Richard Strauss' operas

[Siedler]

While tone poems and other orchestral works should be discussed on other areas, here's a thread dedicated to Richard Strauss' operas and vocal music.

His operas (and links to old theads):
Guntram (1894)
Feuersnot (1901)
Salome (1905) What is your favorite version of Salome?
Elektra (1909) Elektra
Der Rosenkavalier (The Knight of the Rose) (1910) Der Rosenkavalier
Ariadne auf Naxos (1912) "Ariadne auf Naxos" at the Met
Die Frau ohne Schatten (1918) Richard Strauss and his masterwork, Die Frau ohne Schatten
Intermezzo (1923)
Die ägyptische Helena (The Egyptian Helena) (1927)
Arabella (1932)
Die schweigsame Frau (The Silent Woman) (1934)
Friedenstag (Day of Peace) (1936)
Daphne (1937)
Die Liebe der Danae (1940) Richard Strauss' Die Liebe der Danaë
Capriccio (1941)

general threads:
Strauss operas besides Salome and Elektra
Favorite Strauss Opera?

[PerfectWagnerite]

I think Strauss peaked at Salome and really started to go downhill after that. Rosenkavalier was still very good if a bit lengthy. Then comes Ariadne and Frau with plots and libretti that just makes you scratch your head. The boldness that Strauss showed in Salome and Elektra is frankly unprecedended after Wagner. After that there are no new innovations, but the music is still very good. You look at Strauss and you look at late Wagner and Verdi and in the latter two they still tried to do something new and different in their late works. For example Tristan, Meistersinger and Parsifal are about as different as operas can get. The same can be said about Otello and Falstaff. Maybe Strauss ran out of ideas, or maybe he just wrote what people wanted to hear.

[knight66]

Far from it......I think Strauss was writing and exploring without all that much note of what audiences wanted. Die Frau is really quite demanding and certainly not a crowd pleaser. He also experimented in perhaps a lower key than the expressionistic way he did in Salome and Elektra, but he was combining words and music in an intelligent way. I am not all that attracted to some of his later work, Capriccio excepted. But, just because I don't much care for the more mature operas, I am not about to suggest Strauss was ignoring innovation or playing to the gallery.

Mike

[Bob]

Took my opera-loving adult son to see Die ägyptische Helena in my (not his) first visit to the Metropolitan Opera Saturday night.  Very modern setting and staging, most effectively presented with terrific lighting.  Deborah Voight sang Helen of Troy (she had previously recorded a concert version with Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra on Telarc).  I found the production rather satisfying, and surprisingly easy to grasp the marriage broken/marriage restored theme.  Subtitles at the Met were a boon to understanding and timed well to successfully accompany the German libretto (my German is old and creaky).  Much better than I could have imagined.  Was a relative flop at the Met the last time it was performed there -- 80 years ago!

Bob

[marvinbrown]

   My favorite Strauss Opera are:

  1) Der Rosenkavelier: Despite its length and plot absurdities the music in this opera is just magical.  The very pretty waltzes that dominate this masterpiece keep me comming back to it time and time again.  I have a very good recording: Karajan on EMI Great Recordings of the Century with Elizabeth Schwartzkopf could it get better than this?

   2) Salome: a shocker to say the least but memorable music and seductive. 

   3) Elektra: the hardest (dissonant) opera to grasp.  Revenge is the name of the game here.  The plot is so gripping even from the opening notes, echoing the maddness that is to come.  I read somehwere that the opening notes echo Agga-Mem-Non!

   4) Ariadne auf Naxos:  Utterly humourous and some of the most beautiful and hardest Soprano (Strauss's favorite voice) music Strauss ever wrote.

