La Seine Musicale,
Paris
It is curious that Paradise and the Peri, Op. 50 (1843), the secular oratorio that established Schumann’s standing internationally, has become a relative unknown. “It’s the great masterpiece you’ve never heard”, according to Simon Rattle. Composed at the height of the romantic era, it was both innovative for its time and also hugely popular. It become one of the composer’s most frequently performed works during his lifetime, earning the admiration of his peers including Mendelssohn and Wagner.
Given how infrequently Paradise appears in the contemporary repertoire, a fully staged performance is a rare treat. Laurence Equilbey and Insula, her period instrument orchestra, are staging the oratorio at their residence, La Seine Musicale in Paris, and the Musikverein in Vienna. In characteristic form, the production introduces a visual multimedia dimension to the music.
- Read: Q&A with conductor Laurence Equilbey about her collaboration with installation artist Mat Collishaw
The Paradise libretto is based on a German translation of the Irish poet Thomas Moore’s 1817 epic narrative poem Lalla Rookh, which was inspired by Persian mythology and set, on Lord Byron’s advice, in the orient. This was good advice. Oriental themes were in vogue following direct translations from eastern languages starting in the late 18th century. Lalla Rookh became an influential blockbuster, probably the poem most frequently translated in its time, and earned Moore record sums. It tells the story of of Lalla Rookh (Persian for “tulip-face”), a princess travelling from Delhi to Kashmir to meet her betrothed, the king of Bucharia (Bukhara). On her journey she falls for a poet who tells her four tales, the second of which is Paradise and the Peri (in the end, perhaps unsurprisingly, the poet turns out to be the king of Bukhara in disguise).
In Persian mythology, a Peri (Parī) is a winged female of great beauty, a sort of fairy, often with positive moral attributes, that occupies a quasi-heavenly realm. The Peri in Lalla Rookh, the descendant of a mortal and a fallen angel, travels the world in search of a a gift “most dear to heaven” so that she can be readmitted into paradise. Her first two gifts, the last drop of blood of a soldier who died fighting a tyrant and the last sigh of a girl who sacrificed her life to be with her lover dying of the plague, are deemed insufficient. Her third, the tear of a repentant sinner who wept on seeing a child in prayer opens the gates of paradise.
The narrative has an eastern feel, incorporating paradise, peris and redemption, concepts which pervade Persian mythology. These are inevitably seen through the romanticised orientalist perceptions of the time and may now appear somewhat fanciful or saccharine. However, Schumann who had just recovered from a particularly deep bout of depression, was moved profoundly by the text and inspired to compose music that Clara Schumann thought was the “most magnificent he has yet written”. His composition is less formal than religious themed oratorios of the period. Uncomplicated beauty and lyricism pervade the work, unusually supple with effortless transition between soloists, choir and orchestra and hardly a pause.
Laurence Equilbey is now a master of vocal music with her own choir (Accentus) and orchestra (Insula) able to continue delivering the high standards we have come to expect. The Accentus choir is once again superb and, with the chorus forming a significant part of the work, it has many opportunities to shine. Meanwhile, Insula is fluid and energetic with its period instruments recreating the balance and timbral qualities of the music familiar in Schumann’s time. The soloists are for the most part excellent. Mandy Frederick’s singing and acting the part of the Peri is outstanding and it is impossible to tell that she was a last minute replacement. There were also great performances from Agata Schmidt, Victoire Bunel and particularly Sebastian Kohlhepp who is Robert Schumann, the narrator.
While Schumann’s music remains at the heart of the performance, Equilbey is committed to visual accompaniment in her major performances. Indeed there is a further leap here as the oratorio has morphed into a minor opera beautifully staged and choreographed by Daniella Kerck and Rosana Ribeiro, overlooked by a large LED screen which displays videographer Astrid Steiner’s creation, a glass cube or a window to the beyond which both tells and interacts with the story.
The production of Paradise and the Peri as a whole is excellent with simple yet beautiful sets, costumes and choreography. The lighting by Andreas Frank is especially effective, creating an ethereal backdrop to the drama. While there are inspired moments of interaction between the actors on stage and the screen, there are also instances where the video is a little too literal or excessive. Nevertheless, the video installation often complements the lighting to enhance the dream-like atmosphere. Overall, given the quality of the performances and the production, it’s hard to imagine a better way to experience Schumann’s forgotten masterpiece which seems to have been gaining popularity in the past few years. Perhaps this performance will expedite its emergence from obscurity.