Tag: Ring Cycle

Ticho Parly

Ticho Parly (above, as Lohengrin) would have been my first-ever Tristan if I’d been able to secure a ticket for one of his 1966 Met performances of the role, opposite Ludmila Dvořáková. But every performance at the Met in that opening season was sold out well in advance, and so it was not until 1982 that I had the unexpected pleasure of hearing this estimable helden-tenor.

Born in Denmark, Ticho Parly went from being a treble to being a bass-baritone. It was while studying with Charles Paddock (the teacher of Anthony Laciura and Greer Grimsley) in New Orleans that Parly settled in as a tenor. He made his operatic debut with New Orleans Opera as Pong in Turandot.

Returning to Europe, the tenor sang at Aachen, Brussels, Wuppertal, Lisbon, Kassel, Amsterdam, and Vienna. He made his Bayreuth debut in 1963 as Walther von Stoltzing in Meistersinger, and returned to the Festival to sing Siegmund and Siegfried in 1966.

1966 was also the year of his Met debut, in the afore-mentioned Tristan und Isolde. Parly’s other Met roles were Erik in Fliegende Hollander and Aegisth in Elektra.

Ticho Parly’s career kept him shuttling between Europe and the Americas: he sang at Covent Garden, La Scala, Paris, Covent Garden, San Francisco, Mexico City, and at the Teatro Colón. His roles included Tannhauser, Parsifal, Loge, the Drum Major in Wozzeck, Herod in Salome, the Emperor in Frau ohne Schatten, Florestan, Bacchus, and Peter Grimes. He was active thru 1988, when he sang Otello in Denmark, and passed away in 1998 in Seattle where he had been teaching.

Here’s the story of my one opportunity to hear Ticho Parly live:

An enterprising organization called The Wagner International Institution offered the complete Ring Cycle in concert form at Northeastern University on Boston. The operas were given on four consecutive Sunday afternoons. My friend Paul and I decided to give the Walkure a try, prompted mainly by the fact that Roger Roloff was singing Wotan. We enjoyed it thoroughly, and immediately obtained tickets for the Götterdämmerung, scheduled for two weeks later.

Ticho Parly was not the announced Siegfried in the pre-publicity for this Ring, but on performance day, there he was onstage. He’d had a long career and I was unsure of what to expect from him, but here’s what I wrote the day after:

“Ticho Parly was a surprise Siegfried. He sang commandingly and sustained the long, often cruelly demanding part impressively. He had ample vocal heft, and the tone is still quite pleasant; his diction so clear, and his feeling for the music so sure. His third act was especially fine: a huge and sustained high-C on “Hoi-ho!” (greeting the hunting party) and a firm rendition of his long narrative. His final apostrophe to Brünnhilde was tenderly sung, and moving. In sum: an excellent performance!”

Mr. Parly recorded Siegfried’s farewell to Brünnhilde: here.

Mr. Parly and Gladys Kuchta sing the final duet from Siegfried from a 1966 NY Philharmonic concert conducted by Lukas Foss. Ms. Kuchta never quite makes it up the the concluding high-C but otherwise it’s a very interesting performance. Listen here.

~ Oberon

July 22, 2020
WALKURE @ Vienna 2016

Above: Christopher Ventris and Waltraud Meier winning a huge ovation after Act I of WALKURE

Adam Fischer conducts a performance of Wagner’s WALKURE at the Vienna State Opera in 2016 with Linda Watson (Brunnhilde), Waltraud Meier (Sieglinde), Michaela Schuster (Fricka), Christopher Ventris (Siegmund), Tomasz Konieczny (Wotan), and Ain Anger (Hunding).

Watch and listen here.

July 15, 2020
Premiere: Levine/Schenk GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG

During these endless days of being at home, I’ve been reading thru my opera diary, a hand-written document I started in 1962 and which now fills numerous file folders. So many wonderful memories of the great performances I saw over the years were stirred up by reading about them.

One such exciting night was the 1988 premiere of the Otto Schenk GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG, the closing opera of Wagner’s epic RING Cycle. Often referred to affectionately as “the Levine RING”, full cycles of the production in the ensuing seasons created a great international buzz; Wagnerites from all over the globe gathered in New York City to witness this classic staging.

