Gluck das mir verblieb

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This performance was at the Met 125th Anniversary Gala in 2009. Though Korngold composed much other beautiful vocal music, this remains the jewel in his operatic oeuvre. It comes from the opera Die tote Stadt, composed when he was 23. Later in his career he tried to match its success in other operas, though never quite managed to recreate the purity of this lyric creation.

Fleming recorded it immaculately in 1998 on the album The Beautiful Voice with Jeffrey Tate conducting. She has since performed it live many times and it has become somewhat of a calling card for her. This is my favourite of her live performances - the soaring ease of the legato line, her intimate shaping of the text, and her hypnotic stillness on stage whilst delivering those soaring cascades of sound. It's from the last year of her prime when she was 50 - other miraculous performances from the same year include the Baden Baden Rosenkavaliers and the video recordings of duets made with Hvorostovsky in Russia.

The dress is based on costume designs for Maria Jeritza for the first Met production in 1921. If someone knows the source of the video I would be happy to credit them - I am very grateful to them!

Libretto:
Glück, das mir verblieb,
rück zu mir, mein treues Lieb.
Abend sinkt im Hag
bist mir Licht und Tag.
Bange pochet Herz an Herz
Hoffnung schwingt sich himmelwärts.

Wie wahr, ein traurig Lied.
Das Lied vom treuen Lieb,
das sterben muss.
Ich kenne das Lied.
Ich hört es oft in jungen,
in schöneren Tagen.
Es hat noch eine Strophe --
weiß ich sie noch?

Naht auch Sorge trüb,
rück zu mir, mein treues Lieb.
Neig dein blaß Gesicht
Sterben trennt uns nicht.
Mußt du einmal von mir gehn,
glaub, es gibt ein Auferstehn.