This was recorded in 1996 in front of a live audience that either was made up of fewer than three people or a larger group, gagged and bound: not once do we hear them. The opera itself cannot compare in quality or charm with Hansel und Gretel. The plot is confused and confusing, there are minor characters who add nothing to the story and are not given very distinguished music, and at two hours and 45 minutes, the opera is a good 45 minutes too long. There are rhapsodically lovely moments–almost all orchestral. But just when we feel that a melodic germ is about to break out, as in the lengthy first-act duet for the goose-girl and king’s son, it manages not to. It just stops.
The cast is quite good. Fabio Luisi, whose work I know from many bel canto operas, leads the beautifully orchestrated score with sympathy and grace; the orchestra plays well, a bizarrely bad high solo violin tone near the work’s close notwithstanding (if this seems like nit-picking, imagine if the final note of Act 1 of Rosenkavalier were flat or sharp). Dagmar Schellenberger as the Goose-girl sings with great spirit; she may not sound girl-young, but she’s sincere and manages the exposed high notes well. Thomas Moser is the King’s son and his useful, big tenor and fine musicianship are most welcome. Marilyn Schmiege capably sings the role of the witch (an undeveloped character compared with her Hansel counterpart), but I’d prefer a darker sound. Dietrich Henschel, in the role of a wise Fiddler, sings with warm tone. The rest of the cast is fine.
This release includes a synopsis but no libretto or translation; perhaps we might be able to get more involved if we knew specifically what was happening. But the fact remains: this is a weak work, and its obscurity is not altogether difficult to understand. However, this recording (there was another, long out of print on EMI, that I have not heard) gives a pretty good picture of its strengths and weaknesses.
