1930 Heinrich SCHLUSNUS Beethoven ADELAIDE Franz Rupp Piano Gramophone 95391 .

$

25

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Heinrich Schlusnus, the greatest Baritone of the German Stage,

w Franz RUpp Piano in what must be one of the greatest recordings of Beethovens ADELAIDE

This is the original 1930 recording, not the 1938 dubbed version

Grammophon, Berlin 1930

143. 236BO III Adelaide, pt 1 (Beethoven) (77) 95391 (B22281
144. 239BO III Adelaide, pt 2 (Beethoven) (77) 95391 (B22282

Heinrich Schlusnus (1888-1952) endures as one of the most versatile of German baritones, equally comfortable in mostly lyric and occasional spinto roles, his liquid voice capable of complementing tenors like Anders and Tauber; or his Herculean range might easily embrace dark territory in Verdi, Marschner, and Mahler. His Evening Star from Tannhauser (with Leo Blech) proves a case in point, his voice matching the grace of the strings and harp with flowing color. Schlusnus had established his work as Wolfram in Tannhauser as early as 1917. Schlusnus takes Don Giovanni's Serenade in rich, tightly controlled phrases, the German approximating the lyricism natural in the Italian original. The high, grainy tessitura in La Forza del Destino, Don Carlos' aria, with its knotty melismas, proves no obstacle to Schlusnus' flexible staying power.

The recital opens with Xerxes' cavatina, a recitative and larghetto, whose famous Ombra mai fu enjoys a wonderfully rich sonority. Montfort's scene from The Sicilian Vespers projects anguish, emotional fury, and determination at once. His plaint to his son makes us wish we had a Verdi Macbeth on this disc. With the incomparable singer-actor Helge Rosvaenge as Arrigo, we are in the throes of intrigue, the recitative breaking into the broad melody which dominates the overture. Would there were a Pearl Fishers with these two artists! Germont's four-square aria from La Traviata gives us Schlusnus as the concerned parent, pleading for his child's happiness at the expense of Violetta's passion. The woodwnds and strings under Hanns Steinkopf all but swoon. We conclude with Posa's Death from Verdi's Don Carlos, in which throat and head projection from Schlusnus achieves a purity of line in the funereal march which only wants the original Italian to make it authentic old school Verdi. Strong support from the various conductors, including the often under-rated Arthur Rother (1885-1972), who could really resound with the best of them.

Heinrich Schlusnus (August 6, 1888 - June 18, 1952) was Germany's foremost lyric baritone of the period between World War One and World War Two.

A native of Braubach, Schlusnus studied with voice teachers in Berlin and Frankfurt before making his debut at the Hamburg opera in 1915. Schlusnus sang at Nuremberg from 1915 to 1917 and at the prestigious Berlin State Opera from 1917 until 1951. He was engaged by the Chicago Opera for its 1927-28 season and appeared at the Bayreuth Festival in 1933.

During his tenure at Berlin, Schlusnus established himself as his country's greatest performer of Verdi's baritone roles and, according to most critics, no subsequent German baritone has matched his supremacy in this field. Schlusnus excelled in German opera parts, too, and earned critical renown as a concert artist and lieder singer despite stiff competition from rival baritones such as Herbert Janssen, Willi Domgraf-Fassbaender, Gerhard Hnsch, Karl Hammes, Rudolf Bockelmann and Karl Schmidt-Walter.

By all accounts, Schlusnus was not a magnetic actor like his fellow Verdians Lawrence Tibbett or Tito Gobbi; but, by way of compensation, he was blessed with an exceedingly beautiful high baritone voice and an impeccable legato style of singing to go with it. Schlusnus's polished technique, coupled with the prudent management of his vocal resources, enabled him to enjoy an unusually long stage career. Schlusnus died in Frankfurt-am-Main not long after retiring from the stage.