Franck - Hulda (Freiburg Oper)

[Ebubu]

The Freiburg opera continues its eclectic search for new titles, and offers a discovery of Franck's rarest opera, HULDA.  That should be exciting !

https://www.theater.freiburg.de/de_DE/spielplan/hulda.15384600

[Alan Howe]

Indeed. Here's some info:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulda_(opera)

[Alan Howe]

There's a performance in Italian taken from rather scratchy LPs and in poor sound on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C-XSGL3sJQ
I imagine it's the same performance as the one advertised here:
http://premiereopera.net/product/hulda-by-franck-milan-1960/

Has anyone taken a punt on this recording?

[Mark Thomas]

Not I, being no great fan of Franck's mature music, which is my loss I appreciate. That said I'll be interested to hear what there is of Hulda on YouTube. Thanks for the link.

[Alan Howe]

Turgid, turgid. But a good modern recording from Freiburg under Fabrice Bollon (cpo, perhaps?) might do the trick...

[ewk]

Turgid, turgid. But a good modern recording from Freiburg under Fabrice Bollon (cpo, perhaps?) might do the trick...

As far as I can see from the season brochure, there will be Naxos recordings of both Magnard's 1st symphony and Schreker's »Das Spielwerk und die Prinzessin«. I did not read about a recording of Hulda (and somehow I don't think that they'll do 3 recordings in one season, as it's still a relatively small house...)

[Alan Howe]

Nice, but it's the Franck we need.

[Ebubu]

"I don't think that they'll do 3 recordings in one season, as it's still a relatively small house...)"

If it's not for Naxos, it might be for CPO, as Freiburg/Bollon seem to have an ongoing love affair with CPO (or vice-versa  )
We're still eagerly waiting for the CPO issues of "Wunder der Heliane" and "Der Schmuck der Madonna".

[der79sebas]

Oh, great to hear about the planned "Spielwerk"-recording. Thanks a lot!

[ewk]

They do record a lot,  so let us still hope for Hulda.
Yesterday I visited a general rehearsal where they obviously recorded Magnard's Chant funèbre (which will be played in concert tonight).

[ewk]

Rumour has it that there are negotiations for a recording of Hulda. Let's see whether that proves true...

[ewk]

Yesterday evening, I witnessed Bollon's Hulda in the Stadttheater Freiburg. The mise-en-scène seems debatable (and reviews are rather negative about this point), since the plot has been transferred from Norway during christianisation to modern-day Congo in the aftermath of colonisation, and there is a lot of violence, rape and machine guns. Hulda does not throw herself into a Fjord in the end but offers herself to someone's gunfire.
I think that all the violence and rape is consequent, I think it would be kind of a Disney version if you would spare the audience the violence that is surely involved in civil war like circumstances. I can understand, however, that there are people who do not want to see this.

That being said, I loved the music. Both powerful music and beautiful melodies, duets, choir scenes, orchestral preludes.
The orchestra was in good form, and from what I as an amateur can tell, really well sung as well. Short excerpts can be heard during this radio review: https://www.swr.de/swr2/kultur-info/oper-hulda-von-cesar-franck-am-theater-freiburg-in-deutscher-erstauffuehrung/-/id=9597116/did=23457210/nid=9597116/1txqohs/index.html

I do hope that there will be a recording!

[Alan Howe]

Let's hope it's an audio recording. Who needs a DVD of yet another Regietheater-inspired bastardisation of an operatic staging?

[Ebubu]

Freiburg generally does only audio recordings, the only notable exception being Massenet's Cendrillon, which was not the most memorable production to be preserved for posterity.  Not sure they'll have means for another video recording.
Missed Hulda, but planning to attend the Schreker in July.

[der79sebas]

The Schreker in July has been cancelled.