Notes and Editorial Reviews
Historical Studio productions from the Hamburg State Opera.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro (1967)
"...The film was one of 13 commissioned by Rolf Liebermann for television broadcast. It was directed by Joachim Hess, who worked well with the camera crew to achieve a variety of intelligently chosen perspectives. The results are neither fidgety nor static, but shift location, distance, and angle appropriately, according to the needs of the work and the production. It’s a traditional one, and very good of its kind, with excellent staging... In short, this is an attractively filmed version of Figaro in German, well paced, acted, and sung..."
-- Barry Brenesal, FANFARE
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Countess Almaviva – Arlene Saunders
Figaro – Heinz Blankenburg
Susanna – Edith Mathis
Cherubino – Elisabeth Steiner
Marcellina – Maria Von Ilosvay
Don Basilio – Kurt Marschner
Corps de Ballet of the Hamburg State Opera
Joachim Hess, director
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Die Zauberflöte (1971)
"...[C]harming, honest, and invariably true to the music... Where it shines brilliantly is in the singing. Nicolai Gedda recorded Tamino under Klemperer several years previously, but it was nowhere near as ardent or well sung as this performance: He caresses Pamina's portrait, and his breath control and legato are models of Mozartian singing... Edith Mathis' Pamina is simply lovely. No shrinking violet, she seems about to maul Monastatos in their first appearance; and her desire for the truth--'Die Wahrheit'--is strong and firm. 'Ach ich fühls' is graceful and sad and her phrasing is masterly... The role of Monastatos is taken, oddly but very convincingly, by a baritone, no less than Franz Grundheber, near the start of his career. Another oddity is Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as the Speaker, intoning with authority. Carol Malone's Papagena is pert and feathery. And please note a young Kurt Moll as one of the men in armor. Subtitles are provided in four languages. A fine addition to any collection!"
--Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com
Sarastro – Hans Sotin
Tamino – Nicolai Gedda
Speaker – Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Queen of the Night – Christina Deutekom
Pamina – Edith Mathis
Papageno – William Workman
Papagena – Carol Malone
Monostatos – Franz Grundheber
Two Men In Armour – Kurt Moll / Bernd Rüter
Sir Peter Ustinov, director
Ludwig van Beethoven: Fidelio (1968)
Florestan - Richard Cassilly
Leonore - Anja Silja
Rocco - Ernst Wiemann
Marzelline - Lucia Popp
Jaquino - Erwin Wohlfahrt
Don Pizarro - Theo Adam
Don Fernando - Hans Sotin
Joachim Hess, director
Carl Maria Von Weber: Der Freischütz (1968)
"...Performances are good, with Edith Mathis totally stealing the show. She’s an incredibly vivacious and lively Ännchen. Her voice is so pure and fresh, yet she manages nuances that indicate more depth of character – she is after all the 'sensible' one in contrast to the rather patchily constructed Agathe. Mathis is superlatively photogenic and animated – the camera 'makes love to her' as fashion photographers say... Also excellent is Gottlob Frick as Kaspar. His voice is so expressive that he can characterize the part neurotic tension... [I]f you’re interested in opera production, it gives valuable insight into how opera can be enhanced as art movie. And, Edith Mathis! Her singing alone should justify the price of this DVD."
-- Anne Ozorio, MusicWeb International
Max – Ernst Kozub
Kaspar – Gottlob Frick
Kilian – Franz Grundheber
Cuno – Toni Blankenheim
Agathe – Arlene Saunders
Annchen – Edith Mathis
Prince Ottokar – Tom Krause
A Hermit – Hans Sotin
Samiel – Bernhard Minetti
Hamburg State Opera Ballet
Gyula Trebitsch, director
Albert Lortzing: Zar und Zimmermann (1969)
"...The soloists, headed by Lucia Popp, are first-class. In 1969, Popp was at her prime, and here is heard at her freshest and very best. Singing and characterization are both superb and it is clear how she could win the hearts of her audience. Her frothy portrayal as Marie is magnetic. Her impish, vivacious charm and wide-eyed flirtations carry considerable charisma in Lieblich rotten sich die Wangen. I enjoyed this performance immensely. As a lyrical singer, Popp’s bright voice, never shrill, is on form as she demonstrates mastery of rapid passages and then effortlessly soars on long-held phrases..."
