Though its popularity has sadly diminishedover the years, up to about the middle ofthe last century ‘Martha’ was one of themost frequently performed operas on theGerman stage – largely owing to the greattenor Enrico Caruso’s acclaimed portrayal ofLyonel, a role which he repeated all over theworld. The work is one of about 30 operaswritten by Friedrich von Flotow, and indeedit was through Martha that the Germancomposer achieved lasting fame. Only adecade after its first performance, and‘Martha’ has already been performed as farafield as Algiers, San Francisco and Sydney.The seed of the opera can be found in thepastiche ballet Lady Harriette, whose Act 1Flotow was commissioned by the ParisOpéra to write in 1844. Set in Richmond,England, during the reign of Queen Anne,the plot centres around Lady HarrietDurham who, tired of court life, decides tohave some fun by visiting the local fairwith her foppish cousin Lord Tristan andmaid Nancy. Disguised as servant girls, bothshe and Nancy hire themselves off to therich farmer Plumkett and his foster brotherLyonel (whose origins are unknown, the onlyvestige being a ring which his father left himand which he should present to the queen ifever he is in danger) – only to be wooed bythe two men, who have each fallen for themaid and her lady respectively. When thenext day Queen Anne is out hunting withLady Harriet and her court, a chanceencounter with Lyonel sees him make claimto his ‘maid’, and he is subsequentlyarrested, having been declared insane byHarriet and Lord Tristan. But when his ring isbrought to the queen, Harriet is told that heis in fact the son of the unjustly banishedEarl of Derby, and she rushes back to thefarm to relay the news and to ask forLyonel’s hand in marriage. Lyonel at firstangrily rejects her, but a replica of RichmondFair sees the initial encounter between thefour characters renewed, giving rise tojubilant celebrations.Made in Berlin in 1944 while Germany wasstill in a state of ‘total war’, this recordingremains one of the most acclaimedinterpretations of the opera. Comprisingsome of the best singers of that generation,it is astutely conducted by Johannes Schüler– to whose credit the Staatsoper was able torebuild its repertoire after 1945 – and thusrepresents an invaluable addition to BrilliantClassics’ ever?growing opera collection.

Erna Berger Lady Harriet Durham

Else Tegetthoff Nancy

Eugen Fuchs Lord Tristan Mickleford

Peter Anders Lyonel

Josef Greindl Plumkett

Franz Sauer The Sheriff of Richmond

Chor der Staatsoper Berlin

Staatskapelle Berlin

Johannes Schüler conductor