France Robert Schumann, Das Paradies und die Peri, Op.50 (1843): Soloists, accentus, Insula / Laurence Equilbey (conductor). La Seine Musicale, Paris, 17.5.2025. (CC)
Robert Schumann’s rarely-heard Das Paradies und die Peri, bookended by ‘Die Capelle’ from Romances for Female Voices, Op.69, and ‘John Anderson’, from Romances and Ballads for chorus, Op.67.
The chance to see Schumann’s Paradies is rare enough; to see it staged, even rarer. Although Simon Rattle performed the piece in London relatively recently, it remains elusive; Rattle also performed it in London back in 2007 (with the Orchestra of Age of Enlightenment) although I genuinely believe the last time I heard it live was in 2001: the OAE again, this time under Mark Elder and with Christine Goerke (I believe making her UK debut), Mary Plazas, Bernarda Fink and Peter Auty. The recorded arena is more populous though: I hold a deep affection for Giuseppe Sinopoli’s Dresden recording, and for the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra under Henryk Czyż on EMI, a 1973 recording at one point on EMI Double Forte coupled with a raft of useful Schumann choral music (and if the details put you off, look at the soloists there: Edda Moser, Brigitte Fassbaender, and Nicolai Gedda).
Here though was a full staging of Paradies, complete with Insula’s trademark electronica, a screen on which is displayed a host (pardon the Heavenly pun) of relevant (sometimes obliquely so) images. Putting the ravishing ‘Die Capelle’ before the orchestral opening does take a bit of the edge off (Schumann’s beginning is cruelly exposed for the violins), and of course accentus is one of the first of choirs (they have recorded this piece).
There was a late change of soloist: soprano Johanni van Oostrum was scheduled to sing the ‘Peri’ – a form of Persian fairy – but sickness forced her withdrawal; Mandy Fredrich learned the staging in a very short time (it would have been impossible to know that; and the staging is involved, to say the least) Fredrich is allied to the opera at Stuttgart and has taken on roles such as Agathe (Der Freischütz, a role she will reprise in 2025 in Bregenz), and Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte) in Tokyo.
That exposed opening in the end introduced a world of magic – as is appropriate to the story, featuring the Peri. Daniela Kerck’s staging left us in no doubt of this magical component, angel wings a definite part of her vocabulary. Liminal creatures, Peris exists somewhere between he human and the Heavenly; they aspire to the celestial. The core idea of the piece is the opening of the gates of Heaven to our particular peri. The major addition/sleight was the composer Robert Schumann as narrator, brilliantly realised via costumer Andrea Schmidt-Futterer. It was Andreas Frank’s lighting which really created such atmosphere, though.
The idea for Schumann’s piece comes via an 1817 epic, Lalla Rookh by Irish poet Thomas Moore. The deal is that to enter paradise, the peri must find a gift that will bring forgiveness. Her search is worldwide, literally. Along the way she meets Gazna, a tyrant. The key, though, is a single tear of a repentant sinner. For Schumann, the piece marked a new chapter of compositional ambition. This is a concert piece, a secular oratorio, which cries out for a staging.
A huge LED wall centre-stage forms the focus, around which we see narration and (human) acting. The thread, though, is Schumann’s music, effortlessly conducted by Laurence Equilbey. If Insula were initially not on their finest form this particular early evening, Equilbey’s reading was effectively conveyed.
Mandy Fredrich was a stunning Peri; it would literally be impossible to tell she was a stand-in. Her final-stretch ‘Freud’, ew’ge Freude’ flew freely as it should. Sebastian Kohlepp was the narrator/Schumann, confident of both voice and stage action, and brilliantly dressed as the composer (and, at one point, possessed of a baton). The interaction between narrator and groups of solo voices at ‘So sann sie nach und schwang die Flügel’ was a moment of magic as lines intertwined. Kohlhepp is a fine, strong tenor, tireless and involved. I did find Agata Schmidt’s restraint appealing, her voice burnished yet subtle. We met Samuel Hasselhorn in Sky Burial (review here) as the baritone solo in Fauré’s Requiem, and he was just as impressive here. Victoire Bunel was a stunning Angel, her voice as pure as one might imagine for this role. The idea of a ‘missing wing’ for the Peri in the final stages is a nice one.
As Gazna, Julien Clément could have accorded the role a touch more heft. Clara Guillon and Lancelot Lamote as a young girl and young man respectively, acquitted themselves well. The frequent use of chorus meant the unfailing excellence of accentus acted like a thread through the performance; it was quite right they had the last word with Schumann’s magnificent ‘John Anderon’ from his Op.67.
Equilbey’s feeling for Romantic gesture, and specifically Robert Schumann’s kind, is complete. Previous forays into Germanic repertoire include Weber’s Freischütz, unforgettable in Aix (fully staged) and memorable in London (semi-staged), but unfortunately only released as excerpts on disc. Paradies und die Peri is an impressive addition.
Incidentally, Mandy Fredrich’s new album, Traumglück (Oehms) is fascinating, a combination of Dora Pejačević, Fauré, Pauline Viadot-Garcia and Richard Strauss.
Colin Clarke
Cast:
Mandy Fredrich – The Peri
Sebastian Kohlhepp (tenor)
Agata Schmidt (alto)
Samuel Hasselhorn (baritone)
Clara Guillon – The young girl
Victoire Bunel – The angel
Julien Clément – Gazna
Lancelot Lamotte – The young man
Creatives:
Choreography and dance – Rosana Ribeiro
Stage director – Daniela Kerck
Video – Astrid Steiner
Costumes director – Andrea Schmidt-Futterer
Lighting – Andreas Frank
Dramaturgy – Antonia Goldhammer
Chorus master – Albert Horne