August Everding staged Mozart’s Singspiel “Die Entführung aus dem Serail” (The Abduction from the Seraglio) in Munich’s National Theater as a sunny comic opera but, as the director says, one with the “depth” required by Mozart. The buffo characters, for instance, take on compellingly human traits. The stage consists of a bright, orientally suggestive architecture, whose elements are constantly sliding or revolving. The set designer Max Bignens speaks of a “choreographic” setting: “For Mozart’s music, we wanted nothing heavy and, above all, no major scene changes.” Karl Böhm, who conducted his first “Entführung” in 1924, plunges into the depths of the music and uncovers its magic and brilliance, its eros and spirituality. At the center of the performance is Edita Gruberova, whose coloraturas are dazzling and always precise. As Osmin, Martti Talvela is a supple, shifty swaggerer. Thomas Holtzmann speaks the Bassa Selim as a nervous, passionate potentate. Francisco Araiza sings Belmonte with glowing lyricism. Norbert Orth is a spirited Pedrillo and Reri Grist a Blondchen with a natural charm and musical sensitivity.
Salome
With his TV “Salome” production, Götz Friedrich has created a compelling transposition of Oscar Wilde’s text and Richard Strauss’s music. The palace courtyard becomes a world of its own, faces turn into landscapes of conflicting emotions, and passions into overwhelming obsessions. With filmic means, Friedrich draws the viewer’s attention to the seductive fascination of evil. In the title role, Teresa Stratas is impressively convincing as the young and sensual princess, but she is equally impressive as a singer and actress. Karl Böhm conducts the Vienna Philharmonic with a verve and dramatic impetus that fit seamlessly into the action.
Schubert, Symphony No.7 in C major, D. 944
In the throes of his mortal illness, Franz Schubert (1797-1828) heroically succeeded in putting to paper his splendid last symphony, whose “divine lengths” are truly unique. Composed in 1825/26, Schubert’s largest symphonic work was first discovered after his death by Robert Schumann and first performed one year later, in 1839, by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy in the Leipzig Gewandhaus. In marked contrast to the equally beloved “Unfinished” Symphony, Schubert devises a labyrinth of harmonies in a piece full of artless directness and joyful dance-like rhythms. Echoes of the visionary secrets of Romanticism surface from the depths of the work, only to be washed away by the inexorable current of the melodies. Never did Schubert write with such a lavish and impetuous hand than in his Ninth Symphony: “…it bears the eternal seed of youth within it.” (Robert Schumann) Unitel recorded this performance at the Musikvereinssaal in Vienna during a public concert given there in spring 1973. Karl Böhm led the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
Fidelio
Beethoven’s “Fidelio” is an opera about freedom, and the contrast between the darkness of imprisonment – which is taken as unjust political imprisonment – and the light of justice and liberty is both heard in the music and seen on the stage. It is this ethical force in addition to the purely musical strength and beauty of Beethoven’s score that gives “Fidelio” its unique appeal among the great operas. This production by Gustav Rudolf Sellner was recorded at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 1969 and stars Gwyneth Jones and James King in the leading roles. It was conducted by the great Karl Böhm in one of his rare appearances at the Deutsche Oper. “The kaleidoscope of passions is set in motion by Karl Böhm – a poised, powerful gait in which every tempo finds its perfect measure. Musically, the performance is glorious. With mighty build-ups, the film lunges towards the finale: the explosions of joy in a happiness that is hard won and in which all participate: Beethoven, the opera, television, the listeners and the viewers.” (Die Welt)
Mozart, Symphony No.38 in D major, K. 504 “Prague”
Filmed mainly in Vienna’s splendid “Musikvereinssaal,” the Mozart symphonies conducted by Karl Böhm are all interpreted by one of the world’s foremost orchestras, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, whose principal conductors have included Wilhelm Furtwängler, Bruno Walter, Herbert von Karajan, Claudio Abbado and, of course, Karl Böhm. “Thanks to Bruno Walter’s exemplary performances, particularly of Mozart’s works, I grabbed on to Mozart and fell in love with him so much that I had only one wish: to conduct Mozart, Mozart, Mozart.” (Karl Böhm) A symphony for connoisseurs, K. 504 reflects the taste and discernment of the audience it was intended for: the musical public of Prague. Since his “Marriage of Figaro” was the hit of the town in late 1786, Mozart decided to travel to Prague; in his luggage was the D major symphony, premiered on 19 January 1787. Written between “Figaro” and “The Magic Flute,” it shares unmistakable affinities with these two works and even quotes a theme from “Figaro” in the finale. And it is also a work in which Mozart could be completely himself. He thus indulged in a draatic slow introduction, and in some austere contrapuntal writing in the first movement. Since the wind players in the Bohemian capital were rightly praised for their excellence, Mozart also rewarded them with some truly beautiful pages. Karl Böhm was universally acclaimed for his Mozart interpretations. Though Wagner was one of Böhm’s first loves, his friendship with Richard Strauss led to a deep knowledge and appreciation of Mozart. In his autobiography, Böhm wrote that “Richard Strauss revealed to me the ultimate secrets of this, in my opinion, greatest of all musical geniuses, Mozart.” Böhm’s discovery of these secrets transformed his Mozart interpretations into unforgettable events.