   5) Die Frau ohn Schatten: Over the top plot but a very varried peice (musically speaking). I am still looking for a Great recording of this opera on DVD, on CD I have Sawallisch's recording.  Any suggestions?

  marvin   

[Siedler]

Marvin, about Die Frau, TDK has released new DVD of it but I haven't found any reviews of it so far.

http://www.tdk-music.com/frame_content.php?link=opera&did=3~13&showme=everything&from_id=2613


The Bavarian State Opera in Japan, 1992

Der Kaiser (The Emperor) - Peter Seiffert
Die Kaiserin (The Empress) - Luana DeVol
Die Amme (The nurse) - Marjana Lipovšek
Barak, der Färber (The dyer) - Alan Titus
Sein Weib (His wife) - Janis Martin

BAYERISCHES STAATSORCHESTER / WOLFGANG SAWALLISCH
Directed for stage by Ennosuke Ichikawa
Set Design: Setsu Asakura · Costume Design: Tomio Mohri

[marvinbrown]

Marvin, about Die Frau, TDK has released new DVD of it but I haven't found any reviews of it so far.

http://www.tdk-music.com/frame_content.php?link=opera&did=3~13&showme=everything&from_id=2613


The Bavarian State Opera in Japan, 1992

Der Kaiser (The Emperor) - Peter Seiffert
Die Kaiserin (The Empress) - Luana DeVol
Die Amme (The nurse) - Marjana Lipovšek
Barak, der Färber (The dyer) - Alan Titus
Sein Weib (His wife) - Janis Martin

BAYERISCHES STAATSORCHESTER / WOLFGANG SAWALLISCH
Directed for stage by Ennosuke Ichikawa
Set Design: Setsu Asakura · Costume Design: Tomio Mohri

  thanks Siedler

[johnshade]

I am still looking for a Great recording of this opera on DVD, on CD I have Sawallisch's recording.  Any suggestions?

~
Frau ohne Schatten. Two great recordings: Solti (Decca, studio) and Böhm (DG, live). Fr-o-sch is Strauss's masterpiece -- the more time you spend with it the better you understand it and love it. The melodies, orchestration, and music for three sopranos, baritone and tenor are all outstanding. To get a better understanding of the libretto I recommend the Solti DVD. (I have the new Sawallish DVD, but the Solti is much better staged and generally the cast is superior.)
~

[marvinbrown]

~
Frau ohne Schatten. Two great recordings: Solti (Decca, studio) and Böhm (DG, live). Fr-o-sch is Strauss's masterpiece -- the more time you spend with it the better you understand it and love it. The melodies, orchestration, and music for three sopranos, baritone and tenor are all outstanding. To get a better understanding of the libretto I recommend the Solti DVD. (I have the new Sawallish DVD, but the Solti is much better staged and generally the cast is superior.)
~

   Interesting I am not familiar with this recording, I will look into this as well.

  marvin

[johnshade]

   Interesting I am not familiar with this recording, I will look into this as well.  marvin

Der Kaiser: Thomas Moser...Die Kaiserin: Cheryl Studer...Die Amme: Marjana Lipovsek...Barak: Robert Hale...Seine Frau: Eva Marton...Der Geisterbote: Bryn Terfel

http://www.amazon.com/Richard-Strauss-Schatten-Studer-Terfel/dp/B000068UXF/ref=sr_1_1/104-3968206-4452755?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1176724665&sr=1-1

[knight66]

This is the DVD version I have and I found it absorbing. Some excellent singing on show.

Mike

[71 dB]

   My favorite Strauss Opera are:

  1) Der Rosenkavelier: Despite its length and plot absurdities the music in this opera is just magical.  The very pretty waltzes that dominate this masterpiece keep me comming back to it time and time again.  I have a very good recording: Karajan on EMI Great Recordings of the Century with Elizabeth Schwartzkopf could it get better than this?

I haven't seen any operas by R. Strauss but I like the waltz suites a lot. I wonder if there is a good DVD of the opera. Good performance, good sound and anamorphic 16:9 picture?

[johnshade]

I haven't seen any operas by R. Strauss but I like the waltz suites a lot. I wonder if there is a good DVD of the opera. Good performance, good sound and anamorphic 16:9 picture?

~
I have about six DVDs of Der Rosenkavalier. By far the best (backed up by all the critics) is first version by Carlos Kleiber with Gwyneth Jones, Brigitte Fassbaender, Lucia Popp, Manfred Jungwirth, Benno Kusche. Munich Opera (1979). The performances of Brigitte Fassbaender and Lucia Popp are unsurpassed. The picture and sound are very good. No anamorphic 16:9 picture, but I do not believe that there is an acceptable version with that aspect. (I keep up with and buy most videos of Strauss operas; it a weakness of mine.) You can't go wrong with this DVD.

http://www.amazon.com/Strauss-Rosenkavalier-Brigitte-Fassbaender-Jungwirth/dp/B0009I8PHI/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/104-3968206-4452755?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1176742894&sr=1-2
~

[johnshade]

I have a very good recording: Karajan on EMI Great Recordings of the Century with Elizabeth Schwartzkopf could it get better than this?