Having already seen the RHEINGOLD, WALKURE and SIEGFRIED, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect; still, when the Gibichung Hall loomed into view, it took my breath away. Levine was mostly magnificent, though there were moments when he let things drag a bit; his orchestra gave it their all, and the chorus sounded sensational as they gathered in lusty expectation of the double wedding.

As to the singers, here’s what I wrote upon returning to my room at the Colonial House after the performance:

“Casting was strong, with pretty singing from the Rhinemaidens – Joyce Guyer (in her Met debut), Diane Kesling, and Meredith Parsons – and Franz Mazura made an astoundingly vivid Alberich, singing with oily malice. The opening scene of Act II, with Alberich pawing at the sleeping Hagen, was very atmospheric.

The Gibichung brother and sister were rather curiously cast: as Gunther, Anthony Raffell’s voice sounded veiled and throaty, and Kathryn Harries’ beautiful (and beautifully acted) Gutrune was undone by effortful singing and a prominent vibrato. [I mentioned that Cornell MacNeil and Lucine Amara could have made for far more interesting casting in these roles!].

The Norn Scene, which I have always loved, benefited from the super casting of Mignon Dunn as 1st Norn, sung with richly doom-ladened tone. Hanna Schwarz (2nd Norn) had a couple of husky moments, but overall sang vividly, with excellent diction. As the 3rd Norn, Marita Napier sometimes sounded a bit insecure, but she did not let down the side. These three really made something of their opening discussion.

Toni Kramer sang erratically but acceptably in the torturous role of Siegfried. He seemed to be husbanding his powers, doing his best singing in Act III.

Above: Christa Ludwig as Waltraute and Hildegard Behrens as Brunnhilde

The divine Christa Ludwig made a thrilling Waltraute, singing with great clarity and verbal point. The distinctive Ludwig tone – that cherished sound – drew the audience in to her every phrase. Add to this the anguished urgency of her delivery, and the result was a veritable triumph.

The Ludwig Waltraute produced one of my all-time favorite curtain calls: stepping before the gold curtain for her first solo bow, she was greeted by such a din of applause and shouting that she halted in her tracks; her eyes opened wide in amazement, and she broke into a huge smile. It seemed to me that she had not expected such an avalanche of affection. She bowed deeply, clearly savoring this outpouring of love from the crowd.

The towering magnificence of Matti Salminen as Hagen (above) produced tremendous excitement in the House. His huge voice was at peak form, effortlessly filling the hall with sinister sound. In the scene where Hagen’s father appears to him in a dream, Salminen and Franz Mazura matched one another in both power and eerily expressive subtlety: thoroughly engrossing. The basso’s portrayal as the drama of Act II unfolded was towering in its epic nastiness and in his manipulation of the situation to attain the character’s sole goal: to regain the ring. This was a performance thrilling to behold, and to hear.

The roar of applause for each of Salminen’s solo bows was thunderous, and I was so excited to be part of it, shouting myself hoarse.

~ Sample the Salminen Hagen, from a later broadcast…it gives me he chills:

Matti Salminen as Hagen – Met 1993

Hildegard Behrens (above) was a Brunnhilde of terrifying intensity and incredible feminine strength. This was an overwhelming interpretation, in which voice and physicality combined to transcend operatic convention, reaching me on the deepest possible level. Behrens lived the part, in no uncertain terms.

The Dawn Duet found Behrens portraying the tamed warrior maid to perfection, savoring her domestic bliss but eager that Siegfried should go out into the world and do great deeds. Her unconventional beauty and her inhabiting of the character were so absorbing to behold. Later, In the scene with Waltraute, Behrens as Brunnhilde listened anxiously to all her sister’s words and she began to grasp the first signs of the downward spiral that would culminate with Siegfried’s betrayal and her own sacrifice. Even so, she dismissed Waltraute with fierce disdain. Behrens’ vivid depiction of Brunnhilde’s terror and helpless dejection as the false Siegfried wrested the ring from her was palpable.

