As a young man, Schumann had got to know Byron’s works through his father’s publishing business. There is no question that the composer recognised his own psyche in Manfred’s rugged soul. But he also responded to the challenge of Byron’s artistic concept of Manfred as “mental theatre”. In the Düsseldorf production, the audience ‘becomes’ Manfred, experiencing through the eyes of the eponymous hero a projection of the visually alienated world of the Swiss mountains in which the story is set – visualisation by the Austrian media artist Johannes Deutsch.
‘The visual impact is truly spectacular and combines with the words and music to create a unified whole. … With his youthful, honest diction, Johann von Bülow is anRead more impressive Manfred.’ – Das Opernglas
Robert Schumann
MANFRED
Manfred – Johann von Bülow
Gemsenjäger / Geist – Stefan Wilkening
Alpenfee / Astarte – Tina Amon Amonsen
Nemesis – Vera Bauer
Abt – Dieter Prochnow
Soprano – Mechthild Bach
Mezzo-soprano – Elisabeth Popien
Tenor – Hans-Jörg Mammel
Bass / Hermann – Markus Flaig
Bass – Manfred Bittner, Ekkerhard Abele, Tobias Berndt
Chor des Städtischer Musikvereins zu Düsseldorf
(chorus master: Marieddy Rossetto)
Dusseldorf Symphony Orchestra
Andrey Boreyko, conductor
Johannes Deutsch, direction and visualization
Recorded live from the Tonhalle Düsseldorf, 2010
Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: German, English, French
Running time: 89 mins
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9) Read less
Works on This Recording
1.
Manfred, Op. 115by Robert Schumann Performer:
Vera Bauer (Speaker),
Dieter Prochnow (Voice),
Johann Von Bulow (Speaker),
Tina Amon Amonsen (Speaker),
Stefan Wilkening (Speaker),
Ekkehard Abele (Bass),
Tobias Berndt (Bass),
Markus Flaig (Bass),
Elisabeth Popien (Alto),
Manfred Bittner (Bass),
Hans Jörg Mammel (Tenor),
Mechthild Bach (Soprano)
Conductor:
Andrey Boreyko
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Düsseldorf Städtischer Musikvereins Chorus,
Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic Written: 1848-1849; Germany
