Goldschmidt’s “Seven Deadly Sins” in Berlin | EUROtoday

Was für eine bizarre, wie in Regenbogenfarben schillernde und am Ende tragische Gestalt! Adalbert von Goldschmidt, der als 1848 geborener Spross einer jüdischen Wiener Bankendynastie ausschließlich für die Kunst leben konnte, tat das nicht nur in eigener Sache als Dichter und Komponist, sondern auch nach vielen Seiten fördernd. Er kommunizierte mit Anton Bruckner wie Johann Strauss, unterstützte Richard Wagner beim Bayreuther Theaterbau, war für jüngere Künstler wie Hugo Wolf und Arnold Schönberg da; Felix Mottl und Arthur Nikisch dirigierten seine Werke, Franz Liszt und sogar Karl Kraus schätzten sie. Doch schon wenige Jahre nach seinem Tod im Dezember 1906 folgte die Auslöschung: keine Aufführungen mehr und später, in der Tonträger-Ära, eine einzige Liedeinspielung aus seinem Œuvre von mehr als 200 Stücken oft monumentalen Formats.

Bei Goldschmidt, der gegen Ende seines desolat gewordenen Lebens noch zum Katholizismus konvertierte, schien komplett gelungen, woran die aussortierende Spielplanpflege eines seit der Jahrhundertwende in der Kulturwelt grassierenden, nach dem Ende der faschistischen Ausrottungspolitik in die Latenz gewanderten Antisemitismus bei Gustav Mahler oder Kurt Weill scheiterte: Er wurde ins Vergessen gestoßen.

Given these circumstances, the 2 performances of “The Seven Deadly Sins” on the Berlin Volksbühne might be known as downright revolutionary. The three hours with out a break with greater than 200 members left a deep emotional impression, regardless of some ambivalence. Other fin-de-siècle composers reminiscent of Franz Schreker and Eugen d’Albert have lengthy since made their approach again into venues and recording studios; The new growth of Goldschmidt was overdue. It was initiated by Christian Filips, who revealed a monograph concerning the artist in 2020, the title of which – “The Immortality Clown” – already suggests one thing concerning the usually esoteric, however sometimes additionally pleasurable, nature of the protagonist, who is sort of able to self-irony.

This is how the thought arose to current Goldschmidt’s first main work, premiered in 1876, together with the Chamber Symphony, Sing-Akademie and the Berlin State and Cathedral Choir – all identified for his or her openness to the unknown. The reality that there have been solely two well-attended evenings beneath the route of Filips appears comprehensible given the calls for of this oratorio piece on the members, whose rating describes the cubature of a medium-sized desk grill, however it’s nonetheless a disgrace.

The oratorio by the person in his mid-twenties – Liszt was so enthusiastic that he accepted the younger colleague as a grasp scholar – is in no way simply the doc of a younger, wild prime expertise who was dubbed a “Jewish Wagnerian” and at occasions additionally noticed himself as such. Although one truly hears a Tristanesque love duet (which right here introduced collectively two lyrically blossoming prime voices in Mima Millo and Yury Makhrov), and the virtuoso orchestral remedy is certainly “new German”, however somewhere else there are passages that, from at present’s perspective, are extra paying homage to Massenet or Let Puccini suppose; and as soon as, with a country appreciation of the human abdomen within the tableau of “Gluttony,” one even feels transported to Joseph Haydn’s “Seasons.” The plot is ambitiously symbolistic: a weary humanity is first destroyed by the sin demons, however is lastly saved by means of artwork and remodeled into a brand new, aesthetically transfigured type of existence.

The conductor Kai-Uwe Jirka led the 4 taking part choirs simply as confidently as he labored out all of the nuances of delicate apocalypticism from tenderness to overwhelmingness with the chamber symphony. Gerrit Illenberger’s sturdy baritone additionally stood out among the many soloists – particularly as “Worn”, which brings human self-destruction to its evil aim in martial manslaughter.

There was additionally a substantial quantity of spoken and gesticulated materials – one was on the Volksbühne in spite of everything – with sources not at all times clear, however in all probability compiled by Filips and accompanied by entertaining scene, mild and movie preparations (Daniela Zorrozua, Adrian Terzic, Sebastian Kaiser). embedded in a flickering, tingling optic. As a type of satyr play to the excessive tone of the particular piece, this sometimes appeared helpful within the sense of dramaturgical selection, however when it comes to content material it was usually didactic and tried. Susanne Bredehöft was scrumptious because the devotedly narrow-minded Wagner descendant from Lebensborn. And Sophie Rois, along with her function because the Princess of Darkness, additionally embodied Goldschmidt herself. She delivered a compelling examine of a late childish swampy however, regardless of all of the naivety in between, abruptly clairvoyant almost-genius.