In one of the evening’s most gripping moments, Behrens – having become possessed by Brunnhilde’s plight in Act II – responded to Siegfried’s oath by snatching Hagen’s spear away him and singing her own oath with blistering abandon. Totally immersed in the character, her pain was painful to behold. In the powerful trio that ends Act II, Behrens, Raffell, and Salminen were splendid.

Above: Hildegard Behrens as Brunnhilde ~ Immolation Scene

In the Immolation Scene, the great strength of Brunnhilde’s love for Siegfried, and her determination to perish in the flames of his funeral pyre, marked the culmination of Hildegard Behrens’ sensational performance. Her singing was powerful, with unstinting use of chest voice and flaming top notes; there were moments when expressionistic effects crept in but it all seemed so right. The amazing thing about Behrens’ singing and acting here was that it all seemed spontaneous…she seemed to be living it all in the moment. One cannot ask more of an operatic portrayal.

The curtain calls went on and on, the audience eager to show their appreciation with volleys of bravos as the singers stepped forward time and again. Here we must also thank James Levine, whose grand design underlies the great success to date of the individual operas. Ahead, in the Spring, seeing the full cycle in a week’s time is already on my calendar. My dream will come true!”

~ Oberon

April 28, 2020
Arlene Saunders Has Passed Away

Above: Arlene Saunders as Eva in DIE MEISTERSINNGER

It’s so sad to read of the death of soprano Arlene Saunders, who I saw in four different roles over the course of her career. She died on April 17th, 2020, of complications associated with COVID-19.

Just last Summer, I discovered a series of films made in the 1970s by the Hamburg State Opera and truly enjoyed watching Ms. Saunders as the Countess in NOZZE DI FIGARO, Agathe in FREISCHUTZ, and most especially her Eva in DIE MEISTERSINGER. The Hamburg film of the Wagner opera can in fact be watched in its entirety on YouTube here.

It was as Eva that Arlene Saunders sang her only performances with the Metropolitan Opera, in 1976. But I had the good fortune to see her on the Met stage earlier, when the Hamburg company brought Stravinsky’s RAKE’S PROGRESS to Lincoln Center in 1967. She was an ideal Anne Trulove.

In the years to come, I saw Ms. Saunders as the Marschallin (Opera Company of Boston), as Minnie in FANCIULLA DEL WEST (New York City Opera), and as Elsa in LOHENGRIN (at The Bushnell in Hartford). As each of these vastly different characters, she seemed perfect.

In 2007, I attended a solo recital attended by a young American tenor; during the interval, a woman came over to speak to the people seated in front of me. I was pretty sure it was Arlene Saunders, and sure enough, the couple greeted her as “Arlene…!” I so wanted to speak to her and thank her for the wonderful performances I’d seen her give, but my innate shyness took over. I always regretted that missed opportunity…now, more than ever.

And here’s Ms. Saunders in music from my favorite opera, ARIADNE AUF NAXOS:

Arlene Saunders – Ariadne Monolog Part II ~ ARIADNE AUF NAXOS – Hamburg 1968

~ Oberon

April 18, 2020
Hertha Töpper as Octavian

Above: Hertha Töpper as Octavian in DER ROSENKAVALIER

[Update: Hertha Töpper passed away on March 28th, 2020, at the age of 95]

I’ll never forget listening to Strauss’s DER ROSENKAVALIER for the first time: it was a Saturday matinee broadcast from the Old Met at Christmastime in 1962. I was 14 years old and had been in love with opera for three years.

At that time, the German operas were not easy for me; I had made it thru my first broadcast RING Cycle in 1961 and I seem to recall having been more thrilled by the story than by the music. ROSENKAVALIER, with its long conversational stretches, posed a challenge all its own. But the singing of the three female leads in the opera’s final scene moved me deeply, and when the broadcast ended I sat down and wrote fan letters to all three of them: Hertha Töpper (Octavian), Anneliese Rothenberger (Sophie), and Régine Crespin (the Marschallin). Within days I received replies from all three.

