KORNGOLD Das Wunder der Heliane Kremer • Argiris • Storey Hebelková • Van Hove Thammathi • Hanczár Choirs of the Theater Freiburg Philharmonisches Orchester Freiburg Fabrice Bollon % ACT I Scene 4: Der du in deinen alten, Erich Wolfgang 1 blinden Augen Act I: Vorspiel: Selig sind die Liebenden (The Stranger, The Ruler, KO(R189N7–G195O7) LD 2 (Seraphic Voices ) 2:34 ^ The Sword Judge, The Six Judges ) 5:58 Scene 1: Wie warm, wie schön! Scene 5: Tötet mich 3 (The Stranger, The Gatekeeper ) 8:22 & (The Stranger, Heliane ) 7:04 Das Wunder der Heliane, Op. 20 Scene 2: Dich, der das Lachen angezündet Sei frei von Schuld und Vorwurf (‘The Miracle of Heliane’) im Lande, den Frechen will ich sehn (The Stranger, Heliane, The Sword Judge, Opera in three acts (1927) 4 (The Ruler, The Stranger ) 8:38 * The Ruler, Seraphic Voices ) 4:08 5 Scene 3: Ihr Menschen! ( The Stranger ) 2:30 Scene 6: Herr! Herr! ( The Messenger, Libretto: Hans Müller (1882–1950) after Die Heilige by Hans Kaltneker (1895–1919) Scene 4: Habt Frieden in der Seele! Chorus, The Ruler, The Six Judges, Heliane, the wife of The Ruler . Annemarie Kremer, Soprano 6 (Heliane, The Stranger ) 8:23 ( The Sword Judge, Heliane ) 9:29 Der Herrscher (‘The Ruler’) . Aris Argiris, Baritone Ihr sollt nicht weinen So wahr Gott lebt ( Heliane ) 3:16 Der Fremde (‘The Stranger’) . Ian Storey, Tenor 7 (Heliane, The Stranger ) 4:01 Die Botin (‘The Messenger’) . Katerina Hebelková, Alto Liebe!! Der Pförtner (‘The Gatekeeper’) . Frank van Hove, Bass 8 (Heliane, The Stranger, Seraphic Voices ) 8:55 ACT III Der bilde Schwertrichter (‘The Sword Judge’) . Nutthaporn Thammathi, Tenor Scene 5: Du sollst vom Tod gelöst sein, ) Der junge Mann (‘The Young Man’) / 4. Richter (‘Fourth Judge’) . György Hanczár, Tenor Fremder, wenn du mir hilfst – Act III: Zwischenspiel (Interlude) 8:42 1. Richter (‘First Judge’) . Christoph Waltle, Tenor ¡ Scene 6: Schweig! Scene 1: Ah! Habt ihr vernommen? 2. Richter (‘Second Judge’) . Pawel Trojak, Baritone 3. Richter (‘Third Judge’) . Andrei Yvan, Bass 9 (The Ruler, The Stranger, Heliane ) 4:22 (People, The Messenger, 5. Richter (‘Fifth Judge’) . Jan Zadlo, Baritone Wache! ( The Ruler, The Stranger ) 4:06 ™ The Gatekeeper ) 4:25 6. Richter (‘Sixth Judge’) . Jin Seok Lee, Bass Ich hab sie doch gesehn (The Gatekeeper, People, Seraphic Voices Choir ACT II £ The Messenger ) 8:30 Yuhong Jiang, Karen Job, Alina Kirchgäßner, Christiane Klier, Narae Park, 0 Scene 2: So wie ich dich belehrt, Anja Steinert, Juliane Stolzenbach Ramos*, Aya Tsujimoto*, Annemarie Vergoossen, ! Act II: Vorspiel 2:34 antworte mir Helena Warratz*, Liying Yang*, Angela Ziegler Scene 1: Beschieden? (The Sword Judge, Heliane, The Ruler, *Students of the Musikhochschule Freiburg @ (The Ruler, The Messenger ) 5:27 ¢ Chorus, The Young Man ) 5:29 Scene 2: Geh! Gott! Gott, du weißt, Im Namen Gottes sag’ ich dir Seraphic Voices Solo wie ich vor ihr gekniet hab (Heliane, The Messenger, People, (The Ruler ) 2:39 The Young Man, The Ruler ) 6:03 Irina Jae-Eun Park**, Narae Park # ∞ Scene 3: Vater Scene 3: Seht! Seht ihn! Den Toten! **Member of the Freiburger Opernstudio and awardee of TheaterFreunde Freiburg (The Ruler, The Sword Judge, (Chorus, Heliane, The Stranger, $ The Six Judges, Heliane ) 6:53 § The Ruler ) 9:53 Opernchor of the Theater Freiburg • Extrachor of the Theater Freiburg Ich ging zu ihm Scene 4: Am siebten Tore nun Members of the Freiburger Bachchor (Heliane, The Ruler, The Sword Judge, (The Stranger, Heliane ) 6:17 Chorus master: Bernhard Moncado The Six Judges ) 12:55 Philharmonisches Orchester Freiburg • Fabrice Bollon Supported by the ExcellenceInitiative of the TheaterFreunde Freiburg Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897–1957) sensuality to genuine love and calls for the world to be the opera, was completed shortly before Korngold ’s 30th Das Wunder der Heliane, Op. 20 redeemed by a universal capacity for love. Die Heilige birthday. made a lasting impression on Korngold; since the For political reasons, the premiere was not scheduled From Prodigy to Global Star the First World War, Erich was able to continue writing his manuscript is now thought to be lost, we have to make do to take place in Vienna. So it was that Das Wunder der operas without a care, with no need to take any great with Hans M üller, who wrote the libretto to Das Wunder Heliane received its first performance on 7 October 1927 Erich Wolfgang Korngold, born on 29 May 1897 in Brno, a interest in the political situation and the outbreak of the der Heliane (‘ The Miracle of Heliane ’), basing the text on in Hamburg, staged by artistic director Leopold Sachse city that at the time came under the jurisdiction of the dual War. The best guarantee of not being called up was a Kaltneker ’s mystery play. As it turned out, the libretto with musical director Egon Pollak as conductor. A few Austro-Hungarian monarchy, was a musical prodigy. state contract, so Erich ’s father used his influence as a would later prove to be one of the opera ’s key weeks later the Vienna premiere followed, on 29 October When he was three years old, his family moved to Vienna; critic to arrange for his son ‘a commission for two one-act shortcomings. 