DER ROSENKAVALIER (Austria 1925) Der Rosenkavalier. Eine Komödie mit Musik

Transcription

1 19 FEBRUARY 2016 FRIDAY SERIES 9 Helsinki Music Centre at Hans Graf, conductor DER ROSENKAVALIER (Austria 1925) Der Rosenkavalier. Eine Komödie mit Musik Director & producer: Robert Wiene Screenplay: Louis Nerz, Robert Wiene after the libretto by Hugo von Hofmannstahl Cinematography: Hans Theyer, Ludwig Schaschek, Hans Androschin Art direction: Alfred Roller, Stefan Wessely, Hans Rouc Costumes: Alfred Roller Wigs: Ludwig Rudlof Music for cinema orchestra: Richard Strauss, from his opera (1911) Musical arrangements: Karl Alwin, Otto Singer Cast: Michael Bohnen (Baron Ochs von Lerchenau), Huguette Duflos (the Marschallin), Paul Hartmann (the Marschall), Jaque Catelain (Octavian), Elly Felicie Berger (Sophie, Faninal s daughter), Carmen Cartellieri (Annina, Valzacchi s partner), Friedrich Fehér (Valzacchi, an Italian intriguer), Karl Forest (Herr von Faninal), Riki Raab (a dancer) Filming locations: Vienna (Schönbrunn Palace, Belvedere Palace), Dürnstein Viennese premiere: Haydn-Kino Restored copy: 2006, Filmarchiv Austria (Fumiko Tsuneishi & Nikolaus Wostry). Reconstruction of music: Bernd Thewes, conductor & synchronisation: Frank Strobel. Gala premiere of restored copy: Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden, FILMPHILHARMONIC EDITION: Film by courtesy of Prof. Dr. Walter Dillenz / Filmarchiv Austria, Music by courtesy of Schott Music GmbH & Co. KG. Interval at about The concert ends at about

2 UND IN DEM WIE, DA LIEGT DER GANZE UNTERSCHIED ( AND IN THE HOW, THERE LIES THE WHOLE DIFFERENCE ) The premiere of the film of Der Rosenkavalier was a momentous occasion for high culture, as persons of great renown in music, theatre and cinema made their way to the Dresden Opera House. Yet despite its spectacular launch, the film did not achieve the widespread distribution it merited, being overshadowed by the sound film. Several attempts were made to relaunch it from the 1950s onwards, but only since the restoration of 2006 has a full re-evaluation been possible. Richard Strauss was famous for his opposition to film, and he agreed to take part in the project only after some persuasion from by Hugo von Hofmannstahl, the opera s librettist. Hofmannstahl had weighty financial interests vested in the project, which did not bode well for the film. Strauss nevertheless wrote an enthusiastic pitch for the distributor to use and conducted the orchestra at the premiere in Dresden. Cynthia Walk says that Hofmannsthal s opera immerses the plot in a philosophical reflection on time, impermanence, loss and mortality, as do many of his other works his early poems and almost all his plays and librettos. Ignoring this aspect transfers the film to the domain of operetta and makes it a comedy of customs. Marital and extramarital relations are governed by the moral rules prevailing at court. The Marschallin is a lonely, neglected wife who was abandoned on her wedding day (her marriage was not even consummated on her wedding night). She finds consolation in a young lover, until her jealous husband comes home from the war to challenge his rival and demand his wife s love for himself. The role suits the languid French Huguette Duflos very well, unlike Asta Nielsen, whom Hofmannsthal had originally had in mind for the part. Octavian is not, in the film, a breeches role; he is played by Jaque Catelain, a Frenchman who had had a prominent role in Marcel L Herbier s film L Inhumaine (1924). The services of Strauss s own favourite, Michael Bohnen the opera star, were obtained for the part of Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau. Invited to direct the film was Robert Wiene, the director of the legendary expressionist film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Wiene was also known for his popular mainstream comedies and for dramas featuring Germany s number one star Henny Porten. The film has more comic touches, scheming, battle-field action and colourful dance and stage scenes than the opera. Best of all are the sumptuous interiors and exteriors in Schönbrunn, in the Prater and at Wachau reflecting the Baroque splendour of Vienna. Antti Alanen 2

