Friedenstag

Richard Strauss (1864–1949)

DESCRIPTION

Premiered in 1938, Friedenstag stands as one of Richard Strauss’s most strikingly topical works. Set during the Thirty Years’ War, its call for reconciliation and peace inevitably resonated against the turbulent backdrop of Europe on the brink of World War II. Though written within a politically fraught climate, the opera’s pacifist message remains unmistakable, its final hymn to peace sounding as both urgent and sincere. This recording lends even more historical context, taking place just one year after the premiere with most of the same cast.

A young Hans Hotter is heard here with complete vocal assurance, entirely free of the woofy quality that would come to define his later career. In Viorica Ursuleac, Strauss had a muse whose luminous, effortlessly silvery soprano spurred his imagination to new heights, and her performance here offers ample evidence of that inspiration.

CAST

Kommandant – Hans Hotter
Maria – Viorica Ursuleac
Wachtmeister – Herbert Alsen
Schütze – Josef Witt
Konstabel – Hermann Wiedemann
Musketier – Carl Bissuti
Hornist – Nikolaus Zec
Ein Piemonteser – Anton Dermota
Offizier – Hermann Gallos
Front-Offizier – Georg Monthy
Erster Mann – Franz Schramm
Zweiter Mann – Erich Majkut
Dritter Mann – Raimund Loibnegger
Der Holsteiner – Viktor Madin
Bürgermeister – Willy Franter
Prälat – Karl Kamann
Frau aus dem Volke – Mela Bugarinovic

DETAILS

Location: Wien
Date: June 10, 1939
Conductor: Clemens Krauss
Catalogue Number: OD 12271-1
Label: Opera Depot
Number of Discs: 1
In Mono