Schubert / Heckel / Maag - Die Zwillingsbruder [CD]

Schubert's ninth operatic attempt marks his real debut on stage: Die Zwillingsbrüder. Schubert began to write the score in January 1819 and completed it within three-four months; but the usual show-business conspiracies kept it a long time in wait for it's first performance, which took place on the 14th of June, 1820. High quality levels are to be found in the grand aria for Lieschen "Der Vater mag wohl immer Kind mich nennen" (n. 3): it has both vocal virtuosity and a skilful accompaniment based on the idyllic sound of the woodwinds. Other parts are noteworthy: the comic arrogance in the short aria for Franz "Mag es stürmen, donnern, blitzen" (n. 4), which sounds delightfully old-fashioned in it's abundance of naively descriptive hints; the short bustling, even a little bit devilish, concertato ensemble "Packt ihn, führt ihn vor Gericht" (n. 9), a mass scene where we find the rushing counterpoint of the quintet and the sharp homophony of the chorus allied with a rapidly shifting harmonic texture. Such effects show that the twenty-two-years-old beginner was already well aware of how to use his compositional mastership for dramatic purposes.