A recording of Gianni Schicchi in German might seem to make little sense (at least outside Germany), were it not for the powerful contribution of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in the title-role. If in his classic studio recording of Falstaff with Karajan he amply demonstrates his comic talents while remaining very much on his best behaviour musically, here he is far freer, responding both to the joy of the piece and to working with a finely co-ordinated team of singers.
This recording was made live in December 1973 on the opening night of a new production by Gunther Rennert, whose brilliant work at Glyndebourne is still fondly remembered, and who applied similar principles as intendant at the Bavarian State Opera. On that same evening Fischer-Dieskau also appeared in the first of the Trittico cycle, Il tabarro (‘Der Mantel’), already issued on Orfeo.
With Gianni Schicchi the only trouble is that such a lively production inevitably involves stage noises – often sounding louder than the music. Plainly Fischer-Dieskau was encouraged to be as free as he wanted in his singing, with comedy in mind, and understandably he often resorts to parlando sing-speech, where in the studio he would have been more precise over musical detail. What matters is the pervasive sense of fun – only irritating when one has to imagine what stage-gesture has prompted a laugh.
<Even more than usual in a live opera performance, the balance of voices is variable, with the orchestra set behind. With a rather dry acoustic and a limited dynamic range, balances are the more noticeable, yet with that warning in mind most listeners will have little problem enjoying the performance. One result of the dryness and Sawallisch’s incisive conducting is that the dissonant modernity of Puccini’s writing in places is brought out the more.
Fischer-Dieskau, often scaling his voice down, responds with magnificent power at the climax of his big monologue, and he is well supported by a delightful pair of young lovers. As Lauretta, Elke Schary is fresh and girlish, ending her celebrated aria (in German, ‘O du, ach lieber Vater’) with a tender diminuendo. As Rinuccio, the Swedish tenor Claes Hakon Ahnsjo sings with bright, clear tone, even though he is affected by odd balances more than most. Brought in to the Bavarian State Opera by Rennert, he had such success that he stayed with the company for decades until last year he became director of the Royal Opera in Stockholm – a tenor well remembered from such recordings as Antal Dorati’s Haydn opera series for Philips.
The others make a splendid team. Most cherishable of all is the characterful contribution of Martha Modl, then over 60, as a formidable Zita. And whatever the shortcomings, the whole performance is nothing if not characterful.'