Karajan artists: Rita Streich – Karajan’s only Zerbinetta

Rita Streich was – like Wilma Lipp and Erika Köth – a singer cast by Karajan in the 1950s and 1960s when he was in need of a coloratura soprano with strong nerves. Streich appeared in performances of “The Magic Flute” (as Queen of the Night) and “Die Fledermaus” (as Adele) but there is one part, a peak performance in every coloratura’s repertoire, that Karajan interpreted only with her: Zerbinetta in Richard Strauss’ “Ariadne auf Naxos”. Strangely enough, Karajan – an enthusiastic apologist of Strauss’ work – never performed the charming work on stage and apart from two excerpts he only recorded it once in its entirety in 1954. Walter Legge was the producer, the orchestra was the Philharmonia and the cast included Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Irmgard Seefried, Rudolf Schock and Hermann Prey. Streich’s teacher Maria Ivogün was one of the most influential pedagogues of her time (she also taught Schwarzkopf). When she was still on stage, her Zerbinetta was praised by Strauss himself. The centrepiece of the part is the longest coloratura aria in the repertoire, the incomparable “Großmächtige Prinzessin”. About Streich’s performance Richard Osborne wrote: “It is dazzlingly well sung and every bit as touching as Strauss [and Hofmannsthal] intended it to be: ‘A moment is nothing, a glance is much. People think my heart ’s in the coquette I play on stage. But they don’t know how lonely I really am.’”

Karajan’s and Streich’s first encounter was on the occasion of two concerts in Italy with the Vienna Symphony in 1952 (Brahms’ “German Requiem” and Bruckner’s Te Deum). Their first opera performances were also in Italy with German repertoire – “The Magic Flute” and “Hänsel und Gretel” with Streich as Sandman in 1953 and 1954 (in Italian!). Ten months after the “Ariadne” recording, Karajan and Streich met again in London for the maestro’s first complete recording of Johann Strauss’ “Die Fledermaus”. Streich was the saucy chamber maid Adele, a part she also performed live at the Vienna State Opera in a legendary New Year’s Eve premiere in 1960 and three more times in the following weeks.

According to Osborne, Streich was the Sophie of choise for the 1960 “Rosenkavalier” recording but couldn’t make it. Teresa Stich-Randall took over.

 

We’ve prepared playlists with Karajan and Rita Streich. Listen to them here.

—  P.R. Jenkins