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Ullmann: Der Kaiser von Atlantis / Eröd, Hahn, Munich Radio Orchestra
BR Klassik

Ullmann: Der Kaiser von Atlantis / Eröd, Hahn, Munich Radio Orchestra

$19.99

Details

Composer
Victor Ullmann
Artist
Juliana Zara, Christel Loetzsch, Adrian Eroed Johannes Chum, Tareq Nazmi Lars Woldt, Muenchner Rundf
Format
CD
Label
BR Klassik
Released
Apr 15, 2022
Catalog #
BRK900339
UPC
4035719003390

About

Viktor Ullmann's one-act chamber opera Der Kaiser von Atlantis [The Emperor of Atlantis] was written in the Theresienstadt concentration camp and did not see its premiere until December 16, 1975 in Amsterdam, since the performance was banned after its dress rehearsal in 1944. The concert performance of the version by Henning Brauel and Andreas Krause (Schott), which took place on October 10, 2021 at the Prince Regent's Theatre in Munich, was recorded for this CD. Alongside the internationally renowned Austrian Kammersänger Adrian Eröd in the title role, mainly young performers sang, accompanied by the Munich Radio Choir conducted by Patrick Hahn, who made his debut here as the orchestra's principal guest conductor.

Viktor Ullmann, born in 1898 in Teschen, Silesia, studied with Arnold Schönberg and Alois Hába in Vienna. He worked first as a bandmaster and then as a bookseller, and settled in Prague as a freelance artist in 1933. Because he came from a Jewish family, he was deported to the Theresienstadt camp by the Nazis in 1942. In October 1944 he was murdered in Auschwitz-Birkenau, together with composers Pavel Haas and Hans Krása, who were almost the same age. Since the Nazis allowed a lively cultural life in their "showcase camp" of Theresienstadt, Ullmann was also able to be musically active. The intellectual and cultural heritage of that time is reflected in his music – also, and especially, in the "one-act play" that he wrote there entitled “Der Kaiser von Atlantis oder Die Tod-Verweigerung" (The Emperor of Atlantis or the Disobedience of Death), based on a libretto by his fellow prisoner Peter Kien.

REVIEWS:

The confident conducting of the young Austrian Patrick Hahn stands out for a fascinating transparency, as well as an accentuated lightness, which makes the voices all the more haunting. In addition to the striking baritone of Adrian Eröd as the Emperor, the bass Tareq Nazmi is very convincing in the role of the striking Death. Highly expressive and with an impeccably managed mezzo voice, Christel Loetzsch is a most impressive drummer.

Singing very sensitively are tenor Johannes Chum as soldier Harlequin and bass Lars Woldt in the role of the speaker. The soprano Juliana Zara can also please as Bubikopf.

And so this is then a gripping interpretation of Ullmann’s opera, which pleases on the one hand by the refinement of the orchestral performance and on the other hand by excellent voices.

--Pizzicato

It is remarkable how calmly Patrick Hahn, permanent guest conductor of the Munich Radio Orchestra, with his highly concentrated soloists in the Prinzregententheater, keeps a balance between existential commitment and a certain lightness, which the piece also requires.

The lively soprano Juliana Zara brings a ray of hope...Christel Loetzsch, as the drummer, gives the best impression of the theatrical potency of the piece: she announces total war in a mezzo whose timbral beauty extends to all registers of the role's enormous scope.

--Munich Evening Times

This is the version of Viktor Ullmann’s opera, recorded live in October, 2021 in Munich, that features an expanded instrumental score...this [version], edited by Henning Brauel, while retaining much of the instrumental ensemble’s theatre/cabaret aspects, has an overall more polished, softening of the edges quality, thanks to a richer, fuller string sound (helped also by the warm recording ambience).

[The] singers here are all excellent, and the orchestra, members of the Munich Radio Orchestra, is equally, expectedly fine...the notes also include a fascinating discussion...of the many musical and cultural references in the libretto and in the music.

