THE ROLE OF PAUL –
A Vocal Journey Through Naturalness, Sophistication and Ecstasy
My
first contact with E. W. Korngold’s opera DIE TOTE STADT was the studio record
from 1975 (conducted by Erich Leinsdorf). It was unconditional love at first
sight or rather at first listening. The gloomy and partly surreal but also
psychological modern story, the grandiose melodies, the brilliant and colorful
orchestration … in one word: a masterpiece, which impressed me quite a
lot. At this time I was just at the beginning of a very long personal journey
to myself: my studies in singing (more of this a little later). After I had
listened to the record of DIE TOTE STADT several times and after I had gone
over it with the piano score I asked myself:
»Who is able to sing this on stage …, especially in large opera houses
like the Metropolitan Opera, the Teatro alla Scala or the Vienna State Opera
with more than hundred persons in the orchestra? These long monologues with
expressive and dramatic vocal lines and lots of emotional eruptions in very
high tones …? (I thought this concerning as well the role of Paul as also
the even more demanding double-role Marietta/Marie). Had Korngold been about to
lose his mind while he had been writing this?«
It seems too heavy, too difficult for the human voice. It seems so, but of
course it isn’t. Korngold knew very well about the abilities of the human voice
and he had an explicit secure feeling for using it in the way of an instrument.
The human voice is quite an instrument but it includes much more than only the
vocal cords. The vocal cords are very important, but to the same extant
important are the physical condition of the singer, the relaxation of the body
and most of all the love for singing itself, the love for telling
stories and portraying people by means of singing. Only this kind of
love – in combination with a little consequent learning – can bring every
person’s body so far, that it will be a wonderful, brilliant and most various
musical instrument. And Korngold knew how to make such a human instrument an
integrated musical and dramaturgical part of the story or rather the opera. He
does it in a way similar to Wagner or some composers of the so-called »Verismo«
(for example Mascagni, Leoncavallo, Giordano). From such a point of view and
doing, all these so heavy, difficult opera roles are relatively easy to sing,
especially compared to some typical pure so-called belcanto operas. But there
is only one thing singers have to keep in their hearts and in their minds:
operas like Korngold’s DIE TOTE STADT or Wagner’s great music dramas leave the
singers no place for any vocal vanity, singing self-admiration or singing
self-satisfaction. They are demanded to let in the music into their hearts and
their whole personality and then also to bring it out directly in the same way.
Especially Wagner animated his singers to be actors too. He always searched for
so-called singer-actors.
At
the time when I was about to learn or rather find out all this, E. W. Korngold
was playing an important part in my life. I may say that he partly guided me on
my first steps into the world of opera. Until the age of seventeen I couldn’t
find any access to this form of musical style. One reason for this was of
course the fact that all my interest was focused on another musical style: film
music. I had begun collecting records of film-soundtracks from any decade,
actual as well as classical. And there the name E. W. Korngold appeared the
first time in my life. Well, it’s not necessary to write here anything about
Korngold’s film musical scores; each one is without any doubt a masterpiece.
One day, when I was listening to some of Korngold’s film music, my mother came
by and also listened with quite some interest. After a while she said:
»Wonderful …, it sounds partly a bit like Wagner.«
We had some Wagner-records at home. My interest had awoken and so I took one
(it was LOHENGRIN) to listen, or rather to make up my mind. But it was not
necessary because Wagner’s music entered my heart and all my other senses
immediately. In this LOHENGRIN-record – it was live recorded at the
Bayreuth Festival 1953 – I heard singers who unconditionally sang
their roles. They really brought out every tone and every phrase with clarity
and with cultured as well as powerful guided voices. They never sounded forced,
overdriven or tired. So my interest had not only awoken for Wagner but also for
Wagner-singing and this was exactly the style of singing I preferred most.
In the next few years I tried to
find someone who could help me to bring this vision into practice. But this was
not quite so easy. Among my very large family there were two uncles, one aunt
and an older cousin, who had studied singing very seriously, but never used
their voices in a real professional way. They were singing in choirs only as
hobby. I tried to ask for advises and support but they found my visions
ridiculous:
»Oh no, you may never sing Wagner. Wagner is a voice killer …« or
something like this.
