Richard Strauss and his heroines
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Richard Strauss and his heroines |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 2014 |
| length | 52 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Thomas von Steinaecker |
| script | Thomas von Steinaecker |
| production | Norbert Busè ( Studio.TV.Film in co-production with SRF, Euroarts and Arthaus Musik) |
| occupation | |
|
Renée Fleming , Brigitte Fassbaender , Christa Ludwig u. a. | |
Richard Strauss und seine Heldinnen is a documentary by Thomas von Steinaecker produced by Studio.TV.Film, in coproduction with SRF, which was broadcast on German television on 3sat on April 12, 2014 at 10:55 pm.
action
The filmmaker sees Richard Strauss's life as determined by strong women. Both his wife, the soprano Pauline de Ahna , whom he married in 1894 with the disapproval of his parents, and the protagonists of his operas such as Elektra and Salome are powerful personalities. His wife immediately files for divorce when an ambiguous letter from an admirer of Strauss discredits him as unfaithful. The 'Dance of the Seven Veils' in the opera ' Salome ' sparked a scandal when it premiered in 1905 because of its erotic effect. The film describes the female characters in his works as self-confident, seductive and flirtatious, but also as ancient heroines who do not shrink from acts of blood. Strauss shows a willingness to take risks, explores boundaries and, like his argumentative wife Pauline, is always drawn to opposites. The latter is also reflected in his work with Hugo von Hofmannsthal , who was his artistic antithesis a. a. wrote the libretto for his famous opera ' Der Rosenkavalier '.
The two world wars did not leave Strauss without a trace. The turn to the abstract in art overshadows his effectiveness as a composer, and the changing role of women in the 1910s and 20s also influenced the reception of Strauss at the time. After the Nazis came to power, however, Strauss gained new fame. At the age of over 70 he was appointed President of the Reichsmusikkammer and is once again considered the most important German composer. Despite his followers, he also reached his limits under the Nazis. The collaboration with the Jewish poet Stefan Zweig sees Goebbels did not like and do not cut him only the items in the Reichsmusikkammer. Strauss becomes a persona non grata . The film quotes a letter to Zweig in which Strauss writes that he does not classify people according to race, but according to talent, and that for him the people only exist at the moment when they become the audience. The fate of the family of his Jewish daughter-in-law Alice also affects Strauss. Again a woman takes on great importance in his life. Like Pauline, Alice Strauss offers him support in difficult times and is also committed to building up a Strauss archive. Despite his prominence, Strauss was unable to save her grandmother from the Theresienstadt concentration camp .
The documentary concludes with his work 'Metamorphoses', with which Strauss created a piece in 1945 that thematizes the devastating destruction of the Nazis and expresses his grief over their terror. After he lost his fortune in the war, he was forced to give concerts again and after the end of the war he experienced another small wave of success for his old pieces. ' Der Rosenkavalier ' is particularly popular in the post-war period.
Despite her jealousy, Pauline stays with her husband and raises her son Franz. She not only gives up her career as a soprano, but accompanies Strauss as his worst critic and most loyal lover for over 55 years. The film describes his first and last compositions, 'Four Songs' and 'Four Last Songs', which he dedicates to his wife, as his most beautiful.
In the film, not only the last living grandson of Strauss, who lived through family life in the Strauss household, has a say, but also the great Strauss singers Renée Fleming , Brigitte Fassbaender and Christa Ludwig , who report on their star roles .
Awards
Richard Strauss and his heroines received the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) 2015 in the category "DVD Documentaries".
Web links
http://www.studio-tv-film.de/reierungen/non-fiction/richard-strauss.html