Drei Groschen Oper

Nico Dostal is generally regarded as one of the last masters of the operetta – yes, it is even said that along with Paul Abraham he rang in what may somewhat grandiloquently be termed this incredible genre’s „Gattungsdämmerung”, its twilight. The operetta singer in black face in Abraham’s „Die Blume von Hawai” sings the operetta’s swan song: „Bin nur ein Jonny, zieh durch die Welt, singe für Money, tanze für Geld. Heimat, dich werd ich niemals mehr sehn!” [I’m only a Jonny, travel around the world, sing for money, dance for dollars by the roll. Home, you I’ll never see again!] By contrast, Dostal’s „Clivia“ is anything but a swan song.

Rimsky-Korsakov’s Christmas Eve, based on a short story by Gogol, centres on the love of the blacksmith Vakula for the rich farmer’s daughter Oksana, who mockingly requires him to obtain for her the Tsarina’s shoes in order to win her hand in marriage. However, evil spirits are on the rampage imperilling their love – a witch on her broomstick gathers the stars and the devil steals the moon. Rimsky-Korsakov blends Christian and pagan elements, Ukrainian folk songs and carols, and atmospheric orchestral interludes in this vivacious and fantastical village romance. This is the disc version of the audiovisual release on 2.110738 and NBD0154V: ‘Sebastian Weigle leads the excellent Frankfurt orchestra and chorus in a spellbinding account of Rimsky-Korsakov’s score’, wrote MusicWeb International. It also won the German Record Critics Award for Quarterly Critics Choice and was a Musicweb International ‘Recommended’ release.