My first singing teacher argued in the same way:
»If you sing Wagner all your lyrical timbre and all your height will be gone.
Maybe your voice would be damaged!«
After a lot of discussions and attempts to find other teachers, I decided that
there was at last only one way: I had to be my own teacher and had to find just
my own way. It took quite some time but it works. I invested hundreds of hours
in listening records, developing my own singing exercises, studying a various
range of opera roles (including Paul from DIE TOTE STADT) and I also invested a
lot of time in my own personal development. By and by I made the experience
that only total emotional and physical relaxation is the basis for a pleasant,
various and also powerful voice. It’s a little step between tension and
cramp but a big difference. I became convinced that if a person is able
to let all emotions and feelings flow freely, the whole physical body gets in a
condition of relaxation and flexible tension. And so this person is able to be
an instrument with all musical possibilities and with no kind of borders or limitations.
It sounds very easy and so it is, but there is no effortless way to put
it into practice. You can find this way only in communication with your inner
guidance, with your inner voice. During the years I often have noticed, that
singers who have been singing mainly pure lyrical roles for several years and
then want to go further to dramatic stuff, suddenly forget to sing. One
reason may be that they are now confronted with bigger orchestras, heavier
sounds and partly much longer roles. So they are getting nervous, cramped and
with the transition from lyrical to dramatic roles they go over from singing to
shouting. I have the impression that singers, who suffer from any kind of
problems like this, are not able to just sing their roles, they are fighting
against them. They define singing, especially opera singing, as a fight, and
they don’t only fight against their roles, but also fight against the audience,
the orchestra, their partners on stage and, most of all, against themselves.
In my opinion, there is also
another reason, why lyrical and dramatic singing should not be separated in the
way that is unfortunately common today. Fact is they belong together, because
every real heavy, dramatic opera role contains lyrical, quiet parts and
phrases, which the singers should bring to the audience in the right and
consistent style. Otello for example has a wonderful tender love duet
with Desdemona, full of erotic and musical intimacy. Siegfried
has this scene which is called »Waldweben«, where vocal culture and lightness
are necessary. On the other hand nearly every lyrical opera role has some parts
of dramatic power, where the singers need a lot of vocal strength and presence,
if they want to bring those dramatic emotional feelings to the audience or if
they don’t want to be blown off the stage by the orchestra. For example the
final scene from Mozart’s DON GIOVANNI, when the statue of the Commendatore
enters the room, or Des Grieux’s emotional eruptions in the third and
fourth act of Puccini’s MANON LESCAUT. There are thousands of examples, in the
one and in the other way.
And now back to the role of Paul,
which combines all possible lyrical and dramatic aspects in a most intensive
manner: there is artistic intelligence, vocal culture and strength, as well as
also a good physical condition necessary. Also you need a wide vocal range,
absolute security in heights of tenor, a precise, clear, eloquent declamation
and of course the ability to sing text on a very high vocal level. And all this
has to be combined in a very human natural way, because Paul is a human being,
a real man, a man made of flesh and blood. He is not an ancient God or hero out
of a mythological drama and he is also no humanlike mythical creature out of
any kind of legend. Paul is able to love deeply, tenderly and passionately, but
he also suffers in the same way. Paul is also intelligent, learned and
sophisticated, but he has an enormous problem with his feelings of guilt. Not
just two souls are living in his body. In sum the role of Paul is …, yes,
it is a vocal journey through naturalness, sophistication and ecstasy.
But it isn’t a journey without a
competent guiding. Korngold demands very much from the singers, but he also
helps them. The orchestration may be massive and monumental, but there
are – for Paul – only very short parts or phrases where he has to
sing over the in fff playing orchestra. Most of the time Paul can make a
sort of musical dialogue between him and the orchestra. That means that almost
every time when Paul has to sing a heavy dramatic phrase, the orchestra is going
mainly into the background and then comes out with much more power and
magnificence. If you are able to feel yourself completely in the singing way,
this sort of musical dialog between you and the orchestra can be enormously
animating. In the list of Korngold’s helpings for Paul there is another
important point. Between his monologues and scenes there are often several
moments, where the attention of the audience is guided to another person. These
moments the singer can use for himself. Although he has to be present in acting
on stage, he can take a so to say »inner-physical time-out« for body and vocal
regeneration. For a singer who can real use all these helpings the heavy,
dramatic and at first sight so difficult seeming role of Paul becomes
considerably easier.
