02 Mendelsson EliasMendelssohn – Elias
Christine Schäfer; Cornelia Kallisch; Michael Schade; Wolfgang Schöne; Gächinger Kantorei Stuttgart;
Bach-Collegium Stuttgart; Helmuth Rilling
Hänssler Classic CD 098.017

Mendelssohn’s Elias is known as Elijah in the English-speaking world. And it was in English that the oratorio was first performed at the Birmingham Festival in 1846 with Mendelssohn himself conducting. The work became very popular in England, though by the end of the 19th century a reaction had set in. In 1892 George Bernard Shaw called it “sensuously beautiful in the most refined and fastidiously decorous way, but thoughtless.” Shaw was willing to set Elijah next to the “seraphic,” not religious, music of Gounod but could not find more in it than “exquisite prettiness.” Parsifal, Die Zauberflöte, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and the best of Bach and Handel were adduced as contrasts. In recent years interest in Elijah has revived (there are now 25 recordings available), as listeners have begun to consider the work on its own merits, not as a pale imitation of Handel’s oratorios or Bach’s Passions.

The CDs under review constitute a re-release; the music was recorded in 1994 and the discs were first released soon afterwards. There is stiff competition from two earlier recordings, which both date from 1968: the Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos (a very dramatic reading with Janet Baker superb in the alto arias) and the Wolfgang Sawallisch (with Elly Ameling, Peter Schreier and Theo Adam as Elias). It stands up well, both because of Rilling’s conducting and the quality of the singing. The soloists are Christine Schäfer, soprano, Cornelia Kallisch, alto, Michael Schade, tenor, and baritone Wolfgang Schöne as Elias.

03 Tutto Un Ballo in MascheraTutto Verdi – Un ballo in maschera
Francesco Meli; Vladimir Stoyanov;
Kristin Lewis; Elisabetta Fiorillo;
Serena Gamberoni; Teatro Regio di Parma; Gianluigi Gelmetti
Cmajor 724208

By age 46 the world famous Verdi had many triumphs behind him, but all was not smooth sailing. His opera on the subject of regicide was strenuously objected to by the Neapolitan censors and he simply cancelled in disgust. Verdi was taken to court, but went to Rome instead; changed the setting and the protagonist to a mere Governor in remote colonial North America and thus the opera, Un ballo in maschera was premiered and succeeded.

This is a wonderful performance, one of the finest in this Tutto Verdi series of the complete operas. Conductor Gianluigi Gelmetti is an unlikely looking gentleman at first glance but at his first wave of the baton one realizes he is a master. His upbeat tempi have a big sweep that gives the opera the brilliance Verdi intended. The tenor, Francesco Meli (Riccardo), is a young fresh voice, powerful and sensitive; the baritone, Vladimir Stoyanov is beginning to take over from the venerable Nucci in the series. His voice is powerful, well shaded, his acting puts a menace into his Renato and we commiserate with his agony of being a betrayed husband. Serena Gamberoni’s Oscar is a delight — a stunning beauty, her voice supple and flexible, she moves like a real opera star! An American from Arkansas, Kristin Lewis is a passionate Amelia with power, secure in her top notes. Elisabetta Fiorillo (Ulrica), an old-timer now with an alto range, makes a strong impression as the wise and not at all wicked soothsayer.

About the scenery: it’s simply eye-popping and stunning, with grandiose highly artistic architecture, monumental creations and gorgeous colouring.

Editor’s Note:Next month’s WholeNote will feature an extended article by Janos Gardonyi in honour of the bicentennial of Verdi’s birth on October 10, 1813.

04 Benjamin - Written on SkinGeorge Benjamin – Written on Skin
Barbara Hannigan; Bejun Mehta; Chrisopher Purves; Rebecca Jo Loeb;
Allan Clayton; Pierre-Laurent Aimard; Mahler Chamber Orchestra;
George Benjamin
Nimbus Records NI 5885/6

Written on Skin was a hit right from the first performances at the 2012 Aix-en-Provence festival, where this recording was made. The hard-hitting libretto by British playwright Martin Crimp involves murder, cannibalism and suicide, while the riveting score by fellow Brit George Benjamin includes some of the most sexually charged passages in opera since Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. Yet the action unfolds subtly, in a series of intimate conversations, while the diaphanous music, with its silky colours and angular textures, avoids sensationalism altogether.

