Cela arrive rarement, le souffle coupé dès les premières notes. Une minute entière à retenir sa respiration dans une apnée d’émotion totale pour recevoir la première phrase du Lamento pour contralto, de Johann Christoph Bach, d’après les Lamentations de Jérémie, son ascension douloureuse, ornée de sanglots, puis les deux accords d’une longue plainte instrumentale, avant l’entrée, magique, de la voix de Magdalena Kozena. “Ach, dass ich Wassers g’nug hätte.” “Ah, si ma tête était remplie d’eau, si mes yeux étaient une source de larmes.” L’insouciance a été jusqu’alors votre lot ? Vous, toi, nous tous, pécheurs, allons connaître ce que pèse le lourd fardeau de nos iniquités – et la récompense de cette connaissance : 7 minutes 22 d’une pure splendeur musicale.
Recorded in Tokyo on October 23, 1963, this live recording of Nozze di Figaro boasts fine sound, a top cast, and the leadership of a conductor of great skill and experience. The label, Ponto, has joined the ranks of such other companies as Opera D’oro and Gala in making available broadcast and in-house recordings at affordable prices. Sometimes these releases are not even worth the modest price asked for; this one may well have more to offer than higher-priced studio sets. After a slightly hesitant first few moments, the sound quality settles down and becomes admirably strong and well defined. There is relatively little stage noise, the voices have a natural presence without being too forwardly placed, and Böhm’s orchestral control can be relished. His may be an old-fashioned reading, but it never lags or lacks for humor or beauty. The audience can be heard laughing from time to time at the stage antics; applause only interferes with the musical pleasures at the end of Non piu andrai, when unrestrained clapping covers a bit of Böhm’s ironically happy martial send-off.
Elsewhere on Opera Today readers can find a recent review of a live recording of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro from the Ponto label, a company that has joined the ranks of Opera D’oro and Gala in offering, at budget price, live recordings of various provenance. At their best, as with that Nozze, these recordings offer in acceptable sound (sometimes better) performances of such quality they rival their more expensive competitors. At less than the best, however, even the budget price becomes exorbitant. This Tristan und Isolde, recorded on January 25, 1967, unfortunately belongs to the latter category. Unless one has a strong personal reason for wanting a keepsake of this company or the artists involved, the recording is unlikely to please most listeners. The primary reason is the sound. While not unlistenable, the recording is clearly an “in-house” affair, and probably from an audience member, as some of the coughing is more up-front than the singing. Worse, during the climax, some audience members are whispering as Isolde enters the Leibestod. One would love for a Jon Vickers to have been present to yell out, “Stop your damn whispering!”
William Bolcom is arguably the preeminent American opera composer of today. His third commission for Lyric Opera of Chicago, A Wedding, recently opened to mostly positive reviews. His previous work in the form, A View from the Bridge, had a successful run at the Metropolitan Opera following its premiere in Chicago.
Il Trovatore Giuseppe Verdi, music and Salvatore Cammarano and Leone Emanuele Bardare, libretto TDK DVUS-CLOPIT Raina Kabaivanska (Leonora) Fiorenza Cossotto (Azucena) Plácido Domingo (Manrico) Piero Cappuccilli (Conte di Luna) José van Dam (Ferrando) Maria Venuti (Inez) Heinz Zednik (Ruiz) Karl...
On an accompanying CD and in the liner notes, interviewer Klaus J. Schönmetzler asks conductor Enoch zu Guttenberg, “Why another St. Matthew Passion?” This is a fair question considering the glut of recordings ranging from the overtly romantic to the idealized “authentic” (and mostly fast) Baroque editions. To his credit, Guttenberg responds to this question by acknowledging an aversion to interpreting Bach overly Romantically while desiring a Baroque sensibility. As a theologian, zu Guttenberg understands an undeniable conviction in Bach’s theology, particularly in the chorales, which he acknowledges can lead to a more Romantic interpretation. Zu Guttenberg’s attempt to capture this devotion coupled with the reality of twenty-first century instruments and performers, produces a St. Matthew stuck in a mediocre middle ground between a Baroque “ideal” and a Romantic interpretation.
The imposing figure of Johann Sebastian Bach has loomed large for Magdalena Ko ená throughout her career. It was her first disc of Bach arias on Deutsche Grammophon’s Archiv label that brought the golden-voiced mezzo to the attention of the music world as early as 1997. Word then quickly went round that Magdalena was the perfect choice for Bach recordings. ”This disc that started my international career also was my introduction to the great Baroque conductors, including the wonderful scholar and musician Reinhard Goebel, with whom I’ve worked on my new disc, Lamento.” Although the title may suggest wailing and gnashing of teeth, this is a sublime and eclectic mixture of music by J. S. Bach, his relations and contemporaries. ”There’s a very optimistic feeling to this CD,” says Ko ená. ”Although all these pieces are about how horrible it is on this earth, they are really celebrating how great it will be afterwards. There’s a message of hope throughout.”
