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 staging of the Mozart/da Ponte masterpiece took place in 1977, at the Glyndebourne Festival. Although the conductor is Dutch, and members of the cast come from Eastern Europe and the States, a more British performance would be hard to imagine.
This staging of the Mozart/da Ponte masterpiece took place in 1977, at the Glyndebourne Festival. Although the conductor is Dutch, and members of the cast come from Eastern Europe and the States, a more British performance would be hard to imagine.
The sets (or set, truthfully) and costumes evoke a Mid-Victorian setting, and the title character, a role that dominates the action, is performed by Benjamin Luxon, a tall, reasonably attractive English singer. His ample locks alone would serve to inform any survivor of the "Disco era" as to the time of filming.
Some may question how an opera of seething passion and sexuality such as Don Giovanni would work when presented in the supposedly conservative, tight-lipped world of Victoria and Albert.
Surprisingly well. This Don may look and move as if he were a proper gentleman, but his actions prove otherwise, and the disparity between appearances and reality makes for a most effective contrast. Luxon may not be a great Don, but for this production, he does very well. We don't sympathize with him much, or truly comprehend the attraction that has allowed him to rack up such a list of conquests. However, we get a strong sense of da Ponte's implied social criticism, and for once we can watch the furies drag the Don down to hell with something approaching approval.
Stafford Dean's Leporello takes top honors as a total performance. A fresh, spontaneous actor, his rich baritone and comic timing enliven all his scenes. Leo Goeke cannot overcome the crippling blandness of Don Ottavio, and he is not helped by the director's insistence on long close-ups. Goeke does manage to present his two big arias with some style, if not much beauty. Of the other men, John Rawnsley's plump Masetto is right out of a British farm, and Pierre Thau has the command of the ominous low range of the Commendatore.
The females pose problems. Horiana Branisteanu, the Donna Anna, needs to warm up, and the shrillness in the first scene remains with one for a while. By the second act her voice has settled, and though by no means a sympathetic portrayal, she renders her last aria with dramatic detail.
Rachel Yakar's Elvira makes it too clear why the Don moved on, but she also suggests the neurotic need of this woman for a man who clearly is not worthy of her. Elizabeth Gale is far from the most sensual of Zerlina's, but her modest manner gives the role an interesting dimension, and mutes some of the less appealing aspects of the words to Batti, batti.
Described in the booklet as "filmed," the production seems to have been captured without an audience present — and yet, at the end, we see curtain calls, at least of the cast. Curious, as the camera captures many scenes in ways that would seem impossible during a live performance in the theater. The serenading Masetto (disguised as the Don) is viewed from the perspective of Donna Elvira on her balcony. During the second act quartet, the singers' heads are superimposed over the stage picture. Many singers also sing directly to the camera at several points.
However the production was filmed, the sound engineer decided to include one relic of live performance — a copious amount of foot stomping and other stage noise. As Haitink leads a most energetic, detailed performance of the score, the extra noise is not welcome.
And as is so typical, the subtitles offer an amusing array of misspellings and awkward syntax.
For collectors of this opera, this Glyndebourne version can be highly recommended. It could not be a first-choice for it singers, and the production probably will enchant few, but the totality of the performance is much more than the sum of its parts. And surely some of the more recently recorded Don Giovanni DVDs will look as dated as this one in over 25 years — and possibly be of less musical distinction. Overall, a fine piece of work.
Chris Mullins
Los Angeles Harbor College