Franz Schmidt: Notre Dame – Gwyneth Jones

Romantic opera in 2 acts based on the novel by Victor Hugo, Schmidt’s opera tells the famous story from the viewpoint of Esmerelda, in a thrilling work which anticipates Berg’s Lulu.

At the center of the opera is Esmeralda as the key figure. All four male main characters, Phoebus, Gringoire, the Archdeacon and Quasimodo have one thing in common – their love for Esmeralda

Gwyneth Jones was one of the most successful opera singers of the 20th century and a member of the permanent ensemble of the Bayreuth Festival from 1966 to 1980.

Reviews

BBC Music Magazine February 2014

“A sumptuous late-Romantic score with exotic gypsy music for Esmeralda. Jones and King sound too mature for young lovers, but the performance is compelling. – 4 out of 5 stars

MusicWeb International 21st October 2013

“In the opening scene King convinces us of his passion, and it is marvellous to hear the music so expertly taken…[Jones’s] attention, as always, to the text pays dividends. She rides the climaxes with all the force that one could wish. Both of these veterans combine to good effect in their extended love duet…The music well repays investigation

M. Deis in HiFiVision 4/89:

“Music and orchestration are at times reminiscent of great sonata movements, the organ passages in places even reminiscent of a mass. Conductor Christof Perick, with a star cast of world-famous soloists and the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, brings the Middle Ages to life: pious and pompous, intriguing and somber. Interpretation and sound quality: good.”