Canadian soprano Barbara Hannigan dazzles as the passionately defiant Agnès. Her husband, the oily, malevolent Protector, is masterfully portrayed by baritone Christopher Purves. Counter-tenor Bejun Mehta is thrilling as the Boy, an itinerant artist.

Though the story is set in the Middle Ages, characters occasionally step into the present to “snap the dead back to life.” So the Boy imagines how a forest where he is taking refuge will be covered by “eight lanes of poured concrete” in a thousand years. Moments like these resonate powerfully. Less effective is when the characters slip into the third person to narrate their own story, or, especially, when the Boy turns up as one of the busybody 21st century angels. Their chilling presence may be provocative as a poetic device, but it does interfere with the drama.

A bonus, Benjamin’s imaginative Duet for piano and orchestra, featuring pianist wizard Pierre-Laurent Aimard, adds to the many reasons to enjoy this terrific recording.

Patricia GreenLa Voix Nue – Songs for Unaccompanied Voice by Living Composers
Patricia Green
Blue Griffin Records BGR279
bluegriffin.com

An entire disc of unaccompanied vocal works is a courageous undertaking for a singer, as the selection and performance of repertoire as well as its pacing and placement must engage the listener from start to finish. In addition, the singer must execute absolute precision of pitch while effectively conveying dramatic content. The beautiful, rich, warm tone of Patricia Green’s voice, combined with her dramatic sensibilities and skilful musicianship, is perfect for this collection of songs by living composers. These pieces, though modern, for the most part draw on historical material with texts from Shakespeare, Norwegian history, Ovid, Native legend, 5th-6th century aphorisms and surrealist French poetry.

As a committed performer of new music, Green is highly attuned to the intention of composers and respectfully steps out of the studio to delightfully make an exception to her solitude, allowing the accompaniment of birdsong for the excerpt from R. Murray Schafer’s Princess of the Stars. Another interesting and iconic work, King Harald’s Saga by Scottish composer Judith Weir, highlights Green’s dramatic flare, featuring a mixture of narrative and interchanging roles, each of which is given its own characteristic voice. Hillary Tann’s dramatic song cycle Arachne, in which an apprentice weaver takes a haughty stance with her teacher Athene and pays dearly for it, gives Green yet another opportunity to characterize more than one voice. The same again for Jonathan Dove’s setting of Shakespeare’s Tempest verses in Ariel. A couple of eclectic cycles by José Evangelista and György Kurtágprovide the singer a chance to exhibit a light and playful air, most charming indeed.

01 rameau amantsRameau - Les Amants Trahis
Philippe Sly; Hélène Guilmette; Clavecin en Concert; Luc Beauséjour
Analekta AN 2 9991

Rameau was always supremely confident of his instrumental compositions, yet opera remained his key challenge. His quest for excellence is demonstrated in this CD. In some short extracts from Thétis, bass-baritone Philippe Sly sings an attractive prélude Muses, dans vos divins concerts, demonstrating Rameau’s mastery of airs and récitatifs. More complex are the pieces selected from Les Amants Trahis: Hélène Guilmette and Sly are almost polyphonic in Ma bergère a trahi sa foi, carefully interpreting the moods of the duo. In fact, it is difficult to decide which are the more enjoyable, the duos or the airs – the compilers offer us no fewer than 30 tracks to help us make up our minds!
 
Les Amants Trahis, with 12 tracks selected, dominates this anthology, but let us not forget Aquilon et Orithie. The air Servez mes feux à vôtre tour features not only some spirited singing but also a vigourous violin accompaniment. Le Berger Fidèle’s Faut-il qu’Amarillis périsse? is an excellent vehicle for Guilmette’s skills, stately and pensive as is the air in question.
 
