Gerechter Gott

When, on 6 July 1983, Wolfgang Sawallisch opened the first Munich Festival under his direction as Intendant of the State Opera with Wagner's Rienzi, the Bavarian State Opera had almost completely realised an ambitious project of that year generally hailed as "unique". In 1983 Munich succeeded, alone among the world's opera-houses, in presenting all trirteen of Wagner's stage works in the composer's commemoration year and, in so doing, reserving for the summer festival a quite special, because extremely seldom heard, "musical treat": Wagner's early works.
Sawallisch shortened the opera to four hours, making cuts seem extremely logical both musically and scenically: among other things, Sawallisch did away with the greater part of the ballet music in Act 2 - as had been the case in Wagner's own version for the premiere in Dresden in 1842 - as well as numerous repetitions and preludes, but never any complete scene.
And as one of the conductor's most important alterations was the cast of Adriano: Wagner had intended it as a breeches role for the famous singer Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient, mezzosoprano; but here it was sung by the very high baritone John Janssen. Janssen managed "the requisite compass and octave changes effortlessly", as Hans Behr confirmed in the Main Post, and in so doing fitted into the top team in which René Kollo and Cheryl Studer were outstanding.
Richard Wagner - Rienzi - Orfeo • 3 CD • 3h 17min - Order No.: C 346 953 D