--ClassicsToday.com

The Emperor of Atlantis has achieved a well-deserved reputation as one of the strongest works to have been composed by any of the several important composers who died in the Holocaust. Ullmann’s music is a heady mix of grim and playful, making allusions to hymn tunes and popular-music styles, with instrumental flourishes, propulsive rhythms, and sweet-sour harmonies that evoke, at times, such composers of his era as Hindemith, Weill, and Prokofiev but that, taken together, create a distinctive sound-world like no other.

This latest recording was made during an unstaged (or minimally staged) performance in front of an audience, and it is wonderful[.] The cast members all have steady and healthy-sounding (young?) voices. Often, indeed, they sing with astounding beauty of tone, which helped keep my ear glued to the proceedings, whereas I have sometimes felt that I was being shouted-at in my contacts with the work (on recordings and in live performance). The all-crucial words are rendered clearly and idiomatically by all concerned. I cannot resist praising Tareq Nazmi.

-- Artsfuse (Ralph P. Locke)

Tracklist 28 tracks

  1. 1 Prologue: Hallo, hallo! (Der Lautsprecher) 02:21
    Track
    1
    Title
    Prologue: Hallo, hallo! (Der Lautsprecher)
    Duration
    02:21
    Composer
    Viktor Ullmann
    Performer
    Lars Woldt
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Patrick Hahn
  2. 2 Scene 1: Präludium 01:13
    Track
    2
    Title
    Scene 1: Präludium
    Duration
    01:13
    Composer
    Viktor Ullmann
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Patrick Hahn
  3. 3 Scene 1: Der Mond geht auf den Firsten (Harlekin) 01:50
    Track
    3
    Title
    Scene 1: Der Mond geht auf den Firsten (Harlekin)
    Duration
    01:50
    Composer
    Viktor Ullmann
    Performer
    Johannes Chum
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Patrick Hahn
  4. 4 Scene 1: Recitative: Lass sein. Was singst du da? (Der Tod, Harlekin) 00:43
    Track
    4
    Title
    Scene 1: Recitative: Lass sein. Was singst du da? (Der Tod, Harlekin)
    Duration
    00:43
    Composer
    Viktor Ullmann
    Performer
    Tareq Nazmi, Johannes Chum
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Patrick Hahn
  5. 5 Scene 1: Duet: Tage, Tage, wer kauft Tage? (Der Tod, Harlekin) 01:01
    Track
    5
    Title
    Scene 1: Duet: Tage, Tage, wer kauft Tage? (Der Tod, Harlekin)
    Duration
    01:01
    Composer
    Viktor Ullmann
    Performer
    Tareq Nazmi, Johannes Chum
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Patrick Hahn
  6. 6 Scene 1: Recitative: Ich fühle mich wenig wohl in meiner Haut (Harlekin, Der Tod) 00:51
    Track
    6
    Title
    Scene 1: Recitative: Ich fühle mich wenig wohl in meiner Haut (Harlekin, Der Tod)
    Duration
    00:51
    Composer
    Viktor Ullmann
    Performer
    Johannes Chum, Tareq Nazmi
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Patrick Hahn
  7. 7 Scene 1: Und was ist das? (Harlekin) 00:48
    Track
    7
    Title
    Scene 1: Und was ist das? (Harlekin)
    Duration
    00:48
    Composer
    Viktor Ullmann
    Performer
    Johannes Chum
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Patrick Hahn
  8. 8 Scene 1: Es lächert mich, wenn ich dir zuhöre (Der Tod) 00:33
    Track
    8
    Title
    Scene 1: Es lächert mich, wenn ich dir zuhöre (Der Tod)
    Duration
    00:33
    Composer
    Viktor Ullmann
    Performer
    Tareq Nazmi
