Engelbert Humperdinck (1854-1921)
Hänsel und Gretel (1893)
Hänsel – Anna Moffo (soprano)
Gretel – Helen Donath (soprano)
Peter – Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone)
Gertrud – Charlotte Berthold (soprano)
The Witch – Christa Ludwig (mezzo)
The Sandman – Arleen Auger (soprano)
The Dew Fairy – Lucia Popp (soprano)
Tölzer Knabenchor,
Munich Radio Orchestra/Kurt Eichhorn
rec. 1971, location not provided
RCA Red Seal 74321-25281-2 [2 CDs: 101]
This 1971 recording was co-produced by Eurodisc and the Bavarian Radio; it still holds up well and remains the most desirable version of Humperdinck’s fairy-tale opera from the stereo-era. There is really only one slight drawback to this set: a recording balance in which the singers are captured far too closely, with excessive reverb added, resulting in a rather phony, studio-bound sound that was typical of German Radio productions of that era. However, the orchestra has been captured in a different acoustic with clarity and atmosphere.
Kurt Eichhorn worked primarily in Munich during the postwar years. He was 63 when these sessions occurred, yet this is not the interpretation of an older man. His reading of the score is taut and energized as the folk melodies immortalized by Humperdinck whirl by. He conveys a real sense of anticipation at the first appearance of the Gingerbread House theme in the violas, just one example of his animation of the score. He does not get impatient with the music, as Georg Solti occasionally does on his Decca recording (review).
The children have an ideal pair of singers to bring them to life. Helen Donath’s sweet floating soprano is combined with her intelligent vocal acting. Her voice has a slightly monochromatic tinge which makes her sound to be reasonably believable as a little girl. Anyone familiar with Anna Moffo’s sophisticated feminine voice will be surprised at how successfully she alters her tone to sound very boyish indeed. She has also put a lot of thought into vocal acting to make a believable character of Hänsel. The Dancing duet they sing in Act One has a convincing impression of two children indulging in playtime, while the scene with the cuckoo in the forest is truly charming.
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is a gloriously extroverted Peter. The slight dryness of his tone allows for more word painting than one hears from other singers, who may not have his experience in lieder recitals. This Peter is a wonderfully fleshed-out person; for example the way he changes his tone when he relates calling out his brooms for sale in the village, or the awestruck fear when he learns of the children wandering in the forest.
Charlotte Berthold’s Gertrud is not quite on her husband’s level as a communicator. Berthold was a spinto-cum-dramatic soprano who sang Verdi roles frequently in the smaller German cities during the 1960s and 70s. Here her soprano has thrust and projection, if not possessing the ideal warmth of tone that one might hope for. She conveys both the stern and worried aspects of the mother in a solid, reliable performance.
Arleen Auger’s alabaster tone delivers a sweetly poised sounding Sandman, while Lucia Popp’s pert and scintillating Dew Fairy offers the perfect contrast to Auger’s gentle warmth.
What really lifts this set into first place is the astounding characterization of the Witch by Christa Ludwig. The witch gets not much more than 20 minutes of stage time and Ludwig’s total inhabitation of the role is one of the most complete vocal performances committed by any singer to disc. Her tone is remarkably firm and incisive, but that alone is not enough to make a really good Witch. Ludwig balances the Witch’s persona on a dime, effortlessly switching from comic irony to malevolence without drawing a breath in between. She sings the role with complete mastery of the tessitura, at one ascending to an amazing top “B”. It is the little extraneous touches (laughter, cackles and mumbling to herself) that is the crowning touch that she applies to make her witch almost appear in front of the listener’s eyes. The way in which she gleefully licks her chops at the thought of munching on Hänsel is exhilaratingly indecent.
There have been many fine recordings of Hänsel und Gretel that came after this, several of them in spectacular sound; Solti’s, Davis’, Tate’s and Janowski’s sets are all worth investigating. However, none of them reach the interpretive level found on this one. It is worth noting that the Davis recording on Philips also has Christa Ludwig singing the Witch with as much style as here, but the intervening 20 years have brought inevitable changes to her voice. This recording is the preferable choice of the two versions.
Mike Parr
This was also Ralph Moore’s top recommendation in his survey of the opera.
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