Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)
Cardillac, Op. 39, opera in three acts & four scenes (1925/26)
Markus Eiche (baritone) – Cardillac, Goldsmith
Juliane Banse (soprano) – Cardillac’s Daughter
Michaela Selinger (mezzo-soprano) – Lady
Torsten Kerl (tenor) – Officer
Oliver Ringelhahn (tenor) – Courtier, Cavalier
Kay Stiefermann (bass-baritone) – Provost Marshal
Jan-Hendrik Rootering (bass) – Gold Merchant
Prager Philharmonischer Chor
Münchner Rundfunkorchester/Stefan Soltész
rec. live, October 2013, Prinzregententheater, Munich, Germany
BR Klassik 900345 [2 CDs: 91]

Recorded live at a concert performance, Cardillac has been released to mark the death of its Hungarian-born, Austrian conductor Stefan Soltész, who in July 2022 collapsed and fell from the podium while conducting Richard Strauss’ Die schweigsame Frau for the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich.

Hindemith’s operas are, I find, underrepresented in both record catalogues and the opera house. Even his best-known, Mathis der Maler (Matthias the Painter), has never been close to securing a place in the standard repertoire, so I was delighted to report in 2016 on Jochen Biganzoli’s powerful staging of Mathis der Maler in the Semperoper, Dresden and consequently take every opportunity of hearing new releases of Hindemith operas.

Known for his love of near-impenetrable chromatic – although only infrequently atonal – writing, Hindemith was seen as a radical figure in twentieth-century German music and Cardillac was his first, much-anticipated full-length opera. For his libretto he looked to Ferdinand Lion, who based his text on E.T.A. Hoffmann’s 1819 novella Das Fräulein von Scuderi, which is set in seventeenth century Paris. The protagonist, Cardillac, described as a ‘negative hero’, is a goldsmith obsessed with his jewellery creations, and when they are sold, he murders the purchaser to regain ownership. Cast in three acts, the scenes are said to be designed to resemble self-contained snapshots. Cardillac was seen as an example of the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity), a movement in German art which focused on realism and reacted against Romanticism and Expressionism , in which emotions are elevated.  Premiered in November 1926 by the Sächsische Staatsoper, Dresden under Fritz Busch Cardillac had a very mixed reception in both Dresden and other German houses. 

Hindemith had a worrying relationship with the Nazi Party but initially the Nazis had no desire to discredit him. Hindemith never hid his distaste for Hitler and his style of music wasn’t what the Nazi Party wanted; furthermore, his wife was part-Jewish and he collaborated with both Jewish and Communist friends and musicians. 

Thus it came as no surprise when Hindemith was denounced by Goebbels, who rebuked him as an ‘atonal noisemaker’. After 1933, Cardillac disappeared from the German repertoire and his music was officially banned, resulting in his fleeing to Switzerland in 1938. After the end of the Second World War, Cardillac was rehabilitated in German opera houses. Hindemith prepared a revised four act version which premiered in 1952 in Zurich and placed a performance ban on the original 1926 score. Although most of the music is the same, Hindemith replaced Lion’s libretto with his own. By 1960, that revised version was largely ignored in favour of the original score which is the version conducted by Soltész on this recording. 

Soltész loved the drama of the opera house and the Münchner Rundfunkorchester responds to his enthusiasm, communicating strength and rhythmic thrust and delivering theatrical impact. Praise is also due to the solo contributions. A highlight is the playing of the controversial scene without singing at the end of Act I, described as a pantomime with a duet for two flutes and light orchestral playing. Here, the lovemaking of the Lady (Michaela Selinger) and the Cavalier (Oliver Ringelhahn), in her bedroom is disrupted by the masked Cardillac (Markus Eiche) who stabs the lover in the neck and steals back her golden belt. From Act II, Cardillac’s daughter (Juliane Banse) enters the goldsmith’s workshop waiting for her lover the Officer (Torsten Kerl) and sings an aria graced exquisite playing from the violin, oboe and horn. The murderous Cardillac has two arias in Act II: the first he sings whilst melting down the gold and has a saxophone accompaniment; the second is sung as he puts on his murderer’s mask. In Act III, he is killed by a Parisian mob in music accompanied by flute, oboe and bass clarinet, and the strings playing softly. 

Stefan Soltész has chosen a cast of all native German speakers. Banse is in confident, compelling voice, making quite an impact, and Selinger is notable for her smooth, attractive tone and effective high notes. Eiche provides an outstandingly convincing and dramatic characterisation as Cardillac, projecting his voice to significant effect. Kerl is well cast as a sinister Officer, as is Oliver Ringelhahn as the Cavalier, exhibiting a hardy, attractive tenor. Bass Jan-Hendrik Rootering, with his strikingly deep, stable ton, is ideal as the Gold Merchant, as is bass-baritone Kay Stiefermann who could not be better in the small role of the Provost Marshal). Trained by Lucas Vasilek, the Prager Philharmonischer Chor excels throughout and is especially impressive in the beginning of the opera as the townspeople gather in the city square and also in the closing scene when Cardillac meets his death at the hands of the angry crowd. 

This was recorded for radio broadcast by the Bayerischer Rundfunk. Knowing the Prinzregententheater, I imagine that recording it was not the easiest task, but the engineering team has provided satisfactory sound. There is little extraneous noise to worry about and the audience applause has been retained at the conclusion of the work. There is a useful essay written by musicologist Laurenz Lütteken in the CD booklet but unfortunately no libretto; however, a valuable English synopsis, which relates to the libretto track by track, is provided.

I know of two recordings of Cardillac made prior to this release and both use the original 1926 version. The best known of the pair is Joseph Keilberth conducting in 1968 in the Studio WDR, Cologne, on Deutsche Grammophon ‘20th Century Classics’, c/w Mathis der Maler excerpts. Lesser known, yet still impressive is the 1988 recording from conductor Gerd Albrecht recorded in the renowned acoustic of the Jesus Christ Church, Dahlem, Berlin, on Wergo.

I imagine that the impact of Cardillac, more than most operas, is reduced by just being heard and not watched. It is a provocative work that can be difficult to love; nevertheless, this live concert performance makes a strong case for it.

Michael Cookson

Previous review: Michael Parr (October 2023)

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