The Sixteen continues its exploration of Henry Purcell’s Welcome Songs for Charles II. As with Robert King’s pioneering Purcell series begun over thirty years ago for Hyperion, Harry Christophers is recording two Welcome Songs per disc.
In February this year, Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho made a highly lauded debut recital at Wigmore Hall - a concert which both celebrated Opera Rara’s 50th anniversary and honoured the career of the Italian soprano Rosina Storchio (1872-1945), the star of verismo who created the title roles in Leoncavallo’s La bohème and Zazà, Mascagni’s Lodoletta and Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.
Collapsology. Or, perhaps we should use the French word ‘Collapsologie’ because this is a transdisciplinary idea pretty much advocated by a series of French theorists - and apparently, mostly French theorists. It in essence focuses on the imminent collapse of modern society and all its layers - a series of escalating crises on a global scale: environmental, economic, geopolitical, governmental; the list is extensive.
Amongst an avalanche of new Mahler recordings appearing at the moment (Das Lied von der Erde seems to be the most favoured, with three) this 1991 Mahler Second from the 2nd Kassel MahlerFest is one of the more interesting releases.
If there is one myth, it seems believed by some people today, that probably needs shattering it is that post-war recordings or performances of Wagner operas were always of exceptional quality. This 1949 Hamburg Tristan und Isolde is one of those recordings - though quite who is to blame for its many problems takes quite some unearthing.
The voices of six women composers are celebrated by baritone Jeremy Huw Williams and soprano Yunah Lee on this characteristically ambitious and valuable release by Lontano Records Ltd (Lorelt).
As Paul Spicer, conductor of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Chamber Choir, observes, the worship of the Blessed Virgin Mary is as ‘old as Christianity itself’, and programmes devoted to settings of texts which venerate the Virgin Mary are commonplace.
Ethel Smyth’s last large-scale work, written in 1930 by the then 72-year-old composer who was increasingly afflicted and depressed by her worsening deafness, was The Prison – a ‘symphony’ for soprano and bass-baritone soloists, chorus and orchestra.
‘Hamilton Harty is Irish to the core, but he is not a musical nationalist.’
‘After silence, that which comes closest to expressing the inexpressible is music.’ Aldous Huxley’s words have inspired VOCES8’s new disc, After Silence, a ‘double album in four chapters’ which marks the ensemble’s 15th anniversary.
A song-cycle is a narrative, a journey, not necessarily literal or linear, but one which carries performer and listener through time and across an emotional terrain. Through complement and contrast, poetry and music crystallise diverse sentiments and somehow cohere variability into an aesthetic unity.
One of the nicest things about being lucky enough to enjoy opera, music and theatre, week in week out, in London’s fringe theatres, music conservatoires, and international concert halls and opera houses, is the opportunity to encounter striking performances by young talented musicians and then watch with pleasure as they fulfil those sparks of promise.
“It’s forbidden, and where’s the art in that?”
Dublin-born John F. Larchet (1884-1967) might well be described as the father of post-Independence Irish music, given the immense influenced that he had upon Irish musical life during the first half of the 20th century - as a composer, musician, administrator and teacher.
The English Civil War is raging. The daughter of a Puritan aristocrat has fallen in love with the son of a Royalist supporter of the House of Stuart. Will love triumph over political expediency and religious dogma?
Beethoven Symphony no 9 (the Choral Symphony) in D minor, Op. 125, and the Choral Fantasy in C minor, Op. 80 with soloist Kristian Bezuidenhout, Pablo Heras-Casado conducting the Freiburger Barockorchester, new from Harmonia Mundi.
A Louise Brooks look-a-like, in bobbed black wig and floor-sweeping leather trench-coat, cheeks purple-rouged and eyes shadowed in black, Barbara Hannigan issues taut gestures which elicit fire-cracker punch from the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.
‘Signor Piatti in a fantasia on themes from Beatrice di Tenda had also his triumph. Difficulties, declared to be insuperable, were vanquished by him with consummate skill and precision. He certainly is amazing, his tone magnificent, and his style excellent. His resources appear to be inexhaustible; and altogether for variety, it is the greatest specimen of violoncello playing that has been heard in this country.’