3 RICHARD STRAUSS AS FILM COMPOSER His operas Salome (1905) and Elektra (1909) placed Richard Strauss ( ) in the forefront of modernism, taking him right up to the threshold of expressionism. He soon realised, however, that he did not wish to go any further, for the next step would have been to abandon tonality, as Arnold Schönberg and his pupils had done. As the topic for Strauss s next opera, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, who had written the libretto for Elektra, suggested a comedy set in the Vienna of Maria Theresa in the 1740s. Strauss leapt at the idea. He composed the music as Hofmannsthal fed him new texts, and in a burst of enthusiasm once even composed a stage direction. Several orchestral suites of music from Der Rosenkavalier have been compiled for concert use. The most unusual of the subsequent adaptations is the film premiered in January The opera and the film are closely linked in that the film was, from the very beginning, intended for use with Richard Strauss s music. The music of the opera could not, however, be used as such. Firstly, the film is only a little over half as long as the opera, though even so it lasts nearly two hours. Secondly, Hofmannsthal changed the order of a few of the scenes in his screenplay, and added some new ones now possible by cinematographic means. Thirdly, there are no singers in the film, so the vocal parts have had to be transferred to the orchestra. Strauss did not take part in adapting the music. Instead, he entrusted the job to composer-conductor Otto Singer Jr. ( ) and conductor Karl Alwin ( ). They were allowed to choose music from the opera and to do the necessary editing and arranging. If they needed new music, Strauss offered ready excerpts from his other works. These include two marches, part of the tableau music he had composed for the golden wedding anniversary of the Grand Duke of Weimar in 1892, and the Wirbeltanz from the dance suite based on music by the French Baroque master François Couperin of Only for one scene did he need to compose a completely new march. Kimmo Korhonen Programme notes translated (abridged) by Susan Sinisalo 3

4 HANS GRAF Known for his wide repertoire and creative programming, Austrian conductor Hans Graf concluded his ten-year tenure of the Houston Symphony Orchestra in May Prior to his appointment in Houston, he had been the Music Director of the Calgary Philharmonic, the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine and the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra. Born in Linz, Hans Graf first studied the violin and piano in Graz, later in Italy and Russia. He is a frequent guest with all of the major North American orchestras; he has recently appeared in Cleveland, Philadelphia and Boston, and with the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics. In Europe he has, among others, conducted the Vienna and London Philharmonics, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestras, and he makes regular guest appearances in Hong Kong and Sydney. He has also conducted at the Salzburg, Tanglewood, Aspen, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and Aix-en-Provence festivals. An experienced opera conductor, Mr Graf first conducted the Vienna State Opera in 1981 and has since led productions in Berlin, Munich, Paris, Rome and elsewhere. His extensive opera repertoire includes several world premieres. Recent opera engagements include Parsifal at the Zurich Opera and Boris Godunov at the Opéra national du Rhin in Strasbourg. His extensive discography includes the complete symphonies of Mozart and Schubert, the premiere recording of Zemlinsky s opera Es war einmal and the complete orchestral works of Dutilleux. One of his most recent releases, on the Myrios label, is of the complete works for viola by Paul Hindemith, with Tabea Zimmermann and the Berlin Symphony Orchestra. Mr Graf has been awarded the Chevalier of the Ordre de la Légion d honneur by the French government for championing French music around the world as well as the Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold for services to the Republic of Austria. He has been Professor of Orchestral Conducting at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg since

5 THE FINNISH RADIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (FRSO) is the orchestra of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle). Its mission is to produce and promote Finnish musical culture and its Chief Conductor as of autumn 2013 has been Hannu Lintu. The FRSO has two Honorary Conductors: Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Sakari Oramo. The Radio Orchestra of ten players founded in 1927 grew to symphony orchestra strength in the 1960s. Hannu Lintu was preceded as Chief Conductor by Toivo Haapanen, Nils-Eric Fougstedt, Paavo Berglund, Okko Kamu, Leif Segerstam, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Sakari Oramo. In addition to the great Classical- Romantic masterpieces, the latest contemporary music is a major item in the repertoire of the FRSO, which each year premieres a number of Yle commissions. Another of the orchestra s tasks is to record all Finnish orchestral music for the Yle archive. During the 2015/2016 season it will premiere six Finnish works commissioned by Yle. The programme will also include Piano Concertos by Beethoven and Prokofiev, Symphonies by Schumann and Brahms, and Mendelssohn s oratorio Elijah. Among its guest artists will be pianists Murray Perahia, Nelson Freire and András Schiff, conductors David Zinman, Tugan Sokhiev and Manfred Honeck, soprano Karita Mattila and mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter. The FRSO has recorded works by Ligeti, Eötvös, Nielsen, Hakola, Lindberg, Saariaho, Sallinen, Kaipainen, Kokkonen and others, and the debut disc of the opera Aslak Hetta by Armas Launis. Its discs have reaped some prestigious distinctions, such as the BBC Music Magazine Award, the Académie Charles Cros Award and a MIDEM Classical Award. The disc of the Sibelius and Lindberg Violin Concertos was Gramophone magazine s Editor s Choice in February The FRSO regularly tours to all parts of the world. One of the many highlights of the 2015/2016 season will be tours to Japan and Austria with conductor Hannu Lintu. The home channel of the FRSO is Yle Radio 1, which broadcasts all its concerts, usually live, both in Finland and abroad. Its concerts can also be heard and watched with excellent live stream quality on the FRSO website ( rso), and the majority of them are televised live on the Yle Teema channel. 5