MANFRED GURLITT (1890-1972): Nana.

Description: Completed in 1933, based on a Zola novel, the title character of this opera is rather Lulu-like in her ability to destroy any man with whom she comes in contact. The music is wildly eclectic, according to the needs of the scene and character, from a nursery song to Italian grand opera, to Richard Strauss, to Korngoldian Technicolor Romanticism, to jazz and cabaret, to a bit of dissonance here and bitonality there. Gurlitt was suppressed by the Nazis and Nana was not premiered until 1958 at which time it was horribly dated. But, from our perspective, it's an interesting fragment of the churning artistic ferment that was the end of Weimar Germany. Live recording from April 2010. 3 CDs. German libretto. Ilia Papandreou (soprano), Peter Schöne (baritone), Dario Süß (bass), Richard Carlucci (tenor), Erfurt Theatre Opera Chorus, Erfurt Philharmonic Orchestra; Enrico Calesso.