This recording of Schreker’s second opera, Der ferne Klang, derives from live performances in Frankfurt, the city where the work received its premiere in 1912. Schreker wrote the libretto as early as 1903 but didn’t complete the score until 1910. The advance in the originality and assurance of the writing over that of his first opera, Flammen, is considerable, especially in Act 3, which includes the orchestral interlude that Schreker reshaped into the ravishing Nachtstück, one of his best-known concert works.

The story of the opera centres around a young composer, Fritz, who leaves behind his fiancée, Grete, in search of the distant sound he has heard in his imagination. In the meantime, Greta ends up becoming a courtesan and later a common streetwalker. The couple are reunited at the end of the opera, only for Fritz to die in her arms. The American soprano Jennifer Holloway sings the role of Grete with both emotional sympathy and technical finesse, securely delivering the high notes in Act 2 and the vocal heft required at the end of the opera. Another American, Ian Koziara, brings a pleasing tone to his portrayal of Fritz, if not quite the same level of characterisation. The two principals receive strong support from the supporting cast, notably Gordon Bintner’s portrayal of the Count who woos Grete in Act 2. Sebastian Weigle is fully alive to the score’s melodic and orchestral detail, and delivers an impassioned account of the passage in Act 3 where Fritz and Grete are reunited, an early peak in Schreker’s creative output and one of the great moments in the late-Romantic operatic repertoire.

Among other available recordings, Michael Halász’s pioneering version, originally issued by Marco Polo and now available on Naxos, is well played and sung but slightly lacking in dramatic involvement. Gerd Albrecht’s version on Capriccio delivers a step up in both conviction and sumptuousness, but is compromised by Gabriele Schnaut’s hard-edged and frequently off-pitch Grete. Recorded live in Augsburg in 2010, Dirk Kaftan’s account brings a degree of theatricality missing from the two studio recordings but the results are respectable rather than inspiring, and the unappealing close-up recording quality rather negates the benefit of having an SACD release. The Oehms recording occasionally lacks the last degree of transparency but there’s little in the way of stage or audience noise to contend with. This is now a clear first choice for anyone wanting to listen to this fascinating opera.

It’s worth noting that neither this recording nor any previous ones include an English translation of the libretto, a regrettable omission given the absence of any obvious sources online. This reservation aside, a very welcome and rewarding recording.