Baritone Roderick Williams seems to have been a pretty constant ‘companion’, on my laptop screen and through my stereo speakers, during the past few ‘lock-down’ months.
Melodramas can be a difficult genre for composers. Before Richard Strauss’s Enoch Arden the concept of the melodrama was its compact size – Weber’s Wolf’s Glen scene in Der Freischütz, Georg Benda’s Ariadne auf Naxos and Medea or even Leonore’s grave scene in Beethoven’s Fidelio.
This DVD release, taken from an RAI telecast, documents a 1991 La Scala performance of Verdi’s 1846 opera, based on the life of Attila the Hun. I’ve always felt that early Verdi is one of Riccardo Muti’s greatest strengths. When Muti was Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, I was privileged to see their concert performances of Nabucco and Macbeth. Both featured breathtaking execution, intensity, and momentum.
Giuseppe Verdi: Attila
Samuel Ramey, bass (Attila), Giorgio Zancanaro, baritone (Ezio), Cheryl Studer, soprano, (Odabella), Kaludi Kaludov, tenor (Foresto), Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, Riccardo Muti, Conductor.
Opus Arte OA LS3010 D [DVD]
This DVD release, taken from an RAI telecast, documents a 1991 La Scala performance of Verdi's 1846 opera, based on the life of Attila the Hun. I've always felt that early Verdi is one of Riccardo Muti's greatest strengths. When Muti was Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, I was privileged to see their concert performances of Nabucco and Macbeth. Both featured breathtaking execution, intensity, and momentum.
Those same qualities may be found in this La Scala Attila. What a pleasure it is to hear an early Verdi score treated with the same respect as his later masterpieces. Verdi's incisive rhythms and dynamic contrasts — so necessary for maintaining the tension of these early, vibrant works — are given their full due. Muti also elicits a beautiful, singing tone from the La Scala Orchestra, and conducts with a flexibility that belies the "metronome" criticism often leveled at his work. Listen, for example, to the way Muti and tenor Kaludi Kaludov sculpt the grand, ascending phrases of Foresto's Prologue aria. That kind of gratifying collaborative work is evident throughout this performance.
Leading the cast is the superb American bass, Samuel Ramey, in the prime of his career. Atilla is a role that fit Ramey's powerful and gleaming, high bass like a glove. Here, he revels in the part, both vocally and histrionically. Whenever Ramey is on stage, he commands the center of attention, as well he should. A fine document of a great singer in one of his signature roles.
The rest of the singers are a bit more uneven, but each still offers many positive attributes. Cheryl Studer copes well with the fiendish dramatic coloratura of Odabella's music in the Prologue, although the soprano is much happier in the upper reaches of her voice than in the lower, which tends to lose support and focus. The remainder of the opera features more conventional soprano writing, and here, Studer acquits herself admirably. She also brings considerable stage presence to the part.
Giorgio Zancanaro was one of the few singers of his generation who possessed the style, incisive diction, vibrant tone, and free upper register so essential for the great Verdi baritone roles. I wish Zancanaro didn't so frequently resort to aspirates instead of maintaining a true legato, but overall, I can't imagine anyone from the past few decades performing the role of Ezio better. Both the Prologue duet with Attila and Ezio's Act II scene are among the highlights of this performance.
I previously mentioned tenor Kaludi Kaludov's fine singing in the Prologue. Throughout this performance, the tenor gives a well-sung and sensitive account of Foresto. I don't think the consistently bright timbre of his voice is ideal for the role (Carlo Bergonzi once said that a Verdi tenor's voice should have "the color of blood"). But Kuladov uses his resources well, and certainly never a liability.
The video and sound quality of this DVD release are both first-rate. The DVD menu offers the option of English subtitles. The booklet contains a synopsis and Italian libretto.
Recommended particularly for the work of Muti and Ramey. Admirers of the other performers, and of this opera, may purchase this DVD with confidence as well.
Kenneth Meltzer