Werner Egk

* Irische Legende

Inge Borkh (Cathleen), Kurt Boehme (Aleel), Walter Berry (Tiger), Max Lorenz
(First Merchant), Margarete Klose (Oona), Gottlob Frick (off-stage voice),
Vienna State Opera Choir, Vienna Philharmonic/George Szell.
Orfeo C564 012I MONO TT: 112:56

For about ten years after World War II, the Salzburg Festival stood as
one of the most intellectually lively musical loci in the world.  Now,
of course, it has become a self-congratulatory musical mall of conspicuous
consumption, a mere appendage to tourism.  In those years, for example, the
Festival premiered or revived at least eight modern operas, including a
crucial revival of Wozzeck.  Egk's Irish Legend premiered in 1955.  The
CDs here record that production.

The opera (with a very fine text by the composer) retells the story of
Countess Cathleen, with elements of Balinese theater thrown in.  The Tiger
conceives a plan to gather souls for hell.  He visits plague and famine on
Ireland, hoards all the food, and trades food for souls.  He knows that the
Countess Cathleen is so good, she will need extra work, so he persuades her
lover, the poet Aleel, to leave her so that he can follow his calling as a
poet.  He then makes the standard deal of happiness to Cathleen.  She
agrees to sell him her soul, but only for the price of releasing all the
other souls he has gotten.  The Tiger agrees, but when he comes to take her
soul to hell, heavenly agents intervene and carry Cathleen to heaven, since
such a sacrificial act cannot justly lead to evil consequences.  Aleel
returns, sees what has happened, and repenting, determines to live the
rest of his life according to Cathleen's example.

It's no sillier than most opera plots, and the Balinese elements go a
long way to spice up the proceedings and take the curse off the naive
sentimentality.  The music will remind some of Carl Orff, although it
doesn't repeat itself nearly so much -- heavy on the percussion, elemental
rhythms, stark harmonies.  Egk (who jokingly fleshed out the anagram "ein
guter Komponist" -- a good composer -- from his name) uses an idiom fairly
close to the "Young Classicism" of Germany's Twenties and early Thirties.
He bows a bit in the direction of dodecaphony, in that the opera is based
on four triads encompassing all twelve tones, but it's not serial or
twelve-tone music.  In his own words, while he may have "greeted the
system," he didn't "join the party." The music shows great strength, and
although dissonant, it should pose no problems for those who can get into
Orff's Catulli carmina or Weill's Mahagonny.  If the opera has a fault, it
may be that it's *too* intense, with very few points of rhetorical
relaxation.

George Szell, not especially known for his interpretations of contemporary
music, leads a terrifying, powerful performance with a stellar cast,
wringing out every ounce of drama from the orchestra, at least, and from
most of the cast.  Those listeners who think of Szell as a High Priest of
precision only should listen to this.  While very precise for a live
performance of the time, it's still a live performance, with ragged ends
here and there.  More than anything else, Szell impresses the listener with
his intensity and concern for the stage drama.  He can turn the screws as
tightly as anyone, but he also shows as much range as the score will give
him.  A mock-lament by demon owls is bleak, sultry, and sarcastic.  His
musical handling of the temptation of Aleel -- three different dramatic
planes interweave -- is not only distinct, but serves the drama as well.
Szell is one of the great opera conductors of the last century.  His career
in opera in the United States was cut short by a feud with Rudolf Bing,
head of the Met and purveyor of the middle-brow and second-rate.  The Met
went downhill under Bing's direction, not only as far as drama went but
the quality of voices and general musicianship.  The hype and snob appeal,
however, rose, so naturally it was a success.  It became a showcase for
costumes, scenery, and the latest Golden Throat (or Golden Headline).  Add
to this the shortening of rehearsal time and you've got the Met today,
pretty much irrelevant to serious opera.  Basically, the only losers in
these petty transactions have been Americans bound to their continent.

The singers can all sing, and some of them can even act.  Inge Borkh
(Cathleen) leaps over the top in a stiff, monochromatic turn of scenery
chewing.  Kurt Boehme as Aleel, suffers from pretty much the same problem,
although he manages to deliver an affecting final aria, as Aleel mourns the
loss of Cathleen and resolves to follow her example.  However, Walter Berry
stands out as the demon Tiger, as do Chloe Owen and Lillian Benningsen as
the demon owls.  All of them sing with great subtlety and appropriateness
of expression.  In short, whenever they're singing, interest in the
dramatic situation itself picks up.

The sound is pretty good for a live performance and pretty good for the
time, although mono, of course, and a little boxy.  Still, Egk came up with
a distinguished something above the usual run of contemporary opera.  I
warn anybody interested, however, that the libretto comes only in German.

Steve Schwartz