LORTZING Undine (Highlights) / Victor Reinshagen | Deutsche Grammophon

With this upcoming album featuring the first-ever digital release of the historic 1953 recording of Albert Lortzing’s romantic opera Undine, DG celebrates the 225th anniversary of the composer’s birth and the 175th anniversary of his death.  

Regarded as Lortzing’s most ambitious work, Undine also proved to be his greatest artistic challenge, undergoing numerous revisions before reaching its final form. The story of the unhappy water nymph Undine and the faithless knight Hugo, whose love alone might grant her a human soul, had already been set to music by E. T. A. Hoffmann in 1816. Lortzing likewise turns to Fouqué’s original tale, yet adds the comic figures Veit and Hans and concludes the story with an ambivalent happy ending. Romantic orchestral writing is combined with popular song elements such as “Vater, Mutter, Schwestern, Brüder”, while dramatic scenes stand alongside masterly ensembles and brilliantly effective ballet music. 

The characteristic “German” sound of the Bamberger Symphoniker, with its rich string foundation, warmly coloured brass and finely shaped legato lines, is ideally suited to the opera’s fateful drama. In the title role, the 24-year-old Anny Schlemm impresses with secure technique, expressive power and crystal-clear diction. 

Listen to a pre-release track, the Overture from Undine. The full album is released digitally on 31 July.