The Wonder of Heliane

The downside of being head over heels in love with an operatic basso's voice is you end up buying videos and CDs and getting one measly little aria out of it. And learning to train your ear to hear that vocal range. I broke down and splurged on The Wonder of Heliane, an opera by Erich Korngold, which Korngold considered his 'masterpiece.' Korngold is known mainly to us laymen as a movie composer. One of the claims to fame of Heliane is that it was considered 'degenerate music' by the 3rd Reich. Korngold found refuge in the USA during Hitler's time in Germany (Korngold was a German - well Moravian? Jew).

The upside of being head over heels, etc. is you end up learning a whole bunch of stuff you had no intention of getting into. This (very pricey) CD by Decca has really GOOD program notes and the complete libretto in 4 languages. The production on the 3 CDs is fine too. The singing and orchestra are great. The opera is schmaltzy and romantic to the nth degree and I just love it to pieces.

The plot is kind of death and transfiguration through sexual desire. The plot is really stupid actually. But the music is hard to beat. The cameos by the noted basso (Pape) in Acts I and III are very fine as well -- more baritonal than basso but very fine.

Click for Amazon, Korngold, Wonder of Heliane

(There is another version at about 1/2 price and I don't know what the difference is.)