Richard Strauss (1864–1949): Enoch Arden, op. 38 – transcription for organ
(Enoch Arden, Croatian translation by Mate Maras)
Ana Pogorelić, narration
Tea Kulaš, organ
The poem Enoch Arden (1864) is based on a true story of a sailor long believed to have perished at sea. Years later he returns home, only to discover that his wife has remarried. Choosing not to disturb the peace she has found, he withdraws in silence and dies of a broken heart.
Set to the verses of this poem in the German translation by Adolf Strodtmann, Austrian late-Romantic and early-modern composer Richard Strauss (1864–1949) created in 1897 a work for spoken voice (narrator) and piano accompaniment. This genre, known as melodrama, enjoyed great popularity in Strauss’s time. The composer himself performed it with actor Ernst von Possart, achieving remarkable success.
Although melodrama soon fell out of fashion, the piece continued to be revived by eminent artists of the 20th century, among them Michael York and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. The first audio recording was made by actor Claude Rains and pianist Glenn Gould.
In Zagreb during the 1990s the work was performed by actress Alma Prica and pianist Đorđe Stanetti. Afterwards, it was not heard again in Croatia until 2017, when Bojana Gregorić Vejzović and Danijel Detoni presented it at the PagArtFestival.
The concert is organized in collaboration with the International Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Zadar and the University of Zadar.