KÁLMÁN Die Faschingsfee (Brandstätter)
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Imre (Emmerich) Kálmán
Genre:
Opera
Label: CPO
Magazine Review Date: 06/2019
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 77
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: CPO555 1472
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
(Die) Faschingsfee |
Imre (Emmerich) Kálmán, Composer
Camille Schnoor, Alexandra Maria, Soprano Daniel Prohaska, Viktor Ronai, Singer Erwin Windegger, Ottokar von Grevlingen, Singer Gärtnerplatz Staatstheater Orchestra Imre (Emmerich) Kálmán, Composer Maximilian Mayer, Lothar Mereditt, Tenor Michael Brandstätter, Conductor Munich Gärtnerplatz Theatre Chorus Nadine Zeintl, Lori Aschenbrenner, Singer Simon Schnorr, Baron Hubert von Mützelberg, Baritone |
Author: Richard Bratby
Still, you can’t blame those buskers. This is the show that Kálmán wrote immediately before the all-conquering Die Csárdásfürstin, and it’s cut from the same melodic cloth. If the plot is reminiscent of Lehár’s The Count of Luxembourg, the tunes are prime Kálmán, by turns lush and lively with (in Act 2, particularly) more than a splash of paprika. This 2017 production from Munich’s Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz brings Die Faschingsfee home. Taken from live performances, the spoken dialogue is animated and realistic, and the recorded balance – with the orchestra noticeably recessed in relation to the singers – is convincingly theatrical.
The cast sound as if they’re playing off each other too. Along with Daniel Prohaska as the artist Viktor, Camille Schnoor as the ‘carnival fairy’ Princess Alexandra Maria carries much of the musical action. Vocally, they make an attractive pair, with no shortage of warmth and style even if both tend to tighten at the top. Simon Schnorr as Hubert and Nadine Zeintl as Lori provide the comic relief, and he has a handsome enough baritone, though Zeintl’s nasal cabaret soprano was probably more persuasive on stage than on disc. The same goes for the enthusiastic but scrappy choral and ensemble singing; still, the conductor Michael Brandstätter snaps the livelier numbers smartly along, and lets the big waltz melodies of the two extended finales spread out and soar, allowing just the right amount of nostalgia to seep into Kálmán’s sunny little world.
The usual CPO provisos apply: there’s no libretto and the sketchy synopsis makes it almost impossible to match the individual numbers to the story, let alone identify more than a handful of the cast members. Beggars can’t be choosers, I suppose, but it’d be nice – just once in a while – to be able to welcome one of these CPO rediscoveries with the unqualified enthusiasm that Kálmán deserves.
Explore the world’s largest classical music catalogue on Apple Music Classical.
Included with an Apple Music subscription. Download now.
Gramophone Digital Club
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Events & Offers
From £9.20 / month
SubscribeGramophone Club
- Print Edition
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Events & Offers
From £11.45 / month
Subscribe
If you are a library, university or other organisation that would be interested in an institutional subscription to Gramophone please click here for further information.