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Patrick Hahn
  9. 9 Scene 1: Aria: Das waren Kriege (Der Tod) 01:57
    Track
    9
    Title
    Scene 1: Aria: Das waren Kriege (Der Tod)
    Duration
    01:57
    Composer
    Viktor Ullmann
    Performer
    Tareq Nazmi
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Patrick Hahn
  10. 10 Scene 1: Aria: Hallo, hallo! Achtung! Achtung! (Der Trommler, Der Tod, Harlekin) 05:13
    Track
    10
    Title
    Scene 1: Aria: Hallo, hallo! Achtung! Achtung! (Der Trommler, Der Tod, Harlekin)
    Duration
    05:13
    Composer
    Viktor Ullmann
    Performer
    Christel Loetzsch, Tareq Nazmi, Johannes Chum
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Patrick Hahn
  11. 11 Scene 2: Prosa: Der König von Atlantis, der in seinem Arbeitszimmer mit Telefon and Radio … (Der Lautsprecher) 00:51
    Track
    11
    Title
    Scene 2: Prosa: Der König von Atlantis, der in seinem Arbeitszimmer mit Telefon and Radio … (Der Lautsprecher)
    Duration
    00:51
    Composer
    Viktor Ullmann
    Performer
    Lars Woldt
  12. 12 Scene 2: Intermezzo: Totentanz No. 1 01:18
    Track
    12
    Title
    Scene 2: Intermezzo: Totentanz No. 1
    Duration
    01:18
    Composer
    Viktor Ullmann
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Patrick Hahn
  13. 13 Scene 2: Recitative: Wie spät ist es? (Kaiser Overall, Der Lautsprecher) 04:59
    Track
    13
    Title
    Scene 2: Recitative: Wie spät ist es? (Kaiser Overall, Der Lautsprecher)
    Duration
    04:59
    Composer
    Viktor Ullmann
    Performer
    Adrian Eröd, Lars Woldt
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Patrick Hahn
  14. 14 Scene 2: Aria: Wir, Overall, der Einzige (Kaiser Overall) 01:19
    Track
    14
    Title
    Scene 2: Aria: Wir, Overall, der Einzige (Kaiser Overall)
    Duration
    01:19
    Composer
    Viktor Ullmann
    Performer
    Adrian Eröd
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Patrick Hahn
  15. 15 Scene 2: Intermezzo: Totentanz No. 2 00:51
    Track
    15
    Title
    Scene 2: Intermezzo: Totentanz No. 2
    Duration
    00:51
    Composer
    Viktor Ullmann
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Patrick Hahn
  16. 16 Scene 3: Recitative: Wer da? Halt! Steh! (Ein Soldat, Bubikopf, Der Trommler) 02:20
    Track
    16
    Title
    Scene 3: Recitative: Wer da? Halt! Steh! (Ein Soldat, Bubikopf, Der Trommler)
    Duration
    02:20
    Composer
    Viktor Ullmann
    Performer
    Johannes Chum, Juliana Zara, Christel Loetzsch
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Patrick Hahn
  17. 17 Scene 3: Aria: Ist's wahr, dass es Landschaften gibt (Bubikopf) 01:02
    Track
    17
    Title
    Scene 3: Aria: Ist's wahr, dass es Landschaften gibt (Bubikopf)
    Duration
    01:02
    Composer
    Viktor Ullmann
    Performer
    Juliana Zara
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Patrick Hahn
  18. 18 Scene 3: Duet: Komm, fort von hier (Der Trommler, Bubikopf, Ein Soldat) 01:51
    Track
    18
    Title
    Scene 3: Duet: Komm, fort von hier (Der Trommler, Bubikopf, Ein Soldat)
    Duration
    01:51
    Composer
    Viktor Ullmann
    Performer
    Christel Loetzsch, Juliana Zara, Johannes Chum
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Patrick Hahn
  19. 19 Scene 3: Duettino: Schau, die Wolken sind vergangen (Bubikopf, Ein Soldat) 01:17
    Track
    19
    Title
    Scene 3: Duettino: Schau, die Wolken sind vergangen (Bubikopf, Ein Soldat)