-- Raymond J Walker, MusicWeb International
Peter the Great – Raymond Wolansky
Peter Ivanov – Peter Haage
Van Bett – Hans Sotin
Marie – Lucia Popp
Admiral Lefort – Herbert Fliether
Lord Syndham – Noël Mangin
Marquis de Châteauneuf – Horst Wilhelm
Widow Browe – Ursula Boese
Officer – Franz Grundheber
Gyula Trebitsch, director
Jacques Offenbach: Orpheus in der Unterwelt (1971)
Pluto / Aristeus - William Workman
Euridyce - Elisabeth Steiner
Jupiter - Toni Blankenheim
Public Opinion - Liselotte Pulver
Orpheus - Kurt Marschner
Juno - Inge Meysel
Styx - Theo Lingen
Venus - Urszula Koszut
Minerva - Cvetka Ahlin
Mars - Franz Grundheber
Joachim Hess, director
Richard Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1970)
"...Sets and costumes are highly realistic and we feel transported back to16th century Nuremberg... Giorgio Tozzi...makes a deeply humane, warm-hearted Hans Sachs, caring, loving but also authoritative and stern. He delivers his long and demanding role with untiring security and wonderful dark tone... Endearingly pretty and sweet-looking is Arlene Saunders as Eva and her crystal clear and warm voice combined with her looks makes her ideal for the role... Contributing to the overall success of this production is the playing of the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra under the experienced Leopold Ludwig. Although not one of the "star" conductors he had deep insights into Wagner’s music. Just listening to the act III prelude makes clear what a fine musician he is... The finale of act II with Beckmesser’s unsuccessful serenade is just as breakneck chaotic as one could wish... [W]hen in the future I want to bask in the humour, warmth and humanity of Wagner’s brightest creation, this is probably the version I will return to most often."
-- Göran Forsling, MusicWeb International
Hans Sachs – Giorgio Tozzi
Veit Pogner –Ernst Wiemann
Fritz Kothner – Hans-Otto Kloose
Sixtus Beckmesser – Toni Blankenheim
Walther von Stolzing – Richard Cassilly
David – Gerhard Unger
Eva –Arlene Saunders
Magdalene – Ursula Boese
Joachim Hess, director
Alban Berg: Wozzeck (1970)
"...The performances are glorious. Toni Blankenheim, in the title role, is quietly desperate. He never overacts or oversings. His role as a victim is complete because he can't quite grasp it and when he finally does snap it's horrendous and genuinely tragic. Sena Jurinac's great-looking Marie is a loving mother and a woman full of need, stuck in a world and relationship with little hope, and she sings every note, without shouting or undue histrionics. Hans Sotin's ramrod-straight, scornful Doctor is beautifully sung and truly terrifying. The Captain of Gerhard Unger is totally in-your-face (and he's filmed that way as well), unafraid of the weird, whistle-like high notes or his odd behavior... This is a production, a film, that gets to the psychology of this complex work like a laser-beam. Bruno Maderna's conducting is clear and clean; what we hear is what the camera registers, and he keeps the singers scrupulously close to the notes of the Sprechstimme, making certain that they are notes, indeed. The monaural sound is fine, and the picture I suspect is as clear as the directors wanted it to be, adding to the overall dankness. Don't miss this."
-- Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com
Wozzeck - Toni Blankenheim
Drum Major - Richard Cassilly
Andres - Peter Haage
Captain - Gerhard Unger
Doctor - Hans Sotin
Workman I - Kurt Moll
Workman II - Franz Grundheber
The Fool - Kurt Marschner
Marie - Sena Jurinac
Margret - Elizabeth Steiner
Joachim Hess, director
Gian Carlo Menotti: Help, Help, the Globolinks! (1969)
"...It is difficult to imagine a finer production than this one. Every singer fully inhabits his or her role, and sings wonderfully. Arlene Saunders and Edith Mathis are brilliant as the music teacher and the 14-year-old student, and Dr. Stone’s creator does the best he can with his unsympathetic part. The Globolinks are colorful and weird video creations, not too scary for the little ones, but effective aliens. Every aspect of the television production is well thought out and well photographed. There is no attempt to re-create the feeling of a staged performance—this is really an operatic film. The monaural broadcast sound is well balanced, and the English titles (the production is sung in German) are excellent. Matthias Kuntzsch conducts with flair and energy, balances are fine, and the orchestra plays very well. The notes, well translated into English, are helpful and stimulating. If you are a committed fan of Menotti’s music, it is probably worth obtaining this, because it is not likely to be bettered..."
-- Henry Fogel, FANFARE
Emily – Edith Mathis
Madame Euterpova – Arlene Saunders
Dr. Stone – Raymond Wolansky
Tony – William Workman
Timothy – Kurt Marschner
Miss Newkirk – Ursula Boese
Mr. Lavander-Gas – Franz Grundheber
Dr. Turtlespit – Noël Mangin
Hamburg State Opera Ballet
Gian Carlo Menotti, director
Joachim Hess, TV adaptation
Krzysztof Penderecki: Die Teufel von Loudun (The Devils of Loudun) (1969)
"...These performers were thoroughly committed to the drama. A standout on camera is the creepy doctor of Heinz Blankenburg—Fritz Lang would have loved him!—and it is good to see another singer at the beginning of an international career, bass-baritone Hans Sotin... The opera orchestra attacks the music with confidence; the mono sound allows everything to be heard. This DVD also comes with detailed notes and English subtitles... [I]t is great to see something from an era when a mainstream art form incorporated an element of bold experiment. Also, there is no denying the star quality of Tatiana Troyanos. Recommended to the adventurous, the libidinous and/or the devout."
-- Phillip Scott, FANFARE
Jeanne - Tatiana Troyanos
Urbain Grandier - Andrzej Hiolski
Father Barré - Bernhard Ladysz
Father Rangier - Hans Sotin
Jean d'Armagnac - Karl-Heinz Gerdesmann
Guilleaume de Cerisay - Rolf Mamero
Adam - Kurt Marschner
Mannoury - Heinz Blankenburg
Baron de Laubardement - Helmut Melchert
Prince Henri de Condé - William Workman
Asmodeus - Arnold van Mill
Joachim Hess, TV director
Picture format: NTSC 4:3 Colour
Sound format: PCM Mono
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu languages: English, German, French, Spanish
Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian
Running time: 22 hours
No. of DVDs: 11 (10x DVD9 + 1x DVD5)
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Works on This Recording
1.
Le nozze di Figaro, K 492 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer:
Kurt Marschner (Tenor),
Arlene Saunders (Soprano),
Heinz Horst Blankenburg (Baritone),
Edith Mathis (Soprano),
Tom Krause (Baritone),
Elisabeth Steiner (Mezzo Soprano),
Maria von Ilosvay (Alto)
Conductor:
Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Hamburg State Opera Chorus,
Hamburg State Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Classical
Written: 1786; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 1967
Language: German
2.
Die Zauberflöte, K 620 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer:
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Baritone),
Hans Sotin (Bass),
Nicolai Gedda (Tenor),
Cristina Deutekom (Soprano),
Edith Mathis (Soprano),
William Workman (Baritone),
Kurt Moll (Bass),
Franz Grundheber (Baritone),
Carol Malone (Soprano)
Conductor:
Horst Stein
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Hamburg State Opera Chorus,
Hamburg State Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Classical
Written: 1791; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 1971
3.
