Gramophone Magazine
November 2023
Blu-ray of the Month

Elisabet Strid, Daniel Johansson, Michael Laurenz, Thomas Johannes Mayer, Tuomas Pursio, Doke Pauwels, Deutsche Oper Berlin Chorus and Orchestra, Christof Loy, Marc Albrecht

Franz Schreker’s career was cut short by the events of 1933 in Germany but he achieved real fame with his operas, and the huge success of Der Schatzgräber (‘The Treasure Hunter’) in the 1920s was the high point of his career. In a complex and ultimately tragic tale of destructive greed, desire and toxic social hierarchy, the innkeeper’s daughter Els is forced to confront the consequences of her murderous intent in what conductor Marc Albrecht considers ‘a work of exceptional quality, concentration and significance’.

"The work’s remarkable melodic beauty, luminous scoring and emotional intensity are vintage Schreker...This is the first recording of Der Schatzgräber to receive a commercial release in video format and I cannot recommend it too highly." - Gramophone Magazine, November 2023.