Search - Peter Heise, Jesper Grove Jørgensen, Michael Schownwandt :: Peter Heise: Drot og Marsk

Stunning Romantic Orchestral Writing, First rate singing, an

Storylover | Philadelphia, PA USA | 05/22/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When I first began exploring "classical" music in the 1980's, i was a poor college student. I subscribed to "Classic CD" magazine--a great investment. It included a cd each month with a sizable excerpt from newly released cd's--about 15-20 tracks per cd, giving one who knew nothing about music a wide range of exposures in a small amount of time. Now, I would have hated that approach, as I love hearing complete works...but as I was just learning, I didn't know what I liked enough to concentrate on the repertoire well, and this was a great great way of discovering a ton of styles, performers, conductors, and composers.



Peter Heise is not a name that has lit up the firmament, but amongst fans of scandanavian music, his name does have a certain cachet. In 1993, a recording of his opera King and Marshall (Drot og Marsk) was released on Chandos and reviewed in Classic CD. An aria (Jeg Beder for hver en vejfarende Sjael) by the incomparable Inga Nielsen from act 4 of the opera was included. I was enchanted. Fluid, stunning rivulets of pure bell like tone and glorious melody cascade over the listener. I loved it, and over the years, that track made it onto a number of mix classical cd's that I made myself.



Now I am almost 40, and am much more knowledgeable about opera. I know what i like, and I tend to concentrate on modern repetoire. Still, Drot og Marsk hovered in the back of my mind, and one day I idly decided to look to see if the production was still available. Fortunately, it is! I bought it, and what a joy! This is a delightful opera, full of intense singing, beautiful melodies, romantic writing by a composer at the height of his powers, and once more, the glorious Inga Nielsen. Please, please, give this opera a try. It deserves to be heard and cherished. My only regret in purchasing it is that I waited 20 years between hearing that first aria and suddenly realizing that I could buy the whole thing! Don't make the same mistake"