Opera Books Interestingly, a Recurring Leitmotif His Wagnerian Musings Make a Most Throughout the Book Is Thielemann’S Enjoyable Read

Era’ reissues the Gebhardt label’s Lauritz Melchior and Helen Traubel, (Delinquents’ Gallery), the corridor enthusiasm for the German Spieloper round-up set of the earliest Bayreuth Waltraud Meier, George Szell and leading to the Festspielhaus’s canteen. of Weber, Marschner, Lortzing and recordings, put together in 2004. There Leopold Stokowski and the stunning There are also fascinating insights Nicolai. are uncorrected listing, cataloguing and piano duo of Yaara Tal and Andreas regarding the suitability or otherwise of The ‘opera guide’ section, ‘Wagner’s transfer problems but, unless you’re Groethuysen. Wagner’s pre-Ring operas to the Music Dramas’, is apparently aimed at completely allergic to historic sound, this There remains a lot we haven’t had. Festspielhaus’s unique acoustics, and on the Wagner neophyte, including as it remains an essential purchase. How about a decent reissue of the how conductors and orchestra cope with does synopses and recommended Lastly, if you consider reissues to be Edward Downes Manchester Rienzi, them. Frustratingly, though, when recordings (unsurprisingly, the choices a chance to sweep up what you might to date the most complete there is? And dealing with the individual operas, fall more often than not on live have missed before, then Sony/RCA/ on DVD, it would be quite fabulous to Thielemann declines to go into much recordings from postwar Bayreuth). The Eurodisc’s ‘Great Recordings’ does that have a remastering of the two Wieland musical detail; for example, he calls book is written in the first person, but job superbly. Its mature operas include Wagner productions aired (and attention to the fact that the Parsifal Thielemann gives Christine Lemke- the first (Dresden) Janowski Ring, and a televised) on tour in Japan in 1968— prelude begins with a rest, but no Mattwey—a well-known German too-soon forgotten, live Karajan Vienna Tristan and Walküre are both riveting, explanation—speculative or otherwise— journalist—credit for ‘composing this Parsifal (1961); there are also important and the extant bootlegs are poor. is attempted. When speaking about book from our often convoluted excerpts discs from Kirsten Flagstad, MIKE ASHMAN stagings, the conductor can recall ‘just a conversations’. Be that as it may, the few really satisfying experiences’, and conductor’s notorious directness—his laments that too many producers can’t— ‘Berliner Schnauze’, or Berlin beak—is or won’t—work from the score. very much in evidence throughout, and Opera books Interestingly, a recurring Leitmotif his Wagnerian musings make a most throughout the book is Thielemann’s enjoyable read. CARLOS MARIA SOLARE Mein Leben mit Wagner By Christian Thielemann with Christine Lemke-Mattwey. C.H. Beck. 319 pp. €19,95. ISBN 978-3-406-63446-8 Tsar Feodor: Chaliapin in America By Joseph Darsky. Nova Science Publishers. 336pp. £116.99. ISBN: 978-1-62100-413-4 This latest contribution to the Richard hard-won experience, like ‘learning how Wagner bibliography is of an to “hold” a lost singer with your left hand Given Chaliapin’s status as one of the keep the story flowing they need some unapologetically personal nature. Of until you can bring him in again, while truly great operatic artists of the 20th mention even if they are at times today’s conductors, Christian you keep the rest going with your right century, the English-language literature presented somewhat parenthetically. Thielemann is arguably the one most hand’. Wagner—whose music has for is somewhat thin. Aside from Much the same applies to Chaliapin’s closely identified with late-Romantic Thielemann a ‘built-in addiction ‘autobiographies’ in various formats, the somewhat complicated personal life. German music in general and Wagner’s factor’—loomed large at every stage of most recent book is the late Victor Drawing on Russian sources, Darsky in particular, and his life seems to have the conductor’s progress, most notably Borovsky’s Chaliapin: A Critical also gives fascinating insights into the been an uncommonly straight when he took over a production of Biography. Well illustrated and with a ups and downs of Chaliapin’s relations progression from a childhood spent Tristan und Isolde at Hamburg in 1988; fine discography, it has to be considered with the Soviet authorities. Given his reading Wagner vocal scores to the chapter ends with his Bayreuth debut the standard work on Chaliapin. own background, Chaliapin would have becoming a regular guest and musical two years later. However, given the length and range of had considerable sympathy with the adviser at the Bayreuth Festival, and The following section, ‘Wagner’s his career, it was virtually inevitable that formal aspirations of the new