Metropolitan Opera House December 22, 1962 Matinee/Broadcast
DER ROSENKAVALIER Octavian.....................Hertha Töpper Princess von Werdenberg......Régine Crespin Baron Ochs...................Otto Edelmann Sophie.......................Anneliese Rothenberger Faninal......................Ralph Herbert Annina.......................Rosalind Elias Valzacchi....................Paul Franke Italian Singer...............Sándor Kónya Marianne.....................Thelma Votipka Mahomet......................Marsha Warren Princess' Major-domo.........Robert Nagy Orphan.......................Loretta Di Franco Orphan.......................Nadyne Brewer Orphan.......................Dina De Salvo Milliner.....................Lilias Sims Animal Vendor................Frank D'Elia Hairdresser..................Harry Jones Notary.......................Gerhard Pechner Leopold......................Erbert Aldridge Lackey.......................Joseph Folmer Lackey.......................John Trehy Lackey.......................Lou Marcella Lackey.......................Edward Ghazal Faninal's Major-domo.........Andrea Velis Innkeeper....................Charles Anthony Police Commissioner..........Norman Scott
Conductor....................Lorin Maazel

Ms. Töpper sent me the gorgeous photo which appears at the top of this article. Ever since then, this has remained the quintessential image of Octavian for me. As it turned out, Octavian was Töpper’s only Met role, though she had an enormous career in Europe.

Here’s a sampling of the Töpper Octavian, with Erika Köth as Sophie:

Hertha Töpper & Erika Köth – Presentation of the Silver Rose ~ ROSENKAVALIER

Hertha Töpper was born in 1924 and made her operatic debut at Graz as Ulrica in BALLO IN MASCHERA in 1945. By 1951 she was singing at Bayreuth, and had debuted at Munich as Octavian. She went on to sing at all the major opera houses and festivals of Europe; among her most prominent roles were Brangäne, Carmen, Fricka, and Dorabella. She also was a well-loved recitalist and concert singer, specializing in the music of Bach.

A couple of years ago, by chance, I plucked Töpper’s recording of Bartok’s BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE (in German) from the library shelf; it proved to be a revelation, with fantastic singing from both the mezzo and the great Dietrich Fisher-Dieskau, and truly atmospheric conducting by Ferenc Fricsay.

~ Oberon

March 30, 2020
Souvenirs from Cardiff ~ Part II

~ Author: Oberon

1989 was a banner year for the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition: the “Battle of the Baritones” put the competition on every opera lover’s map. Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Bryn Terfel vied for the top prize; in the end, Dima was named Singer of the Year and Sir Bryn captured the Lieder Prize. Both men went on to hugely successful international careers.

Of course, at the time, there was no internet to speak of. You could not instantly follow the competition from afar, and even news of it was slow to reach us from the other side of The Pond. But my wonderful friend Mollie Warren diligently taped much of the proceedings directly off the BBC; then she made copies of the cassettes to send to me. So within a couple of weeks, I was listening – in Hartford CT – to the sounds of Mssrs. Hvorostovsky and Terfel: I like to think I was one of the very first people in the Western Hemisphere to hear these voices.

The three other finalists in the 1989 competition were Finnish mezzo-soprano Monica Groop, Swedish soprano Hillevi Martinpelto, and the Australian soprano Helen Adams. I cannot seem to find much information regarding Helen Adams in the years following her appearance at Cardiff; she is heard here in “Depuis le jour” from LOUISE.

Above: Monica Groop

Monica Groop’s extensive international career in opera, concert, and song has included a memorable portrayal of Lucretia in Britten’s RAPE OF LUCRETIA in 2003 at New York City Opera; it marked the only time I saw this wonderful singer live onstage. Her other operatic roles have ranged from Melisande to Zerlina, and she has sung and recorded a great deal of Baroque music – in which she excels – as well as lieder of Schubert and Brahms, and the complete songs of Edvard Grieg.

Some samples of Ms. Groop’s artistry, singing in Italian, French, and German:

Monica Groop – Stà nell’Ircana ~ ALCINA

Monica Groop – D’amour l’ardente flamme ~ DAMNATION DE FAUST

Monica Groop sings Schubert’s Du bist die Ruh

Monica Groop at Cardiff, 1989:

Monica Groop – Cardiff 1989 – CLEMENZA~WERTHER

Hillevi Martinpelto went on from Cardiff to a very successful career, performing and recording with prominent orchestras and conductors.

