Paul Dukas’ Ariane et Barbe-Bleue, first heard in 1907, once seemed important. Arturo Toscanini conducted the Met premiere in 1911 with Farrar and later arranged some of its music for a 1947 recording with his NBC Symphony.
The economics of the recording companies dictate much that is not ideal. Wagner’s operas were not composed as they were in order to permit the extraction of bleeding chunks, even on those occasions when strophic song forms do occur.
Among the recent recordings of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony, Valery Gergiev’s release on the LSO Live label is an excellent addition to the discography of this work.
While not unknown, the songs of Alexander von Zemlinsky (1871-1942) deserve to be heard more frequently.
Recorded on 5 and 6 May 2008 and 17 and 18 January 2009 at the Lisztzentrum (Raiding, Austria), this recent Bridge release makes available the piano-vocal versions of three song cycles by Gustav Mahler, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Rückert-Lieder, and Kindertotenlieder performed by mezzo-soprano Hermine Haselböck, accompanied by Russell Ryan.
Contraltos rarely achieve the acclaim and renown of sopranos. Assigned few leading roles in opera, they are condemned to playing the villain or the grandmother, or to stealing the castrati’s trousers in en travesti roles.
Following their 2011 Decca recording of Striggio’s Mass in 40 Parts (1566), I Fagiolini continue their quest to unearth lost treasures of the High Renaissance and early Baroque, with this collection of world-premiere recordings, ‘reconstructions’ and ‘reconstitutions’ of music by Giovanni and Andrea Gabrieli, Monteverdi, Palestrina, and their less well-known compatriots Viadana, Barbarino and Soriano.
Eternal Echoes is an album of khazones [Jewish cantorial music] for cantorial soloist, solo violin and a blended instrumental ensemble comprising a small orchestra and the Klezmer Conservatory Band.
Michael Tilson Thomas’s recording of Mahler’s Third Symphony is an outstanding contribution to the composer’s discography.
Oliver Knussen burst into British music with an unprecedented flourish. In 1967, the London Symphony Orchestra premiered Knussen’s First Symphony, with István Kertész scheduled to conduct.
Based on performances given in Summer 2010 at the Lucerne Festival, this recording of Beethoven’s Fidelio is an admirable recording that captures the vitality of the work as conducted by Claudio Abbado.
Stanisław Moniuszko (1819-1872) was one of the most popular composers of his day in Poland, and of the many works he wrote for the stage, two are performed from time to time, Halka (1848) and Strazny dwór [The Haunted Manor] (1865).
The Polish alto Jadwiga Rappé is a familiar voice in various stage and concert works, and the recent release of a selection of songs by Stanisław Moniuszko (1819-1872) is an opportunity to hear her performing artsongs.
Originally released on multiple discs in 1981 this reissue on two CDs is a comprehensive collection of art songs by Italian and French composers from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
An exciting contribution to the discography of this popular opera, the live performance of Richard Strauss’s Salome from the Festspielhaus at Baden-Baden is a compelling DVD.
Released in late 2011, Deutsche Grammophon’s DVD of the new staging of Berg’s Lulu at the Gran Teatro del Liceu, Barcelona is an excellent contribution to the discography of this fascinating opera.
A recent release by the Metropolitan Opera, this two-disc set makes available on DVD the famous performance of Berg’s Lulu that was broadcast on 20 December 1980 as part of the PBS series “Live from the Met.”
The novels of Sinclair Lewis once shot across the American literary skies like comets, alarming and fascinating readers of that era, but their tails didn’t extend far behind them.
Once the province of only the most dedicated opera fanatics, mid-20th century recordings of privately taped live performances have become more widely available.
Flute players in opera orchestra around the world must look forward to the frequent appearances of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, knowing that while the stage spotlight in the mad scene will be on the soprano, the orchestral spotlight will be on their instrument.
As a live occasion, the gala format allows for a festive atmosphere — a variety of singers trot back and forth across the stage, usually performing a series of “opera’s greatest hits” with no distractions, if one may, in the way of costume, set, or dramatic context. Recorded for posterity, such gala events can lose, for many viewers, the attractions of the live atmosphere and become rather labored exercises.
Verdi Gala
Soloists, including Placido Domingo, Barbara Frittoli, Jose Carreras
Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Chorus del Festival Verdi
Zubin Mehta, conductor
Euroarts DVD 2051057
As a live occasion, the gala format allows for a festive atmosphere — a variety of singers trot back and forth across the stage, usually performing a series of "opera's greatest hits" with no distractions, if one may, in the way of costume, set, or dramatic context. Recorded for posterity, such gala events can lose, for many viewers, the attractions of the live atmosphere and become rather labored exercises.
