Oberon's Glade

Tag: Franz Mazura

  • Franz Mazura Has Passed Away

    Mazura

    The great Austrian singing-actor Franz Mazura has passed away at the age of 96. Mazura made his operatic debut at Kassel in 1949, and went on to appear at numerous German theaters in a wide variety of roles. His career eventually took him to the great stages of Paris, Vienna, Bayreuth, and New York City.

    Mazura was a stalwart at the Bayreuth Festival for fifteen summers, beginning in 1971. His most frequent Wagnerian roles were Alberich in the RING Cycle and Klingsor in PARSIFAL, but he also sang the Wanderer and Gurnemanz at the Wagner shrine.

    Franz Mazura as Gurnemanz – Bayreuth 1973

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    At Bayreuth, he appeared in 1976 as Gunther in the controversial Pierre Chéreau centennial production of the RING Cycle: photo above, with Dame Gwyneth Jones as Brunnhilde.

    In 1979, Mazura sang Doctor Schön and Jack the Ripper in the premiere of the completed version of Alban Berg’s LULU at the Paris Opéra, conducted by Pierre Boulez.

    After making his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1980 in the Berg double-role, Franz Mazura went on to appear on The Met stage 175 times. In 1989, he was a magnificent Alberich in the RING Cycle, my first experience of seeing the Cycle in the span of a week. Earlier, in 1987, he had stepped in as Wotan in WALKURE, a performance my friend Paul Reid attended; Paul described Mazura as “…a cantankerous god.”

    Franz Mazura’s final Met appearance was as Schigolch in LULU in 2002.

    Here is a sampling of his extraordinary portrayal of Klingsor:

    PARSIFAL – scene from Act II – Leonie Rysanek & Franz Mazura – Met bcast 1985(1)

    Among the many roles Franz Mazura sang in his long career was the Spirit Messenger in DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN:

    Helga Dernesch & Franz Mazura – FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN ~ opening scene – C Perick cond – Met 1989

    He displayed his versatility in such roles as La Roche in CAPRICCO, Pizarro in FIDELIO, Scarpia in TOSCA, the Doctor in WOZZECK, Creon in OEDIPUS REX, and the Speaker in ZAUBERFLOETE. His final operatic appearance was at Berlin as Schwarz in MEISTERSINGER on April 21st, 2019…the eve of his 95th birthday.

    Franz Mazura appears in the film of Pierre Chéreau‘s 2013 production of ELEKTRA from the Aix-en-Provence Festival; he makes a touching effect as the Tutor of Orest.

    ~ Oberon

  • The Chéreau ELEKTRA ~ On Film

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    ~ Author: Oberon

    Patrice Chéreau’s production of Richard Strauss’s ELEKTRA originated at Aix-en-Provence in 2013, in the 1350-seat theatre there. It did not impress me when it came to The Met in 2016; though musically vivid, as a theatrical experience it got lost in the vast space of the world’s largest opera house.

    The Aix performance was filmed, and released on DVD in 2014. I came upon it by chance at the library, brought it home, and was blown away by both its musical and dramatic power. It is a production that cries out to be seen up-close, and the camera work for the DVD takes us right into the action, as if from the start we are in service at the House of Atreus and watching this domestic horror-story unfold before our eyes. A brief sampling from the DVD here.

    The opera’s story is absorbingly told, with some liberties taken. The shifting loyalties of the maids and other household members are cunningly delineated.

    Veterans Renate Behle (visually fascinating), Franz Mazura, and Donald McIntyre make vivid impressions in smaller roles, and Chéreau’s idea of casting the beloved soprano Roberta Alexander as the sympathetic 5th Maid pays off handsomely: her singing and her portrayal are riveting, and she is hugely applauded during the bows.

    Memorable portrayals in the production:

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    Above: Tom Randle as Aegisth is aghast at being shown the corpse of his paramour Klytämnestra.

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    Above, siblings reunited: Evelyn Herlitzius as Elektra and Mikhail Petrenko as Orestes; the bass-baritone makes a strong impression as the haunted son of Agamemnon.

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    Above, the sisters: Adrienne Pieczonka as Chrysothemis and Evelyn Herlitzius as Elektra. Ms. Pieczonka sounds fantastic in this film (of a live performance), her top notes pealing forth.

    Aix Elektra

    Above: Waltraud Meier as Klytämnestra. Ms. Meier’s singing, so alive with subtle inflection, did not always register at The Met, but she makes a striking impression – both vocally and visually – in the film. M. Chéreau eliminates the queen’s hysterical laughter on learning of the death of her son; I for one don’t miss it.

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    Above: Evelyn Herlitzius scored a great personal triumph as Elektra at Aix-en-Provence, and it is wonderful that her performance has been preserved. With a voice I would describe as “big lyric”, Ms. Herlitzius does not sing the music as we are accustomed to hearing it sung. Both in voice and in her athletic physique, the soprano seems almost youthful, though in fact she was around 50 years old when the film was made (You’d never guess it by watching her!). She powers thru the vocal demands, and shows off a secure, brightish top.

    However, the pressure she has put on her instrument in such arduous music has worn the voice down over time; her 2018 Met debut performances as Kundry were disappointing, showing the effects of hard usage on her timbre, the voice sometimes ineffectual in the large space. This makes having a document of her Elektra on fine vocal form all the more valuable, for her passion and commitment are unquestionable.

    You can find copies of this performance for purchase here. It’s well worth owning.  

    The Participants:

    Elektra Evelyn Herlitzius
    Klytämnestra Waltraud Meier
    Chrysothemis Adrianne Pieczonka
    Orest Mikhail Petrenko
    Aegisth Tom Randle
    Der Pfleger des Orest Franz Mazura
    Ein junger Diener Florian Hoffmann
    Ein alter Diener Donald McIntyre
    Die Aufseherin / Die Vertraute Renate Behle
    Erste Magd Bonita Hyman
    Zweite Magd / Die Schleppträgerin Andrea Hill
    Dritte Magd Silvia Hablowetz
    Vierte Magd Marie-Eve Munger
    Fünfte Magd Roberta Alexander

    Coro Gulbenkian

    Orchestre de Paris

    Conductor: Esa-Pekka Salonen

    ~ Oberon