Here she is singing Weber…

Hillevi Martinpelto – Ocean! Thou mighty monster ~ OBERON

…and in a true rarity:

Hillevi Martinpelto – from Karl-Magnus Fredriksson’s The Disguised God ~ Soprano & Chorus

Here is Hillevi Martinpelto at Cardiff, 1989:

Hillevi Martinpelto – FORZA aria – Cardiff 1989

And finally, the winners:

…Dima…

Dmitri Hvorostovsky – BALLO aria – Cardiff 1989

…and Bryn…my original cassette of Bryn from the competition would not play, but here he is, onstage, singing Schumann…

…and here’s a bit of Wagner, from a commercial recording:

Bryn Terfel – Song to the Evening Star – TANNHAUSER

~ Oberon

March 18, 2020
Antonín Švorc

Above: Antonín Švorc as the Flying Dutchman; photo by Oldrich Pernica

Antonín Švorc was a Czech operatic bass-baritone. He studied at the Prague Conservatory, making his professional opera debut in 1955, and joined the roster of principal artists at the National Theatre in Prague in 1956. In 1962, Švorc debuted with the Prague State Opera where he performed for the next several decades. In 1985 he was named a People’s Artist of Czechoslovakia. After retiring from the stage, he taught at the Prague Conservatory. He passed away in 2011.

Antonín Švorc’s repertory was vast indeed. In addition to singing in many Czech operas (including those of Dvořák and Smetana), his oles in the standard repertory included Verdi’s Amonasro, Iago, Nabucco, and Simon Boccanegra, Wagner’s Dutchman, Hans Sachs, Wotan, Kurvenal, Telramund, and Donner; Strauss’s Jochanaan, Orest, and Barak, as well as Scarpia, Alfio, Don Pizarro, Prince Igor, and Boris Godunov.

Above: Antonín Švorc as Simon Boccanegra; photo by Jaromir Svoboda

Czech soprano Ludmila Dvořáková joins her compatriot, Antonín Švorc, in a recording of the final scene of DIE WALKURE (sung in Czech) here.

Švorc gives a dramatic reading of the opening portion of the Dutchman’s monolog….

Antonín Švorc – Flying Dutchman ~ monolog

…and in Berlin in 1967, he sang Orestes opposite Ingrid Steger’s Elektra, conducted by Otmar Suitner. Here is part I of the Recognition Scene from that performance:

Ingrid Steger & Antonín Švorc – ELEKTRA – Recognition Scene ~ Part I – Berlin 1967

~ Oberon

March 17, 2020
Jean Cox ~ Heldentenor

A native of Alabama, tenor Jean Cox studied with Marie Sundelius at the New England Conservatory and made his operatic debut at Spoleto as Rodolfo in LA BOHEME. In the early 1950s, Cox built his repertory and reputation at Kiel and Mannheim.

The tenor made his Bayreuth debut in 1956 as the Steersman in FLIEGENDE HOLLANDER; he returned to the Festival as Lohengrin in 1967 and went on to sing there until 1984, taking on the Siegfrieds, Erik in HOLLANDER, Parsifal, and Walther in MEISTERSINGER.

At other major opera houses, Cox sang Otello, Herod in SALOME, Bacchus in ARIADNE AUF NAXOS, Max in DER FREISCHUTZ, Gherman in PIQUE-DAME, and Captain Vere in BILLY BUDD. In 1976, Jean Cox made his Met debut as Walther von Stoltzing in a series of performances of DIE MEISTERSINGER in New York City and on tour. This was the sum total of his Met career.

Jean Cox was married to the British mezzo-soprano Anna Reynolds, a noted interpreter of Bach and Wagner, and one of my very favorite singers. Following their retirement from the stage, the couple opened a vocal academy where they trained singers from all over the world. While I was working at Tower Records in the early 2000s, I met two students from this academy. I asked them to give Ms. Reynolds a message from me; I wonder if they ever did.

Jean Cox passed away in 2012 at Bayreuth; he was 90 years old. Ms. Reynolds died two years later.