Very often DIE TOTE STADT is
performed with several or numerous shortenings. Well, this is a principle
question in different matters. In my opinion it is impossible to shorten this
opera without interrupting or destroying the musical tension and the thrilling
suspense of the story. Some scene or parts would become illogical and
incomprehensible for the audience. Also for the singers the shortenings are a
problem. Because these well-meant shortenings in fact disturb the singers in
creating the right vocal tension, also in finding a consistent balance in their
vocal harmony colors and of course in creating their characters on stage in a
human believable manner. So, in my opinion, it is best to perform DIE TOTE
STADT in full length and with two intermissions – after the first and the
second act. Not only the singers need and shall have their break, but the
audience too.
Is the role of Paul a so-called
dream-role? I would say yes, because Paul is dreaming most of the
time …, okay, without joking it is indeed. It stands in one row with all
the other great and wonderful opera roles, that singers all around the world
are dreaming of to sing. Concerning such roles, I use to so say:
»Don’t only dream of it, just sing it and you’ll be surprised about your real
abilities.«
Well,
when the curtain raises, Brigitta shows Frank, Paul’s friend, the room, where
Paul keeps all his memories and, of course some relics of Marie, especially a
braid of her hair. He’s living in these memories so intensively that he never
realized, that Brigitta, the modest housekeeper is in still hopeless love with
him. She doesn’t tell Frank directly, but the music brings it out (»… und
wo Liebe, da dient eine arme Frau …«). Paul appears; he is in an
over-euphoric, outraged mood. First he sends Brigitta away to bring a lot of
roses and then he begins to tell his friend about the experience he had the day
before. He had met a woman who exactly looked like and spoke like Marie. His
dead wife will be back. This first monologue of Paul contains all those vocal demands, which were explained
above. Long, tender phrases full of melancholy, alternate with ecstatic and
joyful eruptions. Paul is sure that Marie will come back through this unknown
woman. Without any hesitation he prepares everything to expect her; soon she
will come. Frank is skeptical, but Paul doesn’t recognize his warnings. As
Frank leaves, Paul gets more and more in irrational joy about the soon coming
resurrection of his wife. He does it in wonderful and vocal very high phrases.
Despite of this high vocal level the singer has to avoid any kind of falsetto
or too thin-guided voice. Vocal emotion and physical strength are necessary.
Marietta enters the room and finds
a confused but euphoric Paul. She doesn’t really know why she had been invited
and also doesn’t know what to do with this a little bit grumpy but interesting
man. Slowly Paul begins to talk and they come a little closer. Marietta is
quite impressed about the house and all the things in the room, although she
says that every thing is a little gloomy and dusty. From the moment Marietta
enters the room, the singer of Paul can take one of those »inner-physical
time-outs«. The following minutes belong to Marietta. Paul has only short
phrases, so to say keywords for Marietta. After she has put on the old silk
shawl and takes a look at herself in the mirror, Paul breaks out in an ecstatic
shout (»Marie …!!«). Marietta is astonished, but Paul quickly calms the
situation and gives her an old lute, which inspires Marietta to sing a song.
Well, what now follows is one of the most wonderful opera scenes and melodies
ever written (»Gluck, das mir verblieb …«). The song reminds Paul of his
better and happier days in the past (»… Ich hfrt es oft, in jungen, in
schfneren Tagen …«). This scene has an extraordinary high vocal line, but
in a very lyrical and warm feeling way. It is of course for the singer a challenge
to find the right sound and to avoid any kind of sentimentality. For a few
moments it seems that time is standing still. But suddenly another song breaks
in this atmosphere. Marietta’s friends, actors, dancers, and a director are on
their way to the theatre for a rehearsal. They are singing and making some
jokes down on the street. Paul is a bit shocked that Marietta is a dancer, a
person from the world of theatre. In this point she has quite no similarity
with Marie. But in the same moment Paul feels enormous erotic desire for this
young pretty woman, who now tells him, how much she loves to dance. In her enthusiastic
dance she gets caught up in a curtain and pulls it away. Behind the curtain is
Marie’s picture. Marietta’s astonished question makes break down Paul’s desire
immediately. Paralyzed with feelings of guilt he sends Marietta away. She
combines quick and quite right. Although she feels her pride and of course her
feelings have been hurt, she offers Paul the possibility to see her again in
the theatre.