Finally, there is the conducting from the harpsichord by Luc Beauséjour, who brings out the best in his continuo. All demonstrate the importance of Rameau whether to opera or to French music.


Pergolesi - La Salustia
Vittorio Prato; Serena Malfi; Laura Polverelli; Accademia Barocca De I Musici Italiani; Corrado Rovaris
ArtHaus Musik 101651

Pergolesi - L’Olimpiade
Raúl Giménez; Lyubov Petrova; Yetzabel Arias Fernández; Academia Montis Regalis; Alessandro De Marchi
ArtHaus Musik 101650

Pergolesi - Il Flaminio
Juan Francisco Gatell; Laura Polverelli; Marina De Liso; Accademia Bizantina Orchestra & Chorus; Ottavio Dantone
ArtHaus Musik 101653

Of Pergolesi's operas only the intermezzo La Serva Padrona is now at all well known, although I once saw another intermezzo, Livietta e Trascollo. But in his short life (he died at the age of 26), Pergolesi wrote a number of full-length operas, both serious and comic. The opera house in Jesi, Pergolesi's birthplace, has performed several of them in recent years.

02a pergolesi salustiaOf the three recordings under review, that of La Salustia is the least satisfactory. The opera is set during the reign of the third-century Roman Emperor Alexander Severus and presents the rivalry between his mother and his wife. The best performance comes from Serena Malfi as the emperor's much abused wife but all of the singers are technically very competent. The main drawback is the acting which is either rudimentary or grossly exaggerated. Attempts at baroque gesture are unsuccessful. I also thought it was a mistake to cast a countertenor as the emperor. I am not saying this because I disapprove of the use of countertenors in 18th century opera (unhistorical though it is). A singer with a stronger voice like Philippe Jaroussky would certainly have managed it very well.

02b pergolesi olimpiadeThe libretto for L'Olimpiade is by Pietro Metastasio. It was set by dozens of composers, beginning with Caldara in 1733. There is a CD set issued by Naïve which uses the complete text of the Metastasio arias but uses music by 12 different composers (it was reviewed in the July 2012 issue of The WholeNote). Pergolesi's version dates from 1735 and was written for Rome. It features a tenor, a baritone and four singers with high voices. Since women were not allowed on the stage in Rome, the higher parts would have been performed by castrati. Here they are sung by women, a sensible decision, and the singers are very good indeed, particularly Sofia Soloviy and Jennifer Rivera, in trouser roles. I am not wild about the production which makes no attempt at creating any theatrical illusion and does nothing with the important pastoral element of the work.

02c pergolesi flaminicWhile the two operas discussed above are opere serie, Il Flaminio is a comedy or, as it was known in Neapolitan dialect, a commedia pre musica. It incorporates popular melodies as well as jokes about language. The maid Checca is from Pisa, she makes fun of the Neapolitan dialect spoken by her boyfriend and complains that he mispronounces her name as Cecca. He then attempts, unsuccessfully, to address her in Tuscan. The production does not start well: the baritone overacts and the tenor is not much better but the women are excellent. Laura Polverelli gives a magnificent performance of an opera seria aria in Act I (it is the context which makes it a parody) and there is a delightful impersonation by, again, Serena Malfi as a gauche but ultimately successful suitor.

To sum up: I cannot recommend the production of La Salustia but I liked the other two, despite some reservations.


03 rossini barberRossini - Il Barbiere di Siviglia
Cecilia Bartoli; David Kuebler; Gino Quilico; Carlos Feller; Schwetzingen SWR Festspiele; Gabriele Ferro
ArtHaus Musik 102 305

Useless Precaution. Believe it or not, this was how this opera was called at its premiere. Since the Barbiere had already been written by the older, well established Paisiello, Rossini had to choose a different title. Opening night the Teatro Argentina in Rome was filled with Paisiello fans and this new opera by a “young upstart” was booed and whistled off the stage, but now, almost 200 years later where is Paisiello?