Colour, wit and life abound with a star turn from the Rossini tenor of the moment Comte Ory Le Comte Ory is the first great French-language comic opera. A late work (Paris, 1828), sensuous, witty and exquisitely crafted, it has...
Don Giovanni: Leporello's Revenge Mozart's opera presented from the point of view of Don Giovanni's servant, Leporello. 55 minutes Color / Stereo Copyright Date: 2000 ISBN: 1-56029-885-5 Mozart's Don Giovanni is arguably one of his most complex, politically controversial, and...
Deux "Falstaff", à vingt ans d'écart LE MONDE | 27.12.04 | 14h05 Les amateurs d'opéra ont, généralement, un fort penchant pour l'écoute comparée des interprétations. L'éditeur Andante les comblera. Dans un somptueux livre-CD (224 pages avec notice et livret en...
Zelmira Gioachino Rossini, music and Andrea Leone Tortola, libretto ORC 27 Scottish Chamber Orchestra Maurizio Benini, conductor Besides its Opera in English series on Chandos, Peter Moore's Foundation has sponsored the recording of many a fine bel canto rarity on...
French soprano Natalie Dessay sings three roles, all quite different in character and personality -- from Zerbinetta in "Ariadne" to Zdenka in "Arabella" and Sophie in "Rosenkavalier." It is a delicious way to sample the pleasures of this great singer....
The House of the Sun Einojuhani Rautavaara, music and libretto Ondine 1032-2D Oulu Symphony orchestra Mikko Franck, conductor The recording company Ondine, based in Helsinki, has built itself an international reputation, at least arguably, by dedicating itself to the works...
A Masked Ball Giuseppe Verdi, music and Antonio Somma, libretto English translation by Amanda Holden Chandos 3116 (2) London Philharmonic Orchestra David Parry, conductor In an era where major record companies seldom produce complete opera sets (and those they do...
STRAUSS Der Liebe der Danae, op. 83 * Ulrich Windfuhr, cond; Franz Grundheber (Jupiter); Manuela Uhl (Danae); Hans-Jürgen Schöpflin (Mercury); Robert Chafin (Midas); Paul McNamara (Pollux); Cornelia Zach (Xanthe, Europa); Daniel Behle, Martin Fleitmann, Simon Pauly, Hans Georg Ahrens (Vier...
SPONTINI: Agnese di Hohenstaufen Lucille Udovick (Agnese), Dorothy Dow (Irmengarda), Franco Corelli (Enrico il Palatino), Francesco Albanese (Filippo), Enzo Mascherini (Re di Francia), Anselmo Colzani (Enrico il Leone), Gian Giacomo Guelfi (L'Imperatore); Florence Teatro Communale/ Vittorio Gui Myto 42084 [2CD]...
VERDI:Ernani with Giovanna d'Arco excerpts Georgio Merighi (Ernani), Piero Cappuccilli (Don Carlo), Augusto Ferrin (De Silva), Mara Zampieri (Elvira) Trieste Teatro Communale/ MolinariPradelli; Mara Zampieri (Giovanna), Renato Francesconi (Carlo), Ettore Nova (Giacomo) San Remo Symphony/ Buenza-Delil Myto 41288 [2CD] 148...
VERDI: Otello Mario del Monaco (Otello), Renata Tebaldi (Desdemona), Leonard Warren (Iago); La Scala/ Antonio Votto Myto 41083 [2CD] 140 minutes Tebaldi and Del Monaco twice recorded Otello together in the studio, and we've reviewed a number of bootlegs starring...
MERCADANTE: Emma d'Antiochia Nelly Miricioiu (Emma), Maria Costanza Nocentini (Adelia), Bruce Ford (Ruggiero), Roberto Servile (Corrado); Geoffrey Mitchell Choir, London Philharmonic/ David Parry Opera Rara 26 [3CD] 183 minutes I have long been on a campaign to revive the works...
JANáCEK Jenufa * Charles Mackerras, cond; Janice Watson (Jenufa), Josephine Barstow (The Kostelnicka), Nigel Robson (Laca), Peter Wedd (Steva), Neale Davies (Foreman); Welsh Natl Op O & Ch * CHANDOS 3106 (2 CDs: 121: 11) There is so much to...