No, although I like Solti and Bernstein.

[71 dB]

~
I have about six DVDs of Der Rosenkavalier. By far the best (backed up by all the critics) is first version by Carlos Kleiber with Gwyneth Jones, Brigitte Fassbaender, Lucia Popp, Manfred Jungwirth, Benno Kusche. Munich Opera (1979). The performances of Brigitte Fassbaender and Lucia Popp are unsurpassed. The picture and sound are very good. No anamorphic 16:9 picture, but I do not believe that there is an acceptable version with that aspect. (I keep up with and buy most videos of Strauss operas; it a weakness of mine.) You can't go wrong with this DVD.

http://www.amazon.com/Strauss-Rosenkavalier-Brigitte-Fassbaender-Jungwirth/dp/B0009I8PHI/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/104-3968206-4452755?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1176742894&sr=1-2
~

Thanks johnshade!

Only the new productions are anamorphic. Perhaps I wait for one to emerge...

[marvinbrown]

I haven't seen any operas by R. Strauss but I like the waltz suites a lot. I wonder if there is a good DVD of the opera. Good performance, good sound and anamorphic 16:9 picture?

   Hi 71 dB at the moment I have no dvds of R. Strauss Der Rosenkavelier nor have I seen any. I have a terrible habit of collecting audio cd versions of operas (48 in total to date) and then regretting losing out on the visual pleasure of it all. I am now reversing this trend (just bought the Levin Ring Cycle Wagner) and will soon order Strauss's Die Frau ohne schatten.  I have heard that the Bohm (1970s if I am not mistaken) dvd recording of Strauss' Salome is supposed to be really good.  Will report back if I hear of any other good recordings of Strauss's operas on dvd.

   marvin       

[71 dB]

 

   Hi 71 dB at the moment I have no dvds of R. Strauss Der Rosenkavelier nor have I seen any. I have a terrible habit of collecting audio cd versions of operas (48 in total to date) and then regretting losing out on the visual pleasure of it all. I am now reversing this trend (just bought the Levin Ring Cycle Wagner) and will soon order Strauss's Die Frau ohne schatten.  I have heard that the Bohm (1970s if I am not mistaken) dvd recording of Strauss' Salome is supposed to be really good.  Will report back if I hear of any other good recordings of Strauss's operas on dvd.

   marvin       

Marvin,

I found your message funny. 'terrible habit of collecting audio cd versions of operas'

Yeah, DVD is much better format for operas. I have only two opera DVDs so far! 

[johnshade]

  ...and will soon order Strauss's Die Frau ohne schatten.  I have heard that the Bohm (1970s if I am not mistaken) dvd recording of Strauss' Salome is supposed to be really good.  Will report back if I hear of any other good recordings of Strauss's operas on dvd....   marvin   

.
I have many DVDs and video tapes of Strauss operas and have been a long time serious listener to the music of Strauss. I have audio recordings of all 15 operas. I highly recommend the Solti DVD of Fr-o-sch (Strauss's nickname for Die Frau). I also have the Böhm videos of both Salome and Elektra. These operas are not taken from opera house performances, but are filmed from sets similar to a movie. These videos are produced by Unitel, a Munich based audio-video company. The sound is very good for the time. They are studio recordings. The performers are first-class. These were some of the last times that Böhm directed an orchestra before he died. Böhm knew Strauss well and is definitive as a Strauss conductor.
.

[Siedler]

What comes to Elektra on DVD, I can recommend this great DVD, recorded on Wiener Staatsoper.

Here's a short clip of it: http://www.staatsoper.at/Content.Node2/videos/elektra.wmv
and a review from Musicweb http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2000/aug00/elektra.htm

[johnshade]

.
Re: Richard Strauss - Elektra / Abbado, Marton, Fassbaender, Vienna State Opera

With this cast and conductor, this has got to be a great DVD, though I haven't seen it. I will put on my shopping list. As they say, this DVD is self-recommending.