regime but indeed following in the composer’s cosmos’, is the largest and most some aspects of the rich tapestry of would inevitably have been irritated by footsteps as Principal Conductor of the interesting. Thielemann gives a guided Chaliapin’s life would be dealt with its intent to control and direct all aspects Dresden Staatskapelle. tour of the Festspielhaus and its rather cursorily. Joseph Darsky’s mission of life. For their part the authorities In the book’s first, autobiographical everyday life, with the late Wolfgang in writing this book was to give a full clearly oscillated between pride in the section, ‘My journey towards Wagner’, and Gudrun Wagner coming across as coverage of Chaliapin’s regular and worldwide renown of the country’s most Thielemann declares himself a the benevolent autocrats of a musical lengthy tours of the USA over a 25-year famous musical performer, particularly ‘passionate advocate of the Ochsentour’, empire (diplomatically, the present period starting in 1907. It has clearly for his promotion of Russian operas, and the slow, step-by-step climbing of the regime is not commented upon). I required an immense amount of research, fear that he would inevitably be sucked ladder recommended by his mentor enjoyed Thielemann’s thumbnail especially of reviews in the local press of into a capitalist, money-oriented way of Herbert von Karajan, as the only way to sketches of the conductors who have the many cities in which Chaliapin life. There was of course a vast disparity learn the craft of conducting; once you appeared in Bayreuth, whose portraits performed during this time. Of course he between Chaliapin’s huge earnings from know how to beat the time, all the rest is hang in the ‘Verbrechergallerie’ also appeared in many other countries: to opera and concerts and the average 1356 Opera, October 2013 Opera, October 2013 1357 numbered book of songs from which the items would be selected. Chaliapin himself might announce a number or the audience might be urged to call one out. I have heard it suggested that in practice only a limited range of the items in the songbook were performed with any frequency. To be fair, there are similar gaps in biographies of other singers even where there is more detailed information in printed programmes. It is not unreasonable to think that some of the reviews might offer details, but for an artist of Chaliapin’s stature—a celebrity of his day—the press was often rather more interested in a ‘good story’. Darsky quotes some of the wilder stories and in many cases readily debunks them. He makes no particular comment on press speculation in autumn 1931 that Chaliapin was a possible successor to Gatti-Casazza as managing director of the Metropolitan. Given that the Met’s ■ Chaliapin in 1929 problems of the time were at least as much financial as artistic, and bearing in standard of living in Russia both before mind the huge fees paid to Chaliapin for and after the revolution. We should also his appearances, it is hard to imagine bear in mind that for a half century post- such an outcome. revolution there was virtually no cross- An extensive appendix offers a fertilization between Soviet and Western chronology of all the US appearances musicians. together with various biographical details Darsky quotes extensively from and brief press notices. There is a good performance reviews. Chaliapin’s singing deal of overlap between this chronology style and stage histrionics were novel and the main text, but this is inevitable and clearly posed problems for more when writing about performers. Other traditionally-minded critics. Indeed, at useful appendices chronicle Chaliapin’s times Darsky cannot hide a degree of performances in South America and annoyance with those same critics, given provide a listing of his books, that the watching and listening public publications and interviews. There is also was ever more enthusiastic, and a good selection of photographs, albeit Chaliapin would draw huge attendances on plain rather than glossy paper, wherever he performed. Almost although the latter would presumably inevitably the information about opera have added to the price of a book that is performances is more complete than it is already quite expensive. for concerts. What precisely did Like Chaliapin’s life, this book is Chaliapin sing in any particular multi-faceted and the compilation and performance? The problem is that most presentation must have been quite a (but not all) printed programmes for his challenge to those involved in editing concerts seemingly did not cover such and sub-editing. It is certainly a valuable details. Instead the audience were invited if perhaps slightly unusual addition to the to refer to a separately available literature. STANLEY HENIG 1358 Opera, October 2013.

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