Opera at home
CDs
HANS HEILING
MARSCHNER
Oehms OC976
When it comes to German Romanticism in opera, the name that comes immediately to mind is Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826). His Der Freischütz (1821), Euryanthe (1823) and Oberon (1826) are considered iconic works of the genre. But few of his contemporaries reached the same exalted level. Several of them (von Flotow, Lortzing, Nicolai) chose to specialize in operetta, while others, notably Richard Wagner, simply suffer from the common affliction of being excluded from this rather narrowly defined category.
One composer in German Romanticism who deserves better recognition is Heinrich August Marschner (1795-1861), and this new recording of his relatively obscure Hans Heiling makes a convincing case. Recorded at Germany’s Aalto-Musiktheater Essen in Feb. 2018, Heiling boasts a strong cast, a fine chorus, and excellent playing by the Essener Philharmoniker under the assured baton of conductor Frank Beermann. It’s only the second commercial recording of this opera, following one from Cagliari, Italy (2006).
Like many German Romantic operas, Heiling’s story is drawn from European folktales involving the spirit world. Hans Heiling, King of Earth Spirits, falls in love with Anna, a mortal. Against the wishes of his mother the Queen, he leaves his subterranean domain to be with Anna, only to discover that she’s actually in love with Konrad, a poor villager. The wedding of Anna and Konrad is planned. Heiling seeks revenge and threatens to kill Konrad, only to be stopped by his mother the Queen, who brings her son back to the spirit world.
The female lead, Anna, is sung by Canadian soprano Jessica Muirhead, in her first commercial opera recording. When I contacted her for comments, she revealed that this production has special meaning for Essen, an important mining region in Germany., except that Anna has a stronger German Baroque flavour to her music which requires greater agility.
