The widely held belief that Schubert’s operas are not very good can easily become a self-fulfilling prophecy by deterring productions of these works – on which Schubert spent a good deal of his time and energy – so that opera lovers have little opportunity to experience and assess them. Since most of Schubert’s theatre music can be heard only through recordings of concert performances, it is fortunate that we now have this DVD of a rare staging of Fierrabras – a work that Schubert himself never heard performed – from the 2014 Salzburg Festival. The artistic vision of renowned director Peter Stein and conductor Ingo Metzmacher brings out the beauty and drama of this work, along with its undeniable oddities.

Fierrabras, composed in 1823, is set in the ninth century during the war of Charlemagne against the Moors. The plot centres on romantic relationships – one cross-cultural love affair and one love triangle – that link five young people from the Frankish and Moorish courts. Following a battle that takes place before the opera begins, the young people on both sides quickly enter into loyal friendships, eventually prevailing despite the prejudices of their leaders: Charlemagne, who is authoritarian but just, and the Moorish prince Boland, who is irrational and cruel. The title character, Boland’s son Fierrabras, renounces his own love for Frankish princess Emma in order to help her win her beloved knight, Eginhard. After Boland breaks the rules of chivalry by threatening to execute Roland and others coming to offer peace, Fierrabras joins the Franks in fighting Boland, and his fiery sister Florinda, who loves Roland, boldly joins the captured Frankish knights to oppose her father. Josef Kupelwieser’s libretto thus offers a mix of characters: Boland contrasts with Charlemagne, tender Emma contrasts with passionate Florinda, valiant Roland contrasts with the morally weaker Eginhard (who overcomes this character flaw in the end), and Fierrabras stands alone as a great warrior who finally brings peace – as the Moors convert to Christianity – but has no female partner.

As others have observed, Schubert’s operatic writing was constrained by the issues that faced many composers attempting to shape German Romantic opera, particularly the conflict between the static representation of character types and the need for a strong dramatic trajectory.Footnote ¹ As a result, the pacing of Fierrabras is bizarre. The first and second acts, set in the Frankish and Moorish courts respectively, last about an hour each, while the third act resolves everything in just over half an hour, after ‘what is possibly the shortest battle in opera history (some eleven measures)’.Footnote ² The instant military triumph of Charlemagne’s forces, followed by Boland’s inexplicable character transformation, creates a surreal effect. The peculiar suddenness of the happy ending may have been intended ironically, but whether Kupelwieser was being cleverly subversive or dramatically oblivious remains an open question.

The unbalanced libretto offers Schubert musical opportunities of which he takes full advantage. There are beautiful but static numbers, such as the opening chorus for Emma and her maidens – embroidering as they sing about how various items of cloth accompany life’s rites of passage – and the triumphal march of the Frankish warriors. Exciting events frequently take place offstage, observed and described by characters onstage. The most notable example is Roland’s attempt to escape captivity; his exploits and eventual capture are described by Florinda, who watches from the onstage tower, through the genre of melodrama. Melodrama, in which text is spoken over music (as in Weber’s ‘Wolf’s Glen’ scene from Der Freischütz), was a fashionable operatic device of this period, and Schubert uses it twice in the second act. On the other hand, a few scenes build the drama and use varied music effectively, as for example the number in Act 2 when Eginhard is captured by the Moors.

In the Salzburg production, rather than trying to overcome these oddities of pacing, the decision was made to accentuate them through what director Stein calls ‘lebende Bilder’ (tableaux vivants). The performers are frequently presented in picturesque groupings, or processing across the stage in ritualistic ways that emphasize function more than expression. To enhance this effect, the colour palette is symbolic and limited: the Frankish characters wear white garments accentuated with black decorations and the occasional metal helmets, crowns and armour, while the Moorish characters are dressed entirely in black. The set consists of intricate cloth backdrops, also in black and white. Some shades of blue are also visible, perhaps created by lighting effects, but only at the end of Act 3 does a new colour appear: a red heart in the background to symbolize the united pairs of lovers. The lighting design works in tandem with the colours, as in Florinda’s opening scene, when the stage is so dark it is hard to see – does this represent her unhappiness or simply her Moorish identity? – and in the Act 3 entry of the victorious Franks, who symbolically bring light along with peace.

Within this stylized staging, the singing and acting are expressive, and the performers work well as a team – which is particularly important since Fierrabras emphasizes ensemble numbers over arias. Many of the roles require a wide vocal range, and the singers command this without apparent effort. Most of the voices are clear and pure without excess vibrato, so they blend very well together. Michael Schade’s brooding Fierrabras is memorable; Julia Kleiter and Benjamin Bernheim carry off the roles of the hapless lovers Emma and Eginhard through their earnestness and consistently beautiful timbre. Georg Zeppenfeld’s bass voice and serious demeanour capture the mixed nature of Charlemagne, whom Emma describes as ‘streng … doch auch mild’ (‘stern … but also gentle’). Markus Werba is a dashing Roland, sincere in friendship and love, and Peter Kálmán is a convincingly evil Boland; Dorothea Röschmann’s weightier vocal style lends itself well to Florinda’s intensity and perseverance. In addition to singing, the performers speak expressively in the brief dialogues (much shortened for clarity) and the melodramas. As explained in the DVD’s bonus material, Peter Stein worked closely with them on this aspect of performance, using his experience in spoken theatre.

The camerawork is appropriate to the production: sometimes it shows the stage as a whole, so that the posed tableaux are clearly seen, while it alternately focuses on individual singers and their facial expressions, revealing the thoughts and emotions of various characters. The orchestral sound is gorgeous; balance between voices and orchestra works well. The chorus should be commended for good acting along with beautiful singing, as is clear when the close-ups focus on individual choristers.

As someone who was already familiar with this opera from the 1990 Vienna recording and the concert performance at the 2014 Bard Schubert Festival, I find this performance particularly engaging, even more so as I watch and listen to it a few times. Despite the odd mix of dramatic approaches that characterizes the work, Schubert’s music is unfailingly interesting. The direct and transparent interpretation offered collectively by the Salzburg Festival’s directors, designers, and performers presents Fierrabras as it is – naïve, peculiar and beautiful.