Engelbert Humperdinck (1854-1921)
Königskinder (1910)
Fairy-tale opera in three acts, libretto by Elsa Bernstein-Porges (1866-1949)
Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra/Marc Albrecht
A co-production of Dutch National Opera and Naxos
rec. live, 2022, Dutch National Opera & Ballet, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Naxos NBD0171V Blu-ray [175]
This the second video release of Humperdinck’s Königskinder to come my way. The first one on Decca features a somewhat ugly production of this melancholy fairy-tale that is only partly brightened-up by the high-octane singing of Jonas Kaufmann as the King’s Son. This new production from Amsterdam is an altogether more winning affair by Christof Loy. Loy and his design team have managed to keep relatively faithful to the libretto demands, but do so with a modern, relatively spare design esthetic. Most of the pictorial detail has been removed, although there are a couple of toy geese involved. Costuming is placed roughly during the period of the opera’s composition. Christof Loy manages to convey all of the pathos of this morality tale with as much skill as he did in another fairy-tale work, Rimsky Korsakov’s Christmas Eve (review). There are a few blunders in the production. It was a mistake to keep the vast open space with a single tree to stand in for the town setting of the Second Act. The claustrophobic atmosphere in the town is essential to understanding of the increasing confusion and desperation of the King’s Son. The lack of a town to show the bustle of the town dwellers means that Loy has a lot of music to fill with some sort of action. Having the town extras disrobe in full view of the audience only to don white clothing is regrettable and utterly pointless. Dealing with the extras seems to be the weak point in Loy’s dramaturgy. He feels it necessary for them to clutter up the prelude by having them cavorting about which spoils the mood. Most regrettably he has them milling about when the Goose Girl and the King’s Son should be alone onstage as a sort of wintery counterpart to the Fourth Act of Puccini’s Manon Lescaut.
The Dutch National opera has put together a very strong cast for this production. Olga Kulchynska’s glowing soprano is a real find. The Goose Girl was first sung onstage by the legendary Geraldine Farrar. In listening to the few excerpts that Farrar recorded from this opera, Kulchynska comes out as very favorably in comparison to her illustrious predecessor. She does not yet have quite the vividness in her lower range that made it possible for Farrar to tackle Carmen and Madama Butterfly. Danile Behle had already recorded the role of the King’s son for Sebastian Weigle in a highly recommendable CD set from Oehms Classics (review). His is an enormously appealing characterization of the idealistic but doomed hero. He sings the entire role with the sensitivity of a lieder singer. I began to wonder if his voice had lost a little volume and/or projection since the Oehms recording but in Act Three he really opens up his voice to project the character’s increasing despair. Doris Soffel makes a truly splendid witch. Her voice is virtually unchanged since the 1990s when she was a Bel Canto specialist and considered to be one of the contenders for the crown that Marilyn Horne was getting ready pass on. Josef Wagner seems to be completely living his role as the Minstrel. His depiction of this much abused character is deeply affecting. Vocally he lacks only the last word in tonal refulgence to make his portrayal definitive. Kai Ruutel is a wonderfully wanton Innkeeper’s Daughter.
Marc Albrecht manages to bring out a glowing intensity inherent in Humperdinck’s luminous score. In general I find his tempi are gently propulsive, yet he can relax enough to trace the sorrow and despair of the Act Three Prelude most vividly, and the orchestra is superbly responsive to his lead. They are aided by a sonically resplendent recording which shows what an excellent venue the Dutch National Opera is to record in.
Ultimately, while there are a few points where I part company with Loy’s production, for the most part this is the most decisive attempt to render Humperdinck’s last important opera with the faithfully and with the seriousness it deserves. Indeed in one case, Loy’s idea, (borrowed from Alban Berg’s Lulu) to use a film to illustrate the brutal events that occur off-stage between the Second and Third Acts, actually works better for Humperdinck’s opera than it has ever done for Berg’s.
Mike Parr
Previous review DVD: Jim Westhead (November 2023)
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Performers
Der Königssohn (The King’s Son) Daniel Behle, Tenor
Die Gänsemagd (The Goose Girl) Olga Kulchynska, Soprano
Der Spielmann (The Minstrel) Josef Wagner, Baritone
Die Hexe (The Witch) Doris Soffel, Mezzo-soprano
Der Holzhacker (The Woodcutter) Sam Carl, Bass-baritone
Der Besenbinder (The Broom Maker) Michael Pflumm, Tenor
Die Tochter des Besenbinders (The Broom Maker’s Daughter) Isabel Houtmortels, Soprano
Der Ratsälteste (The Senior Councillor) Henk Poort, Baritone
Der Wirt (The Innkeeper) Roger Smeets, Baritone
Die Wirtstochter (The Innkeeper’s Daughter) Kai Ruutel, Mezzo-soprano
Der Schneider (The Tailor) Lucas Van Lierop, Tenor
Die Stallmagd (The Stable Girl) Eva Kroon, Mezzo-soprano
Ein Torwächter (A Gatekeeper) Hans Pieter Herman, Baritone
Ein Torwächter (A Gatekeeper) Christiaan Peters, Bass
Eine Frau (A Woman) Yvonne Kok, Mezzo-soprano
Die Liebe (Love) Camille Joubert, Violin
Chorus of Dutch National Opera/Edward Ananian-Cooper
Nieuw Amsterdams Kinderkoor/Anaïs de la Morandais
Dancers
Mario Branco, Lela Di Constanzo, Facundo Ebenegger, Yuka Eda, Alina Fejzo, Nicky Van Kleef, Niall Machin, Sofia Garcia Miramon, Guillaume Rabain, Reindert Van Rijn, Sien Vanderostijne, Lotte Aimée De Weert
Production Staff
Stage Director: Christof Loy
Film Directo:r Michael Beyer
Set Designer: Johannes Leiacker
Costume Designer: Barbara Drosihn
Lighting Designer: Olaf Winter
Dramaturge: Klaus Bertisch
Recording details
Subtitles in German, English, Dutch, Japanese, Korean
NTSC 16:9, Dolby Digital 2.0 and Surround 5.1, Region 0 (Worldwide), DVD 9.
