Guntram (opera)
Guntram (Op. 25) is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with a German libretto written by the composer. The second act of the opera was composed in Ramacca, Sicily.[1]
It was Strauss' first opera and shows a strong
Performance history
The opera was not very successful, and was only staged a few times during Strauss' lifetime:
The first performance took place on 10 May
The revised version was first given in Weimar on 29 October 1940, conducted by Paul Sixt , and later in 1942 in Berlin conducted by Robert Heger.
In Hamburg, on 4 February 1895, Gustav Mahler included the prelude to act 1 in his 6th Philharmonic Concert. He included the preludes to acts 1 and 2 in a concert in Vienna on 19 February 1899, and in New York City on 30 March 1910 with the New York Philharmonic.
Roles
Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 10 May 1894 Conductor: Richard Strauss |
---|---|---|
The old Duke | bass | Karl Bucha |
Freihild, his daughter | soprano | Pauline de Ahna, then Strauss's fiancée |
Duke Robert, her husband | baritone | Franz Schwarz |
Guntram, singer | tenor | Heinrich Zeller |
Friedhold, singer | bass | Ferdinand Wiedey |
The Duke's jester | tenor | Hans Gießen |
An old woman | contralto | Luise Tibelti |
An old man | tenor | Hr. Lutz |
Two younger men | basses | Hr. Barth, Hermann Buche |
Three vassals | basses | Hr. Fischer, Hr. Schustherr, Hr. Henning |
A messenger | baritone | Hermann Buche |
Four Minnesingers
|
tenors, basses | Hr. v. Szpinger, Hr. Knöfler, Hr. Glitsch, Hr. Weyrauch |
Vassals, Minnesingers, monks, servants, vagrants |
Synopsis
Set in medieval Germany, the triangular Wagnerian-style story of love and redemption is about the minstrel Guntram, the evil Duke Robert and his saintly wife Freihild. (The story is not connected with the
Recordings
Year | Cast: Guntram, Freihild, The Old Duke, Duke Robert, Friedhold |
Conductor, Opera house and orchestra |
Label[2] |
---|---|---|---|
1981 | William Lewis, Carole Farley, Patrick Wheatley, Terence Sharpe, John Tomlinson |
John Pritchard BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Singers |
CD: Gala Cat: GL 100787 |
1984 | Reiner Goldberg, Ilona Tokody, Sandor Solyom-Nagy, Istvan Gati, Janos Bandi |
Eve Queler Hungarian State Orchestra |
CD: Sony Music Cat: 88697448162 |
2005 | Gian Luca Zampieri, Elena Comotti, Andrea Martin, Raphael Sigling, Thomas Gazheli |
Gustav Kuhn Tirol Festival, Erl Orchestra and male chorus (Live recording) |
DVD: Col Legno 80004 |
References
- ^ Antonio Cucuzza, "Wagner a Ramacca?", Agorà XVI (a. V – January–March 2004), pp. 52–53. (In Italian)
- ^ Recordings of Guntram listed on operadis-opera-discography.org.uk
Further reading
- Murray, David (2001). "Guntram". ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription required)
External links
- Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "Guntram". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
- Richard Strauss works, Operone.de
- Guntram: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project