MDG Scene  901 1633-6

Stereo/Multichannel Hybrid

Classical - Orchestral

Schubert: Incidental Music to Rosamunde D.797

Serena Malfi (alto)
Schweizer Kammerchor
Musikkollegium Winterthur
Douglas Boyd (conductor)


Overnight Removal
The premiere of the drama Rosamunde was held in the Theater an der Wien on 20 December 1823. It was a complete disaster, and the work was removed from the program on the very next day. Despite this colossal flop the music by Franz Schubert has remained and is interpreted here anew by Serena Malfi, the Swiss Chamber Choir, and the Musikkollegium Winterthur under Douglas Boyd in a spirited SACD recording.

Salvage Operation
Today we know Schubert as a composer of songs, chamber music, and orchestral works. During his lifetime, however, he fought for recognition as a dramatic composer. He produced some ten stage works, but intrigues prevented all but three of them from being performed during his life. One of these was Rosamunde, a four-act drama after a libretto by Helmina con Chézy. The version of the text used by Schubert is lost but not his extensive composition listed as D 797 in his work catalogue.

Overture Recycling
Schubert did not compose an overture – probably because he was short on time. The overture initially employed to introduce the work was the one from Alfonso und Estrella, but later – and on this recording – the one from the Zauberharfe was used. Nobody had ever heard it before anyway. Ballets and choruses of spirits, shepherds, and hunters followed, and, as the centerpiece, a romanze full of magical sentiment – here as a captivating showpiece for Serena Malfi!

Romantic Sensation
One of the three entr’acte pieces became the central theme of the Quartet in A minor and other works. In these new contexts Schubert’s music ceases to represent conflicts on the outside and now serves to illustrate emotional states and feelings. It is removed from the rigid form and becomes poetic in its own right. Even without the text – which (fortunately!) is no longer extant.