Slowly Paul gets out of his stare.
His erotic feelings and desires are as strong as his feelings of guilt. Torn by
this inner conflict he passes out into a combination of collapsing and
daydream-like vision. From now on the music and the action on stage change and
get an explicit surreal touch and especially the singer of Paul is demanded to
bring out this difference in the harmonic color of his voice. The picture of
Marie has become alive and once more Paul is confronted with his desires and
feelings of guilt. This surreal mysterious dialogue brings Paul once again to
an emotional eruption, when Marie’s picture changes into the orgiastic dancing
Marietta and Paul ecstatically rushes in her arms. This is the end of the first
act.
The
second act begins with an absolutely singing highlight for Paul: the monologue
which follows the impressive church-bell-scene. Paul is still unconscious, but in the daydream-like
vision several weeks have past. He waits restless in front of Marietta’s house.
He waits, but he doesn’t really know for whom or for what. Paul’s problems have
increased. Now he is not only suffering from feelings of guilt and sexual
desire, now Paul is also shaken by jealousy against every man who may come
close to Marietta. Paul hears the dark menacing sound of the church-bells,
which remind him of the day when Marie was buried. He tries to confess, tries
to find peace, but in vain, he stays rest- and helpless. In my opinion, Paul’s
monologue is a very good example for this kind of musical dialogue between the
singer and the orchestra that I described above. Especially at the end (»Nun
trag’ ich Unrast des Begehrens …«) the orchestra has heavy and massive
accords in fff, but in each and every bar the musical impulse derives
from Paul. So he is, in a special way, leading the orchestra, which has just to
follow him, and so never is able to cover him up.
In the next scene Brigitta appears
as a novice and of course as the personification of reproach and accusation.
She has left him because of his sinful relationship with Marietta, but she will
pray for his soul. The next who appears on stage is Frank. He also has been
captivated by Marietta and commands Paul to go away. She even has given him the
key of her house. Paul, in rage, tears the key away from him, and after this
quarrel Frank declares their friendship ended. Opera scenes like this
aggressive and caustic dialogue between the two (former) friends can be a trap
for the singers, precisely a trap for their vocal cords. Such short, sharp and
aggressive to sing phrases may persuade the singers to forcing or shouting
instead of singing. The only way to avoid this is a precise, clear declamation
with extra sharp pronounced consonants. So the vocal cords stay relaxed and can
hold their natural tension and also the audience will better understand the
singer. In scenes like this it is necessary to bring the cramped and desperate
feelings to the audience (!! the singer-actor !!), but it is never
necessary that the singer cramps his body or his vocal cords. Well, in the special
case of Paul there is now time for him to relax and regenerate. For about
fifteen minutes he is allowed to leave the stage. In this time Marietta, or
rather Fritz, the Pierrot with his famous song have their entrance. Now the
whole attention of the audience is focused on them and that’s important,
because of the dramaturgical balance. Paul should not be the midpoint during
the whole opera.
The singer of Paul has to use this
break because his following scenes are the hardest, heaviest and most dramatic
of the whole tenor opera-literature. Paul breaks into the strange and surreal
party of Marietta and her friends. He could no longer bear to see her been
adored and kissed in an extremely erotic, sensual and voluptuous manner and
less he can bear to see her playing a resurrected woman (»Halt ein, Du eine
auferstand’ne Tote!!«). After her friends have gone, Marietta confronts Paul
with his ridiculous behavior. She stays cool, even when Paul shows her the key
of her house, the proof, that she has also a love affair with his friend Frank.
