Evening star., 1960-07-17
NEWS OF MUSIC
BY CONSTANCE MELLEN
(contributinR Writerl

perity. There were SchlGgob-
ers and Schnitzel on every
hand, in fact a superabun-
dance of everything. with
these notable exceptions:
Opera tickets, hotel rooms
and reserved tables at Sach-
er's.
Herbert Won Karajan's
two-year plan for restaging
Wagner's Ring" eliminated
in a new production of Got
terdammerung" which was
generally considered the most
significant operate event Of
the Festival. No doubt about
its impreSsiveness.
The. cast was Olympian,
the settings (by Emil Prae-
torius) neo-neo Bayreuth.
and Karajan's staging true
to his cwn principles.
Stripped Of all detail. in
scenery, costumes and action,
It clearly put it up to the
singers to pack every ounce
of Wagner's meaning into the
singing. They were success
full in varying degrees.
I was impressed by the
voice of Birgit Nilsson, Gre
Brouwenstijn and Gottlob
Frick, as Brunnhilde, GU
trune and Hagen; less salts
fed with Wolfgang Windgas-
sens very boyish Siegfried.
Herman Uhde, the Gunther,
got absorbed by the orches-
trail tides quite often, but was
excellent when heard, Big
names for small parts, a vi
ennese speciality, found Hide
Rossel- Mai dan among the
Norns, and Wilma Lipp a
Rhine daughter.
The lighting had been
given great importance and
power. (The story went
round that on the occasion
of the 18th lighting rehearsal
the electricians union placed
a laurel wreath on Maestro
Karajan's brow0
Norns appeared as disem-
bodied heads in space, Rhine
maidens were flickers of light
among projected waves and
Valhalla was an abstract
glow. with all the marvellous
stage facilities of the new
house at hand it seemed a
pity to have Wagner's magic
effects limited to a thin puff
of steam for the funeral pyre.
Still one mustn't be old
fashioned. The musical pace
never sagged and, needless
to say, the orchestral inter-
ludes were magnificent.
SchwarZkOpf Scores
Strauss most aristocratic
score, welded to Kraus' lux
uriously plotless dialogue,
makes "Capriccio" a gem.
The Staatsoper's new pro-
duction is a worthy setting.
The white and gold stage
decor looked like an extern
sion Of the house itself, and
in this handsome salon,
Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, in
ravishing voice and looks,
ruled all hearts. She has
made the young Countess one
of her happiest creations, and
not the least of it is her abil-
ity to listen gracefully while
all the others sing. The eter-
nally youthful Anton Dermota
sang the part of Flamand,
and the upcoming baritone,
Walter Berry, was Olivier.
Hermann Uhde was striking
as the Count and the voice
and skill of Otto Wiener, as
LaRoche, were new to me
and extremely sympathetic.
Christi Goltz is not the ideal
Clairon however, when we
find the entire list of tenor
and baritone steadies as the
octet of servants, that one
defect can be forgiven.
Carmen" was a diSap-
pointment. Stylish settings
and costumes did not dis
guise the fact that the pro-
duction needed serious over
hauling. The chorus sang
German, the French Of Jose
and Escamillo Giuseppe
Zampieri and Ettore Bastia-
nini) was incomprehensible,
and the Micaela-probably a
sudden substitute forgot mid
way in her big aria. Jean
Maderia's Carmen, usually
attractive, seemed artificial
and lacked vocal seductive
ness.
Between the high level Of
Gotterdammerung" and d
"Capriccio" and the low Of
Carmen" lay the other pro-
ductions, highly satisfactory
in general, and sustaining the
record for brilliant casts.
Aida" was a good example.
Leontyne Price and Giulietta
Simoniato made the most
absorbing Aida and Amneris
possible, especially in the con-
trast of vocal color. Basti-
anini was a sonorous Amo-
nasro, and Pier Miranda
Ferraro an earnest Radames,
whose voice became equal to
his task in the last act. The
production by Kautsky was
handsome, massive and rea-
sonably unified.
Vienna FavOrites
Der Rosenkavalier" and
"Arabella" are both favor
ties in Vienna; they belong
to the city, and are so per-
fectly suited to Its musical
climate that 1t is hard to
l.