EMI's German label, Electrola, took up the cause of Franz Schubert's neglected stage works in the 1970s. One such effort was Der vierjáhrige Posten (The Four-Year Sentry), a delightful if insubstantial one-acter that is the subject of today's post.Electrola engaged some of the best-known singers of the day - the American Helen Donath, the Germans Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Peter Schreier, under the direction of the experienced Heinz Wallberg conducting the Bavarian Radio Chorus and the Munich Radio Orchestra.
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| Heinz Wallberg at the recording session |
Let me call upon the opera critic George Jellinek for his view of the proceedings: "In Der vierjährige Posten, the spoken passages are in verse, the libretto by the highly productive though modestly gifted Theodor Körner. The slight plot concerns the ingenious ways in which a French deserter avoids punishment.
"This is early Schubert (1815, contemporaneous with his Third Symphony). lightly scored, charming, certainly skillful, but revealing none of the boldness the young Schubert exhibited in his early songs." George may be underselling the merits of this work - he aptly cites the Symphony No. 3, and if you know that score, you know it is a beguiling piece, well worth anyone's time.
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| Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau |
The excellent singers are to the fore in the superbly vivid recording, with the orchestra and chorus arrayed behind them. To me, this is one of the high points of analogue recording, atmospheric and open.
Here's George's summary: "Both works [he also reviewed another Schubert opera] receive expert performances here, lovingly conducted by Heinz Wallberg. The prominent singers acquit themselves in a manner worthy of their reputations."
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| Helen Donath, Peter Schreier |
Let me mention that Electrola did not see its way clear to provide a libretto or translation, so I have included the relevant parts of the booklet from Peter Maag's recording, which translates the German into English and Italian. The slight plot is explained in the LP's gatefold, along with more about Schubert at the time (he was 18!) and poor Körner, who, annotator Karl Schumann assures us, "produced an uncontrollable amount of mediocre works" before his early death.
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8 comments:
Great! A less familiar is welcome approach. Thank You.
MPT - Thanks! Hope you enjoy it.
I discover this delightful work thanks to your post. Under the excellent Wallberg and his great soloists, the interpretation looks to fit perfectly well with the format of this piece: effective and unpretentious. Thanks a lot Buster !
Thanks so much, Jean - glad you liked it!
Thank you for making this one available I've always been interested in this side of Schubert's output. I hope that the other opera's that were released in this series will appear eventually.
Thanks, Graham - I believe this is the only one I own, but I'll check.
Thanks. One other thing I'll add I've heard that 'Der vierjáhrige Posten' is believed to be the earliest attempt Schubert made at an opera, as the structure literally steps through each of the operatic forms in sequence.
Graham - Interesting observation about Schubert. I suppose when you are 18 you are still learning. (I am 75 and still learning things.)
By the way, I do have Die Zwillingsbrüder and will transfer it before too long.
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