The DVD of a 2001 concert celebrating the 100th anniversary of Verdi's death, Verdi Gala, may escape such a judgment for many. The title reveals why: this concert focuses on one composer, and offers a comprehensive overview of the career of the master's art. Spread over two discs, with a total timing of almost three hours, the program starts with the famous chorus from Nabucco, offers some glimpses of other early Verdi (Jerusalem, the French version of I Lombardi, and Il Corsaro). From there, a leap is taken to the great mid-career masterpieces of Rigoletto, Traviata, and Trovatore, and the disc proceeds to cover the most popular of Verdi's later operas, before concluding with a reprise of the Nabucco chorus.
The DVD package cover features a blurb boasting of a "behind the scenes slide show" and "spoken introduction by the artists." The slide show? A dozen or so photographs of the artists in rehearsal, with no captions. The "spoken introductions"? They consist of brief biographical sketches of Verdi and some perfunctory setting of the scenes for the excerpted scenes. Delivered in Italian by the singers themselves, holding scripts, these introductions may prove informative and entertaining to some. Others, such as your reviewer, found them so consistently cringe-inducing that, in order to postpone the day when a Botox injection might be taken into consideration, frequent use of the "skip scene" button on the DVD remote became required. Fortunately, all these introductions are separately tracked.
Inevitably, the value of this DVD comes down to the individual singers, and how many of them overcome the "gala" format to deliver truly musical, dramatic performances. A couple do accomplish this feat, but thankfully, none are truly defeated.
Of the two highlights for this reviewer, Mariella Devia's rendition of Violetta's act one closing scene appears first. Accompanied off-stage by Marcelo Alvarez, Devia has the vocal goods for this challenging music, and though not a strikingly attractive woman, she has an air of class and self-possession that projects Violetta's character very well.
Late in the evening Placido Domingo, looking a bit tired and all of his years, takes on the closing scene of Otello, with Daniela Dessi as his Desdemona. In the longest excerpt of the night (over 20 minutes), Domingo manages the rare feat of finding his character so deeply that the gala trappings - the tuxedo and seated orchestra - cannot distract the viewer. His Nium mi tema must rank with any of his staged performances for tragic depth and pathos, and Dessi's committed Desdemona deserves admiration as well.
To see Carreras on stage singing opera in 2001, one admires the man's art and passion, and of course his triumphant personal story, though the beauty that propelled him to a world-class career has long gone. He manages Riccardo's death scene fairly well, but is more impressive in lesser-known music from Jerusalem and Il Corsaro, the latter sung with an able Elisabete Matos. Younger tenors Jose Cura and Marcelo Alvarez do well for themselves, though this reviewer wouldn't mind hearing the smoother beauty of Alvarez's voice in the more dynamic dramatic persona of Cura.
Frittoli surprises with a very convincing Ritorna vincitor; the other key soprano solo comes from Dessi as the Forza Leonora. Her Pace, pace finds her at the outer edge of her range, but not distressingly so.
Veterans Leo Nucci and Ruggero Raimondi cover the baritone/bass sections admirably. The mezzos are not as satisfying. Luciana D'Intino's Eboli hits all the notes but feels manufactured, and Gloria Scalchi's Azucena, in the closing scene of Trovatore, delivers her part well without making any greater claims on our interest.
The Parma audience is all dressed up and seemingly enthusiastic, though most audience shots seem to find a few grumpy, unenthused guests. Andrea Bocelli, many will be glad to know, makes only a brief appearance, near the end — he is in the audience.
One major quibble must be dealt with: the subtitles in English insist on capitalizing the first word of every line, even if said line is only the continuation of a previous thought. Distracting.
Finally, Mehta holds the evening together, and by the latter half, really gets some fine performing from his orchestra. He is also to be endlessly thanked for refusing to let audience applause keep him from conducting the last beat of the final Nabucco chorus. He turns and puts his hands out in the universal plea for "stop!" and then, all smiles, gets that final note in. Bless him.
So if one has a great personal affection for gala evenings, and especially for Verdi, this Verdi Gala could be fine entertainment value. If, however, errant capitalization or insipid narration, let alone inconsistent artistic endeavor, dismay one, look for these artists in complete recordings of opera on DVD.
Chris Mullins
Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy