Ferdinand Frantz (1906-1959)
Ferdinand Frantz was among the extraordinary Wagnerian bass-baritones of the post-war years. He had the right vocal authority for the heroic role of Wotan a sizeable instrument with a weighty lower register and firm and powerful and solid top notes, moreover he possessed the stamina needed to sing Wagnerian roles on stage and did not lack the sensitivity to fine down his voice for the more poetic, intimate pages. Several of his most important roles were captured on both live and studio recordings during the years of his prime. Notable are two complete ring cycles performances recorded under Furtwangler (La Scala 1950 and Rai Rome 1954) and a studio Walkure always with Furtwangler (1953), Teleramund in studio with Jochum conducting and his Hans Sachs recorded twice with Rudolf Kempe (Dresden 1951 and Berlin 1956). He sang with the Vienna Staatsoper, Dresden's Semper Oper, Salzburg, La Scala, and, later, at Covent Garden. His Metropolitan Opera debut came on December 12, 1949, as Wotan in Die Walküre.

This extract is from the Berlin recording of Meistersinger, recorded for EMI in 1956, alongside Frantz were Rudolf Schock, Elisabeth Grummer, Gottlob Frick, Gerhard Unger and Benno Kusche as well as the very young Hermann Prey in the tiny role of the Nightwatch. This recording may have been surpassed by others from a technological point of view but the artistic quality, the sheer essence of this, perhaps Wagner's most elusive opera has never been so perfectly captured as in this legendary recording.

Rudolf Kempe conducts the BerlinPhilharmonic

Wahn! Wahn!
Überall Wahn!
Wohin ich forschend blick',
in Stadt- und Weltchronik,
den Grund mir aufzufinden,
warum gar bis aufs Blut
die Leut' sich quälen und schinden
in unnütz toller Wut!
Hat keiner Lohn
noch Dank davon:
in Flucht geschlagen,
wähnt er zu jagen;
hört nicht sein eigen Schmerzgekreisch,
wenn er sich wühlt ins eig'ne Fleisch,
wähnt Lust sich zu erzeigen!
Wer gibt den Namen an?
's ist halt der alte Wahn,
ohn' den nichts mag geschehen,
's mag gehen oder stehen!
Steht's wo im Lauf,
er schläft nur neue Kraft sich an:
gleich wacht er auf,
dann schaut, wer ihn bemeistern kann!
Wie friedsam treuer Sitten,
getrost in Tat und Werk,
liegt nicht in Deutschlands Mitten
mein liebes Nürenberg!
Doch eines Abends spat,
ein Unglück zu verhüten
bei jugendheissen Gemüten,
ein Mann weiss sich nicht Rat;
ein Schuster in seinem Laden
zieht an des Wahnes Faden;
wie bald auf Gassen und Strassen
fängt der da an zu rasen!
Mann, Weib, Gesell und Kind
fällt sich da an wie toll und blind;
und will's der Wahn gesegnen,
nun muss es Prügel regnen,
mit Hieben, Stoss' und Dreschen
den Wutesbrand zu löschen.
Gott weiss, wie das geschah?
Ein Kobold half wohl da:
ein Glühwurm fand sein Weibchen nicht;
der hat den Schaden angericht't.
Der Flieder war's: Johannisnacht!
Nun aber kam Johannistag!
Jetzt schaun wir, wie Hans Sachs es macht,
dass er den Wahn fein lenken mag,
ein edler Werk zu tun:
denn lässt er uns nicht ruh'n,
selbst hier in Nürenberg,
so sei's um solche Werk',
die selten vor gemeinen Dingen
und nie ohn' ein'gen Wahn gelingen.

Madness! Madness!
Everywhere madness!
Wherever I look searchingly
in city and world chronicles,
to seek out the reason
why, till they draw blood,
people torment and flay each other
in useless, foolish anger!
No-one has reward
or thanks for it:
driven to flight,
he thinks he is hunting;
hears not his own cry of pain;
when he digs into his own flesh
he thinks he is giving himself pleasure!
Who will give it its name?
It is the old madness,
without which nothing can happen,
nothing whatever!
If it halts somewhere in its course
it is only to gain new strenght in sleep:
suddenly it awakens,
then see who can master it!
How peacefully with its staunch customs,
contented in deed and work,
lies, in the middle of Germany,
my dear Nuremberg!
But one evening late,
to prevent a mishap
caused by youthful ardour,
a man knows not what to do;
a cobbler in his shop
plucks at the thread of madness:
how soon in alleys and streets
it begins to rage!
Man, woman, journeyman, and child
fall upon each other as if crazed and blind;
and if madness prevails,
it must now rain blows,
with cuts, blows, and thrashings
to quench the fire of anger.
God knows how that befell!
A goblin must have helped:
a glow-worm could not find its mate;
it set the trouble in motion.
It was the elder-tree: Midsummer Eve!
But now has come Midsummer Day!
Now let us see how Hans Sachs manages
finely to guide the madness
so as to perform a nobler work:
for if madness won't leave us in peace
even here in Nuremberg,
then let it be in the service of such works
as are seldom successful in plain activities
and never so without a touch of madness.