    Duration
    01:17
    Composer
    Viktor Ullmann
    Performer
    Juliana Zara, Johannes Chum
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Patrick Hahn
  20. 20 Scene 3: Tanz - Intermezzo: Die lebenden Toten 01:39
    Track
    20
    Title
    Scene 3: Tanz - Intermezzo: Die lebenden Toten
    Duration
    01:39
    Composer
    Viktor Ullmann
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Patrick Hahn
  21. 21 Scene 4: Prosa: Der König erlebt durch die Weigerung der Todes (Der Lautsprecher) 01:23
    Track
    21
    Title
    Scene 4: Prosa: Der König erlebt durch die Weigerung der Todes (Der Lautsprecher)
    Duration
    01:23
    Composer
    Viktor Ullmann
    Performer
    Lars Woldt
  22. 22 Scene 4: Recitative: Hallo, hallo, der oberste General (Der Lautsprecher, Kaiser Overall) 00:50
    Track
    22
    Title
    Scene 4: Recitative: Hallo, hallo, der oberste General (Der Lautsprecher, Kaiser Overall)
    Duration
    00:50
    Composer
    Viktor Ullmann
    Performer
    Lars Woldt, Adrian Eröd
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Patrick Hahn
  23. 23 Scene 4: Wir sind um einen Kreuzer Süsses zum Kaufmann getrabt (Harlekin, Der Trommler) 02:33
    Track
    23
    Title
    Scene 4: Wir sind um einen Kreuzer Süsses zum Kaufmann getrabt (Harlekin, Der Trommler)
    Duration
    02:33
    Composer
    Viktor Ullmann
    Performer
    Johannes Chum, Christel Loetzsch
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Patrick Hahn
  24. 24 Scene 4: Hallo, Aussenamt! (Kaiser Overall, Der Lautsprecher) 01:16
    Track
    24
    Title
    Scene 4: Hallo, Aussenamt! (Kaiser Overall, Der Lautsprecher)
    Duration
    01:16
    Composer
    Viktor Ullmann
    Performer
    Adrian Eröd, Lars Woldt
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Patrick Hahn
  25. 25 Scene 4: Trio: Fünf, sechs, sieben, acht - Nicht dran denken (Kaiser Overall, Harlekin, Der Trommler) 00:58
    Track
    25
    Title
    Scene 4: Trio: Fünf, sechs, sieben, acht - Nicht dran denken (Kaiser Overall, Harlekin, Der Trommler)
    Duration
    00:58
    Composer
    Viktor Ullmann
    Performer
    Adrian Eröd, Johannes Chum, Christel Loetzsch
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Patrick Hahn
  26. 26 Scene 4: Aria: Ich bin der Tod, der Gärtner Tod (Der Tod) 02:47
    Track
    26
    Title
    Scene 4: Aria: Ich bin der Tod, der Gärtner Tod (Der Tod)
    Duration
    02:47
    Composer
    Viktor Ullmann
    Performer
    Tareq Nazmi
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Patrick Hahn
  27. 27 Scene 4: Der Krieg ist aus. Komm! - Aria: Der Krieg ist aus, das sagst du so mit Stolz (Der Tod, Kaiser Overall) 06:21
    Track
    27
    Title
    Scene 4: Der Krieg ist aus. Komm! - Aria: Der Krieg ist aus, das sagst du so mit Stolz (Der Tod, Kaiser Overall)
    Duration
    06:21
    Composer
    Viktor Ullmann
    Performer
    Tareq Nazmi, Adrian Eröd
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Patrick Hahn
  28. 28 Scene 4: Finale: Komm, Tod, du unser werter Gast (Bubikopf, Der Trommler, Harlekin, Der Lautsprecher) 02:48
    Track
    28
    Title
    Scene 4: Finale: Komm, Tod, du unser werter Gast (Bubikopf, Der Trommler, Harlekin, Der Lautsprecher)
    Duration
    02:48
    Composer
    Viktor Ullmann
    Performer
    Juliana Zara, Christel Loetzsch, Johannes Chum, Lars Woldt
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Patrick Hahn