Enjoy this rare film clip of Jean Cox and the great basso Gottlob Frick in excerpts from Smetana’s BARTERED BRIDE and Weinberger’s SCHWANDA THE BAGPIPER.

And here are some audio samplings of Jean Cox singing at the Bayreuth Festival.

Jean Cox – Die Meistersinger ~ Prize Song

Jean Cox as Parsifal – finale of the opera – Bayreuth 1973

~ Oberon

February 28, 2020
Compagnie Hervé KOUBI @ The Joyce ~ 2020

Above: Compagnie Hervé KOUBI, photo by Frédérique Calloch

~ Author: Oberon

Thursday February 20th, 2020 – Celebrating their 20th anniversary season, Compagnie Hervé KOUBI returned to The Joyce with Les nuits barbares ou les premiers matins du monde. I loved this Company when they appeared at The Joyce in 2018, and when I saw that they were returning to Gotham, I knew I’d want to be there.

Performed by an all-male cast of dancers from the countries along the shores of the of the Mediterranean – from Algeria, Morocco, France, Burkina Faso, Italy, Israel, and Palestine – the work explores the human desire for belonging: an idea that harks back to ancient times, before the birth of nations.

Above: photo by Frédéric de Faverney

The visually engrossing production features evocative lighting by Lionel Buzonie, and costumes by Guillaume Gabriel that include mask-like headgear adorned with Swarovski crystals which catch the light, adding to the mystique of the ballet’s darkish opening passages. The dancers appear first in long skirts, which are later shed in favor of fitted trousers. To say that these men are incredibly sexy is an understatement: they are also fearlessly committed to the work, and to the brotherhood.

To sounds of primeval winds and waves, the dancers emerge from the shadows. They huddle together, earthbound, as the opening music of Wagner’s DAS RHEINGOLD speaks to us of beginnings. The community is restless, wary. They awaken in a brief passage of unison gestures.

Knives are drawn, and an alarm sounds…but fades to mere tinkling sounds. There is a bathing ritual to the sounds of an antique flute, then the men take their places in a striking lineup across the rim of the stage, superbly lit.

A tapping sound develops into vibrant drumming as the men compete in fantastic feats of tumbling, flipping, spinning on their hands or on their heads. The helmet-masks come off, the drumming gets wild. Then deep tones emerge from the sonic glow, alive with the exotic sound of finger cymbals.

A respite, and then a whirring sound spins into a song – are the men actually singing? I was to far away to tell. Now the tribe begin tossing one another into the air; they soar with electifying bravura before being caught by their comrades. After circling in backbends, they cut loose to do more leaping and flipping: mind-boggling athleticism. The music turns metallic as the dancers again engage in uncanny break-dancing spins. Then they slowly disperse to music from the Mozart REQUIEM, only to return, engaging in ever more daring spinning and tossing.

Suddenly one man is targeted and threatened with knives. Stripped of his skirt, and inverted, he performs a spectacular solo, spinning on his head as knife blades fan out from his whirling torso. The men – some on their knees like supplicants – return with metal poles; to the sound of distant voices, the poles become canes of props. Later they are tossed from man to man with amazing accuracy, and still later held aloft in cruciform.

Now there evolves a big-beat, swirling tribal dance; the skirts have all been sheds. After more athletic feats and some spear-tossing, there is an intense run-about. To the sound of the deep chanting of Et lux perpetua, the men again line up along the edge of the stage: they seem to silently be bidding us farewell. Then they back into the shadows and begin to slowly exit – pairs or alone – heading into the unknown. As the last man vanishes from sight, one sensed the welling up of a great emotional force in the house. The audience, who have beheld this great human spectacle in awed silence, are ready to unleash a tremendous wave of applause.

But…no: the men now return and, in a rather prolonged coda, continue to perform many of the same moves and feats we’ve already seen. As this coda brings nothing fresh to the piece, either choreographically or musically, it seemed expendable.

At last, the packed house got their chance to hail Mssr. Koubi and his courageous dancers with waves of fervent applause and cheers.

Above: photo by Pierangela Flisi

~ Oberon

February 20, 2020
Franz Mazura Has Passed Away

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

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

January 27, 2020