This wonderful production from Cologne just proves how successful a performance can be without any directorial updating, added “relevance” or other nonsense that has ruined so many present day productions. Although traditional, it is brilliantly directed by veteran Michael Hampe, but it is the principal singers who make this production unforgettable. The star mezzo, Cecilia Bartoli has distinguished herself as a true Rossini diva both as a dramatic actress (e.g. Desdemona) and here as a delightful comedienne singing with virtuoso brilliance and conquering Rossini’s hair-raising fioraturas with supreme ease. Underneath she has a mischievous trait and hidden fire par excellence so essential for a Rossini heroine.

Her counterpart as Count Almaviva, American tenor David Kueblerwreaks havoc in some hilarious scenes (especially as a drunken soldier), his voice perfectly suited for Rossini’s difficult tessituras. No less successful is Canadian baritone Gino Quilico(Figaro) who proves to be a worthy son of his famous father, with a velvety, resilient and acrobatic lyrical baritone. A wonderful bonus in the basso department is the eminent, now regrettably late Robert Lloyd, incomparable as Don Basilio, but Carlos Feller certainly doesn’t disappoint as the hilarious though pitiful Dr. Bartolo either.


04 mahler orchesterliederMahler - Orchesterlieder
Christian Gerhaher; Orchestre symphonique de Montréal; Kent Nagano
Analekta AN 2 9849

Kent Nagano’s initial collaboration with the splendid German baritone Christian Gerhaher and the OSM in a Sony recording of Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde drew qualified admiration from me in 2009. This new recording of Mahler’s vocal works on the Analekta label is a patchwork from two January evenings during the inaugural season of the OSM’s new concert hall in 2012. As before, the main attraction is Gerhaher’s exceptional voice and sensitive interpretation of the three major song cycles: the youthful Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, the ruminative Kindertotenlieder, and the variegated settings of the Rückert Lieder. (Gerhaher also released a sensational Deutsche Grammophon recording of Des Knaben Wunderhorn with Pierre Boulez and the Cleveland Orchestra in 2010.)

Nagano is an attentive collaborator and handles tempo fluctuations adroitly, though the dynamic contrasts and drama of the music are decidedly underplayed. The recorded sound has considerable presence which is both a blessing and a curse as this is one of the noisier live performance pick-ups I’ve heard. Beyond the usual muffled coughs from the audience, odd thumps and strange mutterings occasionally infest the stage as well. (This is the downside of making recordings on the cheap without the contribution of an engaged producer in proper studio conditions.) Gerhaher’s finely modulated voice and excellent diction set a new standard for future interpreters of Mahler lieder. Thankfully this time (unlike the OSM Das Lied release) full French and English translations of the German texts are provided. 

05 saariaho passionKaija Saariaho - La Passion de Simone
Dawn Upshaw; Finnish RSO; Tapiola Chamber Choir; Esa-Pekka Salonen
Ondine ODE 1217-5

There is no easy way to explain the mystery that was Simone Weil. A trained philosopher before women were seen as capable of comprehending philosophy, a secularized Jew who converted to Catholicism, a pacifist who sought combat in the Spanish Civil War, a left-wing thinker who put her ideas to the test by joining a factory assembly line… Add to it a martyr in her death (or was she anorexic?), an altruist living an ascetic life and a major irritant to those who believe that upholding convention is the only way to maintain social order. It is a small wonder that the composer who embarked on writing an oratorio based on the life of this incredible woman is a rebel herself – Kaija Saariaho, known to Toronto audiences through her remarkable opera Love from Afar.

This oratorio, a small and reflective work, uses the martyr scenario of Stations of the Cross to depict Weil’s life. The music is not grand by any measure, as the life depicted was contemplative and largely introverted. This is served well by the voice of Dawn Upshaw, who sounds here as Weil might have – suffering and tired. Esa-Pekka Salonen skilfully coaxes the delicate harmonies out of the tightly wound melodies, bringing his understanding of nuance to the task. Weil herself said it best: “Two powers hold sway over the universe: light and gravity.” There is an abundance of both of them here.


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