In an aggressive as well as desperate admission he tells her, or better cries
out, the whole truth. It has never been love or any feeling like this, but only
sexual desire. When he was kissing and having sex with her, he had only thought
of and felt for his dead wife Marie. For his eyes Marie was a saint, but Marietta is nearly nothing
else than a prostitute. He doesn’t say this directly, but it comes out between
his words. In his tremendous emotional eruption he is equally disgusting,
pitiful and ridiculous. In exactly that way it seems to Marietta, because
instead of turning around and leaving him, she stays, tries to talk to him and
also tries to guide him back to life. She has feelings for Paul and she doesn’t
want him to stay buried alive in this house full of darkness and gloomy
memories. She succeeds and Paul embraces her with passion and wants to go to
her place immediately. But Marietta stops him. Not here, not in her place, she
wants to spend the night with him in his house, as a sign that his former wife
from now on is really dead and has no longer any power over him. Paul agrees in
wildest passion and rushes away with her.
Without any doubt, Korngold has
expected very much from both singers in that scene. The vocal line of Paul’s
total eruption is extremely high and some phrases have the notice »shouted«
in the piano score. But after this once again Paul can regenerate and then
softly join in Marietta’s singing. By comparison with the previous eruption
this duet contains wonderful melodies as well as wonderful orchestrations.
That’s why it is a appreciated change for the singer of Paul and the whole dramaturgy.
Apart from the monologue at the beginning of the second act and Marietta’s
famous song, this duet is my most favorite part of the opera. It is an exciting
experience to be seduced by Marietta and her sensual singing. All the singer
has to do is to give himself into that atmosphere and sing …, just sing,
till the erotic tension and sexual attraction between him and Marietta increases
more and more to something that I call a vocal orgasm. In that way it would be
no problem that some of Paul’s very high-leveled phrases are in pp.
These are typical phrases, where singers have to take a look at, not to sing
them in falsetto or going to whisper. It never sounds really good but it is
usually a question of taste. The singer of Paul has to avoid this strictly.
Marietta
has the firm intention, to banish the spell of Paul’s former wife forever. At
the beginning of the third act she confronts herself with Marie, or rather
Marie’s picture (»Dich sucht ich Bild …«). Marietta is of course an
extraordinary strong person and she doesn’t feel any kind of shame about what
she has done or is doing, with Paul or with anyone else. But it is important to
say that her feelings for Paul are absolutely true. At this moment, after a
night of wild passionate love with Paul she is quite sure for going further in
this confrontation. But there is a little interruption: the children’s choir.
It comes from outside and sounds light, clear and bright, like coming from
another world. The children are preparing themselves for the upcoming religious
procession. Marietta is moved by the children’s singing and turns away her
attention from Marie’s picture. It is once more a proof for Korngold’s
dramaturgical ingenuity, to set the children’s choir at this point. So he could
not only better hold balance in the musical and dramaturgical sense, he also
gave Marietta the possibility to profile herself better as a strong woman with
a great and loving heart and deep feelings. A few seconds later Paul rushes in.
Just once more he feels restless and guilty, therefore he has left Marietta
early in the morning for running (restless) through the streets. Obviously
there he has seen the preparation of the religious procession. Paul wants
Marietta to leave the room immediately, but she stays, for different reasons. One
of those is, that they have a better view to the procession from there, but
Paul doesn’t want her to stand near the window (»Was fdllt Dir ein, wenn man
Dich sdh!«). She is offended and throws herself on a couch, thinking about the
pleasant evening with her friends and just remembering Pierrot’s song. Paul
doesn’t really notice that but as Marietta jumps up for leaving him, he pushes
her back to the couch.
It is now important for the singer
of Paul, to keep in mind, in body and in voice, that from the beginning of the
procession scene on, Paul’s daydream-like vision slowly turns to a horrible
nightmare. This is a logical development, deriving from his endless feelings of
guilt, desperation and so on. That means for the singer also a change in the
vocal sound and the harmony colors. There are two reasons why this change is
important. First: the singer might be boring to the audience, when he expresses
feelings always in the same vocal style. Second: the powerful and massive
orchestration of the following scene. If the singer isn’t able to make this
change in his voice, or rather his performance, the orchestra will blow him off
the stage. The next minutes bring out the ecstatic part of the role of Paul. He
stands at the window, looking at the procession and is profoundly moved by the
things he sees and hears. Religious fanaticism and ecstasy let him fall down on
his knees, while the procession, partly visibly, appears in the background.
