Portrait of a singer:
- Dorothea Röschmann sings.
- Songs by Schubert, Schumann, Strauss, and Hugo Wolf
Dorothea Röschmann’s new recital album includes several well – known songs by Schubert, Schumann, Strauss and Wolf. Most of these songs are musical “portraits” of people from literature.
Ms. Röschmann is accompanied by Malcolm Martineau who – in my view – is one of the leading piano accompanists of his generation.
We hear the following selections:
Franz Schubert:
Heiss mich nicht reden, D877/2
So lasst mich scheinen, D877 No. 3
Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt, D877/4
Kennst du das Land (Mignons Gesang), D321
Der König in Thule, D367
Gretchen am Spinnrade, D118
Gretchens Bitte D564 (Goethe)
completed by Benjamin Britten
Schumann:
Gedichte der Königin Maria Stuart, Op. 135
Strauss, R:
Die Nacht, Op. 10 No. 3
Morgen, Op. 27 No. 4
Schlechtes Wetter, Op. 69 No. 5
Befreit, Op. 39 No. 4
Wolf, H:
Mignon I ‘Heiß mich nicht reden’ (No. 5 from Goethe-Lieder)
Mignon II ‘Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt’ (No. 6 from Goethe-Lieder)
Mignon III ‘So lasst mich scheinen’ (No. 7 from Goethe-Lieder)
Mignon IV ‘Kennst du das Land’ (No. 9 from Goethe-Lieder)
Performed by Dorothea Röschmann, soprano, and Malcolm Martineau, piano.
In sculpture and painting, a portrait represents the viewer’s encounter with a person; and you believe that you know the person somewhat better after having studied the image for some time. Still, this can only give you a glimpse of the subject’s personality.
In songs, a portrait is the musical interpretation of a fictionalized person from literature, for example, Schubert’s Gretchen. As a portrait, the song can only attempt to portray a snapshot of all the emotions of the character but the longer you explore the song, the more you find in it.
Dorothea Röschmann gives us such portraits in this recording, with subjects such as Mignon, Gretchen and Maria Stuart.
Here is Dorothea Röschmann in Tamina’s aria “Ach ich fühl’s” from Die Zauberfloete by Mozart. I enjoyed her lush, powerful voice:
And next, here she is in a rehearsal clip and interview from the Salzburg production of Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro”:
Tags: Dorothea Röschmann , Portrait, Malcolm Martineau, Schubert, Schumann, Gretchen, Mozart, Richard Strauss