Così fan Tutte
Karl Böhm knew that the quality of his opera productions depended heavily on the choice of the right singers for each role. “When I set my mind on doing a certain opera with a certain cast, and it doesn’t work, then I become furious and throw a fit,” he once said. In this “Così” production, Böhm has gathered some of the greatest Mozart specialists of the 20th century: Gundula Janowitz, a warm, lyric soprano whose Munich “Pamina” under Knappertsbusch was one of the high points of her early career, before she went on to sing at all major opera houses as well as the Bayreuth and Salzburg Festivals; Christa Ludwig, who began singing under Karl Böhm at the Vienna State Opera in 1955, and who was later hailed as the best Mozart and Strauss mezzo-soprano of her generation; Luigi Alva, the Peruvian tenor whose light and elegant voice has made him one of the most sought-after lyrical tenors for Rossini and Mozart roles; Hermann Prey, whose rich baritone has captivated not only the opera public the world over but also lovers of the German Lied; Walter Berry, who has sung practically the entire repertoire of great Mozart bass-baritone roles at the Salzburg Festival, the Met, Covent Garden and the Vienna State Opera.
Elektra
In this production, history, psychoanalysis and modern-day apocalyptic visions are presented with compelling urgency through Friedrich’s staging and Böhm’s artistic mastery. “Elektra” becomes a contemporary myth of desperate, unrelenting humanity. “Seldom before, surely, have the often erotic ideas of Hofmannsthal’s libretto been so explicitly delineated or its tragic grandeur so movingly realised. […] Leonie Rysanek, in her first and possibly only Elektra, surmounted the score’s superhuman demands with an interpretive achievement that crowns her career of more than 30 years. […] As a whole, the film showed that opera on television can be a great experience…” (Daily Telegraph)
Ariadne auf Naxos
This Vienna State Opera production, featuring Gundula Janowitz, René Kollo, Trudeliese Schmidt and Walter Berry with the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Karl Böhm, drew rave reviews. In particular, the young Edita Gruberova as Zerbinetta was heralded as the “event of the evening,” whose “exquisite phrasing, sublime timbre and brilliant coloratura fireworks served up with witty and charming nonchalance brought her endless and justified ovations. This was clearly her final leap to the top of the world’s best vocalists.” (Vienna’s popular daily “Kurier,” 22.11.76)
Journey
Born in Bolzano (Bozen, Italy) in 1934, Herbert Rosendorfer is a lawyer who introduced himself as an author in 1966 with his short story “Die Glasglocke.” This was followed by many novels, stage works, scripts and short stories, which revealed him to be an imaginative and multi-faceted author. A socio-critical satirist, he writes with a well-balanced mixture of wit, thought-provoking ideas and absurd-grotesque elements. All this is also found in his novel “Briefe in die chinesische Vergangenheit” (Letters to China’s Past) of 1983, which ranks among his most well-known books. Here the Chinese Kao-Tai travels from the 10th century to the Munich of the 20th century. In addition to his legal activities, Rosendorfer is honorary professor for contemporary Bavarian literature at the University of Munich and obtained the Bavarian Literature Prize in 1999.