During his heyday, Alain Vanzo did not get quite the recognition he deserved. Though the voice was sweeter and more beautiful than the somewhat white sound of Nicolai Gedda, it was the latter who got all the plums; primo because he was a discovery of Legge and a few years earlier on the scene and secundo while opera managers could cast him in other languages than French and Italian.
Still, a lot of people have forgotten that the tenor around during one of the most sensational discoveries of a major soprano was Vanzo (Lucrezia Borgia in 1965 with Caballé in New York). Maybe the fuss surrounding a new soprano was so big that most people forgot the splendid tenor.
Vanzo made his début in a comprimario role in 1954 but soon he was singing major roles. He brought with him a wealth of experience gained in the lighter repertoire. During his youth he sang a lot of the songs written for what the French call 'des chanteurs de charme'. In the early fifties the Corsican Tino Rossi, the Greek Georges Guétary (remember him from An American in Paris?) and the now completely forgotten Réda Caire were the biggest French sellers and far more popular than Piaf. Vanzo sang their hits and such a singer doesn't need many decibels but lots of charm, an impeccable legato and a mastery of piano and pianissimo. You cannot bawl your way through "Poème" or "J'attendrai".
This heritage he brought with him in his operatic roles and he kept it till his last performances. He recorded all his major roles in French at a time when artists still performed in their own language. Most of these recordings were highlights only on the Véga label, a subsidiary of French Decca and in my collection there are LP's of Bohème, Lakmé, Traviata, Barbier de Séville, Faust, Butterfly, Lucie de Lammermoor, Pecheurs de perles, Mireille, Cavalleria, Pays de sourire etc. etc. When at last some major recording companies started recording him in complete operas he had been singing for more than twenty years and fine though Pecheurs (Cotrubas - 77), Mireille (Freni - 79) or Mignon (Horne - 77) are, they nevertheless pale somewhat compared with the fresher and more youthful sound he had on those LP's of the late fifties, early sixties.
Therefore this recording comes rather late in his career. He was already 57 and it shows. The voice is somewhat blowsy, not always as firm as it used to be. Sometimes the high notes come out too much laser like. When he puts on some pressure the voice tends to wobble a bit and sometimes he chops up the line as he doesn't have the breath any more for one long phrase. On the other hand there is still much to enjoy: there is his perfect French (not naturally for someone from the deep south of Franch) and his perfect sense of style in this elegant French music. You hear he is perfectly at ease while Gedda, though much younger, always sounds a little bit laboured. Vanzo still sings a perfect mezza-voce, has ravishing piano's and though he transposes the high C in "Salut demeure chaste et pure" he can still attack the high note forte and close it with a fine diminuendo. For the moment this is the only complete testimony of his Faust on record and one wouldn't be without it.
The surprise of the recording is the appearance of another great singer in the French tradition, be it the English soprano Valerie Masterson. Now Madame Masterson has in common with the tenor that she too is well acquainted with the so called lighter (but often more difficult to sing) repertoire. Her many recordings of Sullivan-pieces and her masterly classical musical recording with Tom Allen bear testimony to her charming way with a lilting piece. Though understandable her French is somewhat less clear than Vanzo's, she still has a nice handle upon the language. But what is so very traditional French is the individual sound she brings with her: a little bit of the sweet-vinegary sound so typical for many great French soprano's. In this she is a real successor to such great ladies as Martha Angelici and Géori Boué after the war or of prewar Germaine Martinelli. And what a fine trill she displays in "Ah je rire."
From then on it's somewhat downhill though James Morris is not a bad devil. A few years ago all critics agreed that he was miscast as Méphistophèles at the Met. I heard him one month later as Wotan during the Liège Walküre and was surprised to note that the voice had become more a high baritone than a real bass or bass-baritone. But twenty years ago there was still more heft in the lower region. He is not a real "basse chantante" but he clearly has done his homework and probably listened to some real representatives of the art like Plançon, the formidable Journet and the best postwar in specie, José van Dam. Therefore he sings fluently with some elegance and without making a Slavian travesty of his devil like the bad examples of Christoff and Ghiaurov.
Gino Quilico as Valentin is a little too impersonal and too throaty for my taste. Martha Senn on the contrary sings a fine Siebel. Traditional castings often give this not unimportant role to a soubrette and in the middle voice the fine dark hued soprano of Senn fits better with the young male adolescent Siebel is supposed to be. The upper voice is a little bit too shrill.
Serge Baudo conducts a fast moving and lyric version of the opera and the orchestra clearly loves the score and plays it well. The sound is perfect with no audible clicks and results probably from a professional source. The ballet has vanished from this performance and is replaced by an intermezzo. It's no great loss. Not that I don't like the music (on the contrary) but this Faust won't be anybody's first choice of a Faust recording and in this way it fits on 2 CDs.
Jan Neckers