1927, with an all-star cast featuring Lotte Lehmann as his father Julius Korngold was appointed music critic at operas that were, of course, identical to the two he was The Neues Wiener Journal (‘ New Vienna Journal ’) of Heliane and Jan Kiepura as The Stranger. The opera was Vienna ’s leading newspaper Neue Freie Presse (‘ New working on at the time ’ (as he related in his memoirs) with 30 October 1927 made the early criticism that the librettist performed 27 times in Vienna alone in the course of this Free Press ’). Erich grew up in inspirational surroundings the management of the Vienna Court Opera. It had needlessly extended the draft version that ‘the season. Six different sopranos appeared in the title role, and got to know the great composers of his time and their occasioned a certain amount of discord when the terminally ill Kaltneker had written in 1917 in feverish all among the finest singers of the time. The stars Jan works at first hand. His remarkable talents soon broke Korngolds ultimately transferred the first performance haste, and with feverish imagination ’, adding several Kiepura and Alfred Piccaver alternated in the tenor part. fresh ground, and he received lessons in composition rights to the Munich Court Opera, before both one-act awkward scenes. Despite all the criticism, it must be The critical reaction to the premiere was initially with Robert Fuchs and subsequently with pieces were premiered on 28 March 1916 and shortly stressed that Korngold selected the text with complete overwhelmingly enthusiastic, although there were also Alexander von Zemlinsky and Hermann Graedener. afterwards on 10 April 1916 in Vienna. Both works, in conviction and that he found the process of composition dissenting voices: ‘The child prodigy of yesteryear By the age of 13, the boy composer could already which Korngold – with his father ’s constant support and remarkably easy. Once he had familiarised himself with remains impressively advanced for his age as a 30-year- boast an impressive array of compositions of his own in encouragement – showed himself to be a master of his art the prevailing solemn, mystical mood of his source old. That is to say, Korngold does not write like his most musical genres – including songs, works for piano, in an operatic context as well, enjoyed spectacular material, the first music to come to him was that of the contemporaries, but like those composers who are in their chamber music, the cantata Gold (which Erich was able to success, which was only outdone by Korngold ’s next eponymous heroine, ‘around whom he wove the aura of a forties and fifties. The experience, the assurance in the play for the then director of the Vienna Court Opera, opera Die tote Stadt (‘ The Dead City ’). As soon as it musical language which embroidered the vivid contours of selection of his resources and the sheer musicianship of Gustav Mahler, in person in 1907; Mahler went on to became common knowledge that the young star was preternaturally tender, exquisite melody into an the young master are all astonishing; it is equally arrange his studies with Zemlinsky), the ballet pantomime working on a new opera, numerous prominent opera impressionistic fabric ’ (Julius Korngold). The music shifted remarkable that for him, the music that we call “modern ” Der Schneemann (‘ The Snowman ’, first performed in 1910 houses submitted applications to stage the work. So it stylistically in the course of its composition from grand simply does not exist. He takes his orchestral cue from at the Vienna Court Opera) and the Sinfonietta, Op. 5 came to pass that, on 4 December 1920, there was a opera increasingly towards oratorio, particularly in the Strauss, and his melodic inspiration from Mahler and (1912– 13). The diminutive belies a fully-fledged four- sensational double premiere of Die tote Stadt in Cologne third act with its animated mass crowds. Korngold ’s father Puccini. ’ (Nora Pisling-Boas, review of the first movement symphony, 50 minutes in length, which was and Hamburg on the same evening, with the Vienna State described the conclusion of Act III , containing the lovers ’ performance in Hamburg, 1927) premiered by the Vienna Philharmonic in 1913. It was this Opera following suit five weeks later. Korngold was 23 duet, as the finest music his son had ever composed. The failure of Korngold ’s latest opera to achieve his variety of compositions, which made their way through the years old at the time and already at the pinnacle of his Perhaps Erich found its composition so easy because he now accustomed level of success was in large part the major international concert halls, but most of all the career.