Die Soldaten - The Soldiers
composer: Bernd Alois Zimmermann
interpreter: Wolfgang Sebastian Meyer - Claudio Nicolai - Andreas Scheer - Zoltan Kelemen - Heinz Schönig - Helga Jenckel - Günter Vogel - Airto Moreira - Elisabeth Schärtel - Liane Synek - Anton de Ridder - Erich Winkelmann - Albert Weikenmeier - Heiner Horn - Gerd Nienstedt - Camillo Meghor - Norman Paige - Hubert Möhler - Heribert Steinbach - Willi Brokmeier - Jack Frase - Edith Gabry - Karl-Josef Goergen
booklet writer: Heribert Henrich - Heinz Josef Herbort
conductor: Michael Gielen
orchestra/ensemble: Guerzenich-Orchester Koelner Philharmoniker
Opera in four acts after the eponymous drama by Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz
Publisher: Wergo
Edition: 2 CDs - 196-page booklet, slipcase
Order number: WER 66982
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Description
The recording of Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s opera "Die Soldaten" in the version of the Cologne premiere of 1965 was without doubt one of the high points of WERGO’s LP catalogue. The release of this recording on CD now for the first time can be justified, if for no other reason, by the fact that it documents a musical event of historical significance, the birth of one of the undoubted masterpieces of twentieth century music. The completely new perspective on the possibilities of musical theater manifested in "Die Soldaten", and the work’s concept in terms of both drama and music – which extended the unifying ideas of serialism even to the scenic and spatial aspects of the piece with the goal of making a universal order visible through completely disparate elements – were path-setting. The stringency with which Zimmermann was able to realize his intentions has given "Die Soldaten" a level of vitality and endurance matched by only a few other operas from the second half of the twentieth century. The best proof of this is the fact that the work, in spite of its immense performance difficulties, has been performed not only in all of Germany’s major opera houses, but in a large number of international cities as well, from Amsterdam to Vienna, from Florence to Edinburgh, from London to Paris, and from St. Petersburg to New York. And so this recording, now once again available, is not only of interest for its documentary and musical value, but also represents an independent historical source: it documents a unique and authentic “concert version” of "Die Soldaten" found nowhere else.
This recording was awarded the "Grand Prix du Disque" of the Académie Charles Cros.
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