotic. The suggestive text “In my dream, you’ve allowed me
everything” is juxtaposed with a beautiful and romantic (almost
naïve) melody embellished with hummed lines, which seem to come
straight out of Walt Disney’s Snow White (1937). This thinly
veiled eroticism runs like a red thread through quite a few of
the hit songs of the 1920-1930’s.
Das Lied ist
aus
In 1933, the curtain falls on the Weimar
Republic and thus comes to an end the creative heyday of Berlin.
Due to their Jewish origin, most of our main characters have
become undesirable. In 1933 superstar Richard Tauber is
assaulted by Brownshirts on the streets of Berlin and flees to
Vienna. With the annexation of Austria in 1938, he is once again
forced to leave and settles in London where he dies in 1948.
Between 1933 and 1938 composer Robert Stolz smuggles numerous
artists from Berlin to Vienna in the trunk of his car. In spite
of his heroic efforts, the lives of many of his colleagues are
irretrievably broken. Fritz Lohner-Beda, one of the star lyrics
writers, dies in 1942 in Auschwitz. Joseph Schmidt does not
manage to immigrate to the US and ends up in a refugee camp in
Switzerland where he dies in 1942 from a severe throat
infection. Paul Abraham manages to escape through Paris and
Cuba, but fails to repeat his Berlin success in New York. In
1956 he returns to his homeland, sick and psychologically
disturbed. He dies in Hamburg in 1960.
For others the
story ended less dramatically. Lehar could remain in Austria
after his Jewish wife – through direct intercession of Goebbels
– was given the status of “honorary Aryan.” Korngold, author of
‘Die Tote Stadt,’ immigrated to the US where he became one of
the greatest Hollywood composers. After the annexation of
Austria, Robert Stolz left for the US as well. Despite the
success of his concerts there, he returned to Austria in 1946.
He managed to rebuild his European career after the war and died
in West Berlin in 1975.
Respect, love and fun
“We refuse to put labels on good music” seems to be the
underlying message of this striking project. Careful research,
respect for the score and a fantastic team demonstrate that
judging music according to its operetta, film, or opera “box” is
not only completely beside the point, but also lacks any musical
foundation.
From the opening song, conductor Jochen
Rieder takes us all the way to Weimar through his ingenious
tempo changes and phrasing. His choices and timing are refined
and tasteful. His intentions are masterfully executed by the
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, a group of people who have this
music running through their veins. Another highlight of this
production is soprano Julia Kleiter. The gorgeous legati and
extended musical phrases (of both singers) in the duet from ‘Die
Tote Stadt’ are breathtakingly beautiful. In Diwanpüppchen,
Kleiter is smart, funny and catchy.
Special and striking
is the documentary/promotional film ‘Berlin 1930’ by Thomas
Voigt and Wolfgang Wunderlich (Wunderlich Medien). It reflects
the atmosphere of the 20’s and 30’s and portrays Kaufmann’s
exciting research, taking us on a trip through German film
archives and private collections and presenting interviews with
remaining relatives of composers Kalman and Stolz.
The animal
It is (yet again) a challenge
not to drop into the superlatives pitfall while describing
Kaufmann’s contribution to this project. His technical mastery,
the perfect dose of his voice in each song, his classy phrasing
and his voice make him simply ‘hors category.’ What makes this
project unique however is that Kaufmann takes us on his personal
journey to discover the iceberg of wonderful music of which we
previously knew only the tip, including the beautiful ‘Grüss mir
mein Wien’ by Kalman for example, or the previously mentioned
‘Im Traum’ by Robert Stolz, of which the original score is
missing. ‘Das Lied der Schrenk,’ a killer aria Eduard Kunecke
wrote for the Danish tenor Helge Roswenger, is yet another great
discovery. Besides Roswenger himself, only Rudolf Schock and
Fritz Wunderlich accepted the challenge to record this beastly
difficult aria.
The story goes that the famous baritone
and pedagogue Josef Metternich with whom Kaufmann studied told
him “My lad, I will awaken the beast in you and once it’s out,
there’s no putting it back in the box.” I can only agree with
Mr. Thomas Voigt when he states that the late Josef Metternich
would have been impressed by the sound of “the beast” in his new
CD.
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