Der Ferne Klang (The distant sound) in Strasbourg.

Review by Henning Høholt
. Photos: Alain Kaiser

Helena Juntunen as Grete, together with Stephen Owen as Vigelius. Photo: Alain Kaiser

STRASBOURG: Der Ferne Klang by Franz Schreker, which the Opera du Rhin in Strasbourg is premiering this autumn, is musically an interesting opera, with many good qualities. Strassbourg Philharmonic Orchestra and Opera du Rhin Operachoir, has done a good work  in the musical preparations leaded by the music chief Marko Letonja.  Choir leader Michel Capperon. The music has many interesting, and sometimes unusually and good variations, it includes many different styles, and especially beautiful symphonic details, it sounds great. Through it all is a romantic floating feeling, underlined by a lot use of harp and celesta, which strengths the dreaming parts.

Helena Juntunen, together with her mother – Frau Graumann Teresa Erbe

Causes And Risk Factors- gonorrhoea cialis generic.

. Foto: Alai Kaiser.

The history about a young composer, Fritz, Will Hartmann,  and his love Grete, Helena Juntunen,  is sweet. He is searching after the distant sound, that is difficult for him to find, and we follow them through a 15 years period, through important parts of their life´s, and ending up with that they find each other again, and when Fritz has found the distant sound, and express his decision  to use it in renewing the end of his new opera, he dies.

Helena Juntunen as Grete. Foto: Alain Kaiser

Many of the minor roles are in good hands in the company, such as the tenor number two, Stanislas de Barbeyrac, and the very beautiful Chant de Baryton, Jean-Gabriel Saint-Martin, the chorist, Mark van Arsdale.

Second act at an Iceland in the Venezian Gulf. In white Helena Juntunen as Grete. Foto: Alain Kaiser

The excellent count,  Geert Smits, who sings the only one real aria in the opera about the “Glowing Crown”, who in fact has deserved applause after that, but the following chevalier, Stanislas de Barbeyrac, voice was too fast with his continuation, so we, and Geert Smits, lost the possible chance for applause. Marko Letonja could have waited 5 seconds to give signal to the Chevallier.

Der Ferne Klang, 3 act. Foto: Alain Kaiser

Grete, the leading soprano role, Helena Juntunen, which has a lot to do, she has a good “Richard Strauss” voice, and succeeds partly in the very demanding part as Grete, but I had the feeling that this part is too big for her capacity. The same is unfortunately the matter for Fritz, Will Hartmann, who does his very best, but during his singing it becomes clear for the audience, that the demanding part as Fritz needs a voice with more character and a more interesting sound, and even much bigger voice.

Livia Budal together with Helena Juntunen by the lake in the forest, a beautiful scene. Foto: Alain Kaiser

As the important role as the old woman, Livia Budal, who in the first act has an important part, I am fully aware of ms. Budals impressing carriere, however the voice is not good – any longer, she keep in tune too low, so it sounds a false, during the way it sounds witchy, and still that it is a character alto, I don´t find it shall sound like the witch in Hans and Gretel.   Furthermore when she in second act appears as a Spanish woman, and shall dance, she should have had help from a choreographer.

The music and the leading roles are opera roles, but with this equipement I several times was thinking about a touring operetta production using the allround singers in the company. This is not fair to the quality level of Opera du Rhin
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The staging, by Stéphane Braunschweig functions partly well, but it seems that he sometimes has forgotten to place the choir, or instruct them, as for exempel  the male singers  standing on one line in the middle of second act, where they could have neede d a better grouping to make the picture better. Some times regi also have to take care of such kinds of chorographic instructions, to make the staging trustfull
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Helena Juntunen and Le Chevallier, Stanislas de Barbeyrac. Foto: Alain Kaiser

The strangs red carpet, which first times appears as a beautiful, but strange colour background in the forest with the green skittles looking as trees, looks beautiful, and tells us about good ideas from scenographer,  regisseur Stéphane Braunschweig in cooperation with Alexandre de Dardel,  which unfortunately not is followed up in the second and third act, where the red now carpet/hills is stealing too much attention from the history. In one act it is ok for a scene or two, but not for 2/3 of the whole opera, then the audience is getting tired of it, specially, when it don’t have any mission in the play. I couldn’t place the Island in the Venezian Gulf anywhere with these red hills. And when we then has a Hungarian music ensemble, (playing well), which, of course at that time, could have been imported from Hungary, and a Spanish woman, then my confusion was complete. Only the Venezian sticks told me that we  are in Venice. But I didn’t catch any Gondola.

In the third act, I didn’t find any explanations for why the red carpet/hills continues to be on the stage, and now in front of the stage entrance door to the  Opera.  It became strange.

Helena Juntunen and Will Hartmann as Grete and Fritz in Der Ferne Klang by Franz Schreker in Strasbourg. Foto: Alain Kaiser

Costumes by Thibault Vancraenenbroeck  are partly good. Second act is the best, with the elegant gentlemen in Black and white, but where the girls (prostitutes) for some of them are good, but for Grete makes her a bit too primitive for my taste.