Josef Metternich

First release on any format.

The purpose of this present collection of recording is to provide a document showing the vocal techniques of the ‘golden generation’ of Wagner interpreters.

It begins with a true icon of Wagner’s music: Kirsten Flagstad who performs not the famous 1952 recording of Brunhilde, but a 1948 version recorded in the Abbey Road studios), and carries on with Eileen Farrell (an American singer of rare versatility), George London singing Wotan and a serious list of other top quality performers.

The recordings are all taken from the period 1941-1959 and this release gives us a unique collection of the sheer quality of these Wagner performers, all of them ‘stars’ of their time.

One of Strauss' rarer operas, 'Friedenstag' (1938) occupies a particularly interesting place in his life. It was conceived and written during the late 1930s, at the time when his relationship with the Nazis was at its most difficult. Although the libretto was by Josef Gregor, he had been recommended to Strauss by the Jewish poet Stefan Zweig (librettist of the earlier opera Die schweigsame Frau (1936), who became black-listed by the Nazis and left Germany in 1938.

'Friedenstag' is cast in a single act and, as its name suggests, is a celebration of the ideal of peace. The style is relatively austere, concerning a story set in the early 17th century on the last day of the Thirty Years War. The Commandant of a fortress under siege resolves to die rather than surrender, but then news of peace arrives and he and his former enemy embrace with vows to work for a better world. Male voices dominate (see the cast list) and there is an important role for the chorus. However, there is a significant role for the Commandant's wife and her dignified aria is a memorable inspiration. It was dedicated to Viorica Ursuleac and her husband Clemens Krauss, the lead and conductor respectively in the premiere on July 24, 1938 and on the subsequent recording.

'Friedenstag' has been recorded relatively few times, just as it is seldom performed in the theatre. It is also a one act opera which lacks an obvious partner.

Good sound – unique cast including the legendary Fehenberger.

The German baritone Josef Metternich (1915-2005) sang with the Cologne and Bonn choruses, before making his solo debut in 1941 with the Berlin State Opera in Lohengrin. His career was delayed by the war, it really took off in 1946, when he was able to return to the opera stage and was re-engaged at the “Berlin Städtische Oper”, where he appeared in roles such as Jago, Alfio, Simone, Pizarro, Escamillo, Figaro (Rossini), and Amonasro.

Metternich made his debut at Covent Garden in 1951, as Flying Dutchman. From 1952 until 1959 he was a member of the Vienna State Opera and appeared at La Scala, the Grand Opéra of Paris and the Edinburgh Festival. From 1953 until 1956 hejoined the Met, where he debuted as Don Carlos (La forza del destino).

This is the third disc in the Preiser Josef Metternich series. He made his solo debut in 1941 with the Berlin State Opera and after the war appeared at the Royal Opera House, La Scala and the Met.

Peter Anders' career was brought to a sudden end following a car accident in 1954. But thanks to his many recordings, the tenor, who died at the age of 46, remains present even today.This double-CD, featuring several rare Berlin radio recordings made between 1949 and 1951, including Ferenc Fricsay conducting the RIAS Symphony Orchestra, is an exemplary document, demonstrating his unique talent as a lyric and dramatic tenor, as a light-hearted and yet subtle operetta hero and as a sensitive Lied interpreter. Anders' first-class partners in these recordings are Anny Schlemm (in an extensive compilation of excerpts from Countess Mariza), Elfriede Trötschel (as Violetta in the complete third act of La Traviata), Martha Musial (in excerpts from Andrea Chenier) as well as the fine German Verdi baritone, Josef Metternich.