Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Splendid Strauss among the Serbs, 12 May 2009
It is conventional wisdom to write off the later operettas of Johann Strauss as disappointing works by a jaded composer that merit their obscurity (out of print, unperformed, unrecorded). Well, these CDs show that conventional wisdom is totally wrong in the case of "Jabuka" (1894). It proves to be a very fine score, rich in musical invention, substantial in construction, sophisticated in detail, and distinctive in flavour, though still unmistakably Strauss. What he did for the Magyars of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in "Der Zigeunerbaron", he here does for its Serbs; the setting for Jabuka is Vojvodina (then southern Hungary, nowadays northern Serbia). The milieu is rustic, and recognisably Slavic themes are blended with his customary Viennese style to excellent effect. One of the big waltzes is in a minor key, unusually for Strauss.
I notice that another reviewer elsewhere on the internet says that "Jabuka" 'isn't a patch on Strauss's more famous operettas'. On a first hearing, I might perhaps have agreed with him, but it repays repeated listening, and now I am inclined to think that his criticism amounts to no more than saying that "Jabuka" isn't as familiar as Strauss's more famous operettas. The listener simply needs to get to know it, especially as much of the music lies towards the operatic end of the operetta spectrum. That said, the numbers given to the principal comedian, Joschko, are very catchy indeed; `Wie die Chroniken vermelden' must surely have been loudly encored! One can also assimilate many of the melodies by hearing them repeated in the dance arrangements with which Naxos generously fills up the second disc. If you like "Der Ziguenerbaron", you can, I think, be confident of liking "Jabuka". It is a pity, though, that Naxos could not see its way to providing the text of the lyrics either in the booklet or on its website. The plot synopsis is of some use, but I always find such summaries hard to take in.
The recording utilises young and little-known singers and an ad hoc orchestra. It is therefore not a first-class performance, but it is a thoroughly serviceable one, and it would be unreasonable to demand perfection of a budget recording of a forgotten work. I would rather congratulate Christian Pollack and Naxos on rescuing this highly enjoyable and worthwhile operetta from quite unjustified neglect.
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~ J.II Strauss
~ Steven Scheschareg
~ RTE Concert Orchestra / The National Chamber Choir of Ireland
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