Fidelio, Op. 72 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer:
Hans Sotin (Bass),
Theo Adam (Bass),
Anja Silja (Soprano),
Richard Cassilly (Tenor),
Lucia Popp (Soprano),
Ernst Wiemann (Bass),
Erwin Wohlfahrt (Tenor)
Conductor:
Leopold Ludwig
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Hamburg State Opera Chorus,
Hamburg State Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Classical
Written: 1804/1814; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 1968
4.
Der Freischütz, J 277 by Carl Maria von Weber
Performer:
Edith Mathis (Soprano),
Tom Krause (Baritone),
Hans Sotin (Bass),
Franz Grundheber (Baritone),
Toni Blankenheim (Baritone),
Gottlob Frick (Bass),
Ernst Kozub (Tenor),
Arlene Saunders (Soprano)
Conductor:
Leopold Ludwig
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra,
Hamburg State Opera Chorus
Period: Romantic
Written: 1817-1821; Dresden, Germany
Date of Recording: 1968
5.
Zar und Zimmermann by Albert Lortzing
Performer:
Horst Wilhelm (Tenor),
Hans Sotin (Bass),
Raymond Wolansky (Baritone),
Peter Haage (Tenor),
Herbert Fliether (Bass),
Lucia Popp (Soprano),
Noël Mangin (Bass),
Ursula Boese (Mezzo Soprano),
Franz Grundheber (Baritone)
Conductor:
Sir Charles Mackerras
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra,
Hamburg State Opera Chorus
Period: Romantic
Written: 1837; Germany
Date of Recording: 1969
6.
Orphée aux enfers by Jacques Offenbach
Performer:
Franz Grundheber (Baritone),
Inge Meysel (Voice),
Theo Lingen (Voice),
Liselotte Pulver (Voice),
Elisabeth Steiner (Mezzo Soprano),
Kurt Marschner (Tenor)
Conductor:
Marek Janowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1858/1874; Paris, France
Date of Recording: 1971
Language: German
7.
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg by Richard Wagner
Performer:
Ursula Boese (Mezzo Soprano),
Arlene Saunders (Soprano),
Gerhard Unger (Tenor),
Giorgio Tozzi (Bass),
Toni Blankenheim (Baritone),
Ernst Wiemann (Bass),
Richard Cassilly (Tenor),
Hans-Otto Kloose (Baritone)
Conductor:
Leopold Ludwig
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra,
Hamburg State Opera Chorus
Period: Romantic
Written: 1862-1867; Germany
Date of Recording: 1970
8.
Wozzeck, Op. 7 by Alban Berg
Performer:
Hans Sotin (Bass),
Richard Cassilly (Tenor),
Toni Blankenheim (Baritone),
Sena Jurinac (Soprano),
Kurt Moll (Bass),
Gerhard Unger (Tenor),
Peter Haage (Tenor),
Franz Grundheber (Baritone),
Kurt Marschner (Tenor),
Elisabeth Steiner (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Bruno Maderna
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Hamburg State Opera Chorus,
Hamburg State Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1917-1922; Austria
Date of Recording: 1970
9.
Help, Help, the Globolinks! by Gian Carlo Menotti
Performer:
Ursula Boese (Mezzo Soprano),
Raymond Wolansky (Baritone),
Kurt Marschner (Tenor),
William Workman (Baritone),
Arlene Saunders (Soprano),
Edith Mathis (Soprano),
Franz Grundheber (Baritone),
Noël Mangin (Bass)
Conductor:
Matthias Kuntzsch
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra,
North German Radio Children's Chorus
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1971; USA
Date of Recording: 1969
Language: German
10.
The Devils of Loudun by Krzysztof Penderecki
Performer:
Karl-Heinz Gerdesmann (Voice),
Tatiana Troyanos (Mezzo Soprano),
Bernard Ladysz (Bass),
Andrzej Hiolski (Baritone),
Hans Sotin (Bass)
Conductor:
Marek Janowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Hamburg State Opera Chorus,
Hamburg State Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1968
Date of Recording: 1969
Language: German
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