Strauss – Arabella
Emily Magee; Genia Kuhmeier;
Tomasz Konieczny; Michael Schade; Vienna State Opera; Franz Welser-Most
Electric Picture EPC03DVD
The creative spark between a composer and a librettist can result in masterpieces and lasting and memorable collaborations. Da Ponte and Mozart, Piave and Verdi, Gilbert and Sullivan; and, of course, Hofmannsthal and Strauss. The two hit it off after Strauss saw Hofmannsthal’s Electra in 1906. “Your style is so very similar to mine!” enthused the composer. “We were born for each other.” There were magical projects for the two men, who corresponded frequently until Hofmannsthal’s death. The obvious one is Der Rosenkavalier, easily the duo’s best opera and their most lasting legacy. In Arabella, the somewhat familiar device of a young, beautiful aristocrat trying to marry the right man to prop up the family’s sagging fortunes gets complicated by a bit of “Shakespearean” cross-dressing and lover-swapping. This particular staging is worth seeing not just for the fine singing, but also superb acting by the principals. Tomasz Konieczny as Mandryka is every director’s dream of a singing actor and Emily Magee as Arabella successfully defies stereotypes of youth and beauty — no suspension of disbelief is needed. Genia Kuehmeier is particularly touching as the younger sister Zdenka, forced to appear dressed as a man. For the writing duo, with Arabella the Viennese magic was back. As Strauss wrote in his condolences to Hofmannsthal’s widow, “No one will ever replace him for me or for the world of music!”
