Another Neglected Schubert Work

This is the second in a series of Schubert's early short operas - works that are little recognized but include much beguiling music.

The first such disc was a Heinz Wallberg-led performance of Der vierjáhrige Posten (The Four-Year Sentry), which the composer wrote when he was all of 18.

By the time he had matured to 23, he had moved on to a better (if still stereotypical) story, while losing nothing of his lyrical gift.

Today's tale is of Die Zwillingsbrüder (The Twin Brothers), which contains a predictable case of mistaken identity, compounded by an improbable coincidence, and how these create complications for young lovers before the also-predictable happy ending.

Now you may feel as though you saw something like this on the Hallmark Channel, and you would not be wrong, but it would not have been accompanied by lovely music performed by a world-class ensemble.

Helen Donath, Nicolai Gedda

The young lovers are soprano Helen Donath and tenor Nicolai Gedda, bass Kurt Moll plays the father of Donath, and baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau appears as both the title characters. On the podium is the august Wolfgang Sawallisch, leading forces from the Munich State Opera.

Wolfgang Sawallisch

As is common with productions of unfamiliar material, the critics caviled about what this wasn't than what it was. John Warrack in The Gramophone made sure that we know he preferred Schubert's more serious operas, noting, "The Singspiele with which Schubert believed he must, and would, conquer the stage are very much slighter; and Die Zwillingsbrüder is not even the most appealing of them."

Let's hear from George Jellinek in Stereo Review: "[I]t is a naive and unconvincing Singspiel that unfolds in the course of this well-produced and elegantly cast first recording, and even the uniformly fine singing and loving direction cannot make it effectively theatrical. There are ten arias, duets, and ensembles separated by spoken passages. One of them, a soprano aria (No. 3), is very attractive, with a clarinet interplay anticipating Der Hirt auf dem Felsen. Throughout, the orchestra writing is delicate and highly accomplished - after all, Schubert at twenty-three had already composed six symphonies - and the melodies are always engaging."

He adds that, "Missing, however, is the dramatic flow, the knack of involving the listener in the plot," while then conceding, "Still, it is an excellent performance of an opera by Schubert - and this description alone makes it almost irresistible."

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau

"Almost irresistible" is the key phrase - this indeed is most pleasant to hear, and while it may not reach the heights of Schubert's masterworks, it is entirely enjoyable.

Let me mention that although the cover describes the production as a "Gesamtaufname" (complete recording), it actually is only the complete music. The dialog is cut down. Nor did EMI Electrola provide texts or translations with the disc. So I have included such from the Peter Maag-led performance of years later.

The sound, taken from an original pressing, is quite good; not quite as transparent as Der vierjáhrige Posten, which came from a few years later, but very listenable. The production dates from 1975.

LINK

The Gramophone, December 1976

A Less Familiar - But Delightful - Schubert Work

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.

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.

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."

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.

LINK

Franz Schubert