Among Goethe’s dramas, Egmont stands practically unrivaled in its vibrant portrayal of protagonists faced with emotional anxieties and conflicts. For the convincing presentation of these states of heart and mind on the stage, the Prince of German Poets prescribed music for the key scenes as early as the work’s premiere. Now the Beethoven Orchestra of Bonn under its new principal conductor Dirk Kaftan has set itself the task of performing Beethoven’s incidental music. The magnificent Matthias Brandt collaborated with the dramaturge Tilman B?ttcher on this new version of the drama and renders his part with moving intensity. The text and the music experience their most intimate union in the melodrama. In a heart-stirring performance, Matthias Brandt’s Egmont first longs for sleep and then sees Klarchen’s spirit while dreaming. This Bonn production recorded in three-dimensional sound and with the finest technology conveys the live effect of theater experience and represents audiophile listening in the truest sense of the term.