Marietta is also impressed, but not about the procession, but about Paul’s
religiosity. What an interesting man, she may think and tries to get closer to
him. Paul refuses vehemently because of a
further increase of the nightmare. The procession seems to enter the room, gets
nearer to Paul and threatens him to death, so that Paul nearly collapses. Now
Marietta gets a little angry about his religious fanaticism (»… Dein
dumpfer Aberglaube.«). Paul rejects again and begins to praise his pure eternal
love for Marie. He does it in an extremely high vocal level and with a lot of
tenderness, partly in pp. If the singer wants to sing those phrases
exactly the way Korngold has written them, he has to be quite in a real state
of ecstasy, fanaticism and frenzy … Well, without joking this part of the
scene is fantastic, has wonderful melodies and all other things a singer, or
rather a singer-actor can be fond of. Also it is a so to say lyrical
intermezzo, before the extremely dramatic final begins.
Marietta really loves Paul because
she tries just once more to reach him with her love. Also this time Paul
rejects and hurts her deeply, as he declares Marie to be a pure and kind of
saint woman and forbids Marietta to compare with her. That’s enough, her love
turns immediately in cynicism and bitterness. During her verbal revenge she
suddenly finds the braid of Marie’s hair. That’s the point where she can hurt
him most – and of course she does. She takes the braid, puts it around her
neck, laughs about Paul’s relic-admiration and begins to dance provocatively. Marietta
does the full range of provocation and Paul reacts with violence. He strangles
Marietta with the braid of Marie’s hair. Suddenly the daydream-like vision or
rather the nightmare ends (»Jetzt gleicht sie ihr ganz …, Marie!!«).
During this scene, which comes close to a showdown (»Zum Kampf mir ihr und
off’nen Augs …«), Paul is vocally rather in the background. He has only to
react and give keywords. The scene belongs to the dancing and provoking
Marietta. Here the singer of Paul is in a similar position as in the quarrel
scene with Frank in the second act. The tones and phrases have to come sharp
and precise, but never with shouting or anything like this. Later, at the real
final scene of the opera, there are a lot of lyrical phrases to sing and a lot
of vocal culture is necessary. And of course, this final scene belongs to Paul
nearly alone.
By and by Paul now comes back to
life. The orchestra accompanies this process in a wonderful way. First of all,
Paul feels release and relief, but there is also a bit of a hangover and melancholy.
Brigitta comes in and tells him that the young lady, who has left him just a
few minutes ago, now has come back. Paul is glad to see Brigitta, but has no
reaction as Marietta enters the room once again. Also in this moment, so to say
in real life, her behavior makes clear that she has true feelings, in any case
interest for Paul. Maybe she has forgotten her umbrella and her roses on purpose
.
Paul doesn’t react in any way and so Marietta leaves with a little hesitation.
Now also Frank returns and he immediately knows or rather feels what has
happened (»Das also war das Wunder …!«). Paul has understood and
begins to learn. He gives his former wife Marie a certain, affected but also
definite farewell (»… hier gibt es kein Auferstehen.«). He will try to
find a new life, in another place and of course in another city. He will leave
Br?gge, the city of death ...
I have no problem to say, that
Paul’s last scene or better-called monologue, nearly moves me to tears every
time I hear or sing it. It has not only wonderful melodies but is full of
feelings, heart-wisdom and positive views to future. There is a little
melancholic touch, but not any kind of sadness or sentimentality. The journey
has come to an end, but it is of course not the end, on which the attention is
focused. The end of this journey means the beginning of a new life.
Wilhelm
Pfeiffer
It is important for me to mention:
I am on my way to become a singer, but right now I have a different profession:
I am consulter for Health and Harmony. I am guiding people on their personal
way to health and give them support. I am working with Bach-flower-remedies, a
sort of aura-energy-work and of course with music in various forms.
On things that indeed interest me, I always want to learn and expand my
horizon. I have made the experience that it works best in contact and
communication with people. I am interested in any kind of opinions regarding
music, singing and suchlike. If you want to contact me, here is my address:
WILHELM PFEIFFER
Assmayergasse 69
A-1120 Wien
AUSTRIA
Tel./Fax ++43-(0)1-817 21 36
e-mail: esotera-practica@aon.at
