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The fact that Schubert 's operatic career was shadowed by an unhappy star is proven by the case of Claudine von Villa Bella. Unlike his other operas, the libretto is by a great poet, and it may well have been his most accessible and performed Singspiel, rivalling Die Verschworenen in that respect. Unfortunately only one act survives, and this is because of an unforgivable accident in the house of Josef Hüttenbrenner, brother of the composer Anselm Hüttenbrenner and one of the strängest men in the Schubert circle. Many years after Schubert's death, and a number of years after the accident, Josef claimed that Acts II and III of the opera's manuscript, which was known to be in his possession, were used by a household servant to kindle a fire. This incident is even more bizarre because we know that Josef was definitely unhappy, even bitter, about the burgeoning of Schubert's posthumous fame in comparison with Anselm's fading reputation. The eight orchestrated numbers in Act I that have survived (plus tantalising copies of the voice part alone of Numbers 9 and 10 from Act II) are delectably delicate and concise. Two numbers found their way into Friedländer's édition for the publishing house of Peters, and they are included on this disc because of their familiarity to generations of Lieder singers. Lucinde's aria, as stender and elegant as the golden bow, as light as love's arrows, is scored for strings alone with touches of pizzicato (it is immediately obvious to an eye used to Schubertian texture that the master did not arrange these piano accompaniments himself) and Claudine's aria has the more racy addition of oboe and bassoon.
from notes by Graham Johnson © 1990
Schubert: The Complete Songs ‘This would have been a massive project for even the biggest international label, but from a small independent … it is a miracle. An ideal Christ ... ‘Please give me the complete Hyperion Schubert songs set—all 40 discs—and, in the next life, I promise I'll "re-gift" it to Schubert himself … fo ...» More |