Search - George Frederick Handel, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Gioachino Rossini :: Lebendige Vergangenheit: Fritzi Jokl

Unique, fascinating, instructive, rare.

Charlus | NYC | 10/18/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I gave this issue 5 stars for its intrepidity, interest and technical excellence.



14 rare Parlophones recorded by Fritzi JOKL (1895-1974) between 1924 AND 1928, with, to fill out the CD, 4 even rarer disks by Maria GERHART (1896-1975).



Both were Viennese Hochkoloratur types, with all that that implies in high-placed purity, daintily floated Kopftöne and slightly sharp intonation.



Jokl made her debut, shortly before the Great War, at the Frankfurt Opera, where she stayed for five years. She was first given all the boy rôles, but soon took over Rosina, Cherubino, Oscar, Urbain, Blöndchen and Sophie. Her Sophie was particularly admired. Within a short time she became one of the most promising young singers in Germany. She spent two seasons at the Opera of Darmstadt and two at the Volksoper Berlin, where she appeared as Konstanze, Norina and Violetta. She then became a special favorite of the audience in Cologne. A guest appearance took her to Covent Garden, where she sang Najade in Ariadne auf Naxos, then Zerbinetta (as an understudy to Maria Ivogün). She was then invited to the Munich, where she gained a remarkable success as Zerbinetta, the performance conducted by the composer himself. She was immediately engaged for the Munich Festival, marking up a series of triumphs. Under Knappertsbusch she sang Susanna and Despina. Her repertory further included Gilda, Nedda, Olympia, Marzelline and Rosalinde. She took part in a revival of Flotow's rarely performed Alessandro Stradella. Karl Böhm was her conductor in many performances.



In 1932 Fritzi Jokl was invited by Otto Klemperer to join the Kroll Oper in Berlin, but political changes then set in. Klemperer had to leave and the soprano was not allowed to begin her engagement. A few special theatres continued to be allowed to accept Jewish artists and audiences (Jüdischer Kulturbund), but later even this was halted and in 1936 Jokl was forced to leave Germany. She emigrated to the United States and there was happily married to the author and journalist Jack Siegel, but, at 40+, had little chance to continue her singing career. At the Metropolitan, Fritzi Jokl's rôles were the property of Lily Pons and Bidú Sayão, and the management was not willing to take her under contract. Her voice was thereafter heard only in private circles, as well as from these very elusive Parlophones now re-mastered by Preiser.



Gerhart also had an appreciable, mostly Viennese career, and then taught at the Vienna academy for many years.



All this items are excellent, perhaps the most interesting historically being Gerhart's two-sided rendition of the original 1912 version of Zerbinetta's hair-raising rondò. It, like the Weber sides, shows a well-schooled, old-fashioned central-European artist of lovely, silvery tone. Gerhart's delicate, elegiac Caro nome is a classic of her school.



Jokl is more theatrical and her voice more interesting, both timbrally and musically. She was an elegant Mozart singer of the post-Mahler sort, and has the right style for Meyerbeer: not as brilliant as a Tetrazzini or a Kurtz, but rhythmically piquant and full of charm. She holds her own as a contemporary of Ivogün and Hüni-Mihatschek.



I was delighted to have these souvenirs of such lovely singers. Gone, but, thanks to Preiser, not wholly forgotten."