If you’re a fan of Erich Wolfgang Korngold, as I most definitely am, you might want to consider tuning in for “Die Kathrin” on today’s WWFM Sunday Opera.
Korngold’s final work for the stage, it is also the one closest to the language of his film scores. He had already been to Hollywood to supply the music for “Captain Blood,” among others, and the opening of his opera, set outside a cinema, sounds all the world like a dry run for “The Adventures of Robin Hood.” Equally, the work draws on the legacy of Viennese operetta. Melodic, melancholy, and hopelessly romantic, “Die Kathrin” is a delightful confection for anyone with a musical sweet tooth, and a nice extension of the sentimental spirit of so many of the Strauss waltzes imbibed on New Year’s.
Unfortunately, Korngold’s opera had been scheduled for a 1938 premiere. With the Anschluss, the occasion had to be postponed until five years after Germany’s defeat, by which time much of Vienna was a post-war ruin, and the work’s brand of ingratiating Old World naiveté had passed into irrelevance. A pity, since it is a most agreeable piece. This treacly tale of love postponed may not scale the same heights as Korngold’s “Die tote Stadt” (his most successful piece) or “Das Wunder der Heliane” (his most ambitious), but for the dreamers among us, it definitely has its rewards.
Michael Kownacky is your host for the Sunday Opera. Following the performance, enjoy more Korngold, including the precocious ballet-pantomime “Der Schneemann,” or “The Snowman” (written at the tender age of 11), and the Symphonic Serenade.
“Die Kathrin” begins at 3:00 pm EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
An interview with Korngold from 1937, the year he completed work on his opera:
