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The Epoch Times, January 27, 2018 |
By Barry Bassis |
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Liederabend: New York, Carnegie Hall, 20. Januar 2018 |
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Tenor Jonas Kaufmann Sings ‘Die schöne Müllerin’ at Carnegie Hall
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Franz Schubert’s plaintive songs chart love and loss |
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Star tenor Jonas Kaufmann has made few appearances in New York in recent
years and recently canceled his scheduled participation in the new
production of “Tosca” at the Metropolitan Opera. Thus, concertgoers were
fortunate to see him perform “Die schöne Müllerin” (“The Beautiful Maid of
the Mill”) at Carnegie Hall with the excellent Helmut Deutsch on piano.
Franz Schubert’s song cycle “Die schöne Müllerin” is one of the peaks of
German lieder. Like his other great song cycle, “Die Winterreise,” the poems
that Schubert set to music were by Wilhelm Müller, and though the two men
lived during the same period—Schubert, 1797–1828, and Müller, 1794–1827,
they never met.
The 20 songs chart the trajectory of a pastoral love
that ends in failure and death. Schubert knew that his own days were
numbered when he wrote this music.
The program notes helpfully
provided all the lyrics in English and German.
The cycle begins with
“Das Wandern” (“Wandering”) and “Wohin?” (“Where?”) in which a young man
speaks of his wanderlust and of his being entranced by babbling brooks. He
thinks of mill wheels turning from the force of water as a merry dance. In
“Halt!,” he comes upon a mill with a cozy house and gleaming windows.
In “Danksagung an den Bach” (“Giving Thanks to the Brook”), he ponders
whether the murmuring waters led him to the miller’s daughter. Then, in “Am
Feierabend” (“On the Restful Evening”), he wonders whether he is worthy of
her love. His hope is that the miller will be happy with his work before his
daughter wishes him and the other workers a good night.
He doesn’t
work up the courage to speak to the object of his affections but instead, in
“Der Neugierige” (“The Inquisitive One”), he asks the brook if she loves
him. The shy fellow expresses the view in “Ungeduld” (“Impatience”) that all
of nature should recognize his emotions but seems frustrated that the
miller’s daughter should be unaware.
He hangs around outside her
window to wish her a morning greeting (“Morgengruss”), but she is unnerved
by his presence, as if she is vexed or senses something is wrong. When she
darts her head back in the room, the singer wonders if she flees the sun.
It’s more likely that she is afraid of a possible stalker or voyeur.
In “Des Müllers Blumen” (“The Miller’s Flowers”), he comes up with the idea
of planting flowers beneath her window. He thinks seeing the plants in the
morning when she wakes will silently convey his “forget me not.” He seems to
have made some headway in “Tränenregen” (“Rain of Tears”). At least, they
sit down together by the brook, where he is transfixed by the blond.
However, she senses something wrong and suddenly declares that rain is
coming, and she must go home.
“Mein!” (“Mine!”) expresses the youth’s
deluded view that the miller’s daughter reciprocates his feelings but doubts
seem to set in during “Pause,” communicated in part by the piano
accompaniment. When in “Mit dem grünen Lautenbande” (“With the Green Lute
Ribbon”), she tells him green is her favorite color, it instantly becomes
his favorite as well.
Things go sour with the arrival of “Der Jäger”
(“The Hunter”), a rival for the girl’s affections. The singer begs the brook
to intercede on his behalf in “Eifersucht und Stolz” (“Jealousy and Pride”)
and scold her for being fickle.
His mood turns dark and, while he is
still obsessed with green, “Die liebe Farbe” (“The Favorite Color”), now it
is the color of grass over his grave. By the next song, “Die böse Farbe”
(“The Evil Color”), green becomes his most hated color. “Trockne Blumen”
(“Dry Flowers”) will be laid with his dead body.
In the end, with
“Der Müller und der Bach” (“The Miller and the Brook”) and “Des Baches
Wiegenlied” (“The Brook’s Lullaby”), he decides to drown himself.
Kaufmann’s singing was exquisite, charting the character’s extreme emotions
but never overdramatizing them. Deutsch’s piano work was also unimpeachable.
The standing ovation was well earned.
The pair performed four
encores, all Schubert songs. While Kaufmann is highly versatile and could
have sung opera or operetta, he chose to maintain the mood of the evening.
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