Opera Today

Washington Opera to Perform Wagner Series

WASHINGTON, Dec. 30, 2005(AP) An Americanized version of Richard Wagner's "The Ring of the Nibelung," a series that long has been a symbol of German nationalism, will open March 25 with the Washington National Opera's production of "Das Rheingold."

Berg's Wozzeck at the Met — Three Reviews

An Expressionist Fervor, Illuminated by Levine

By ANTHONY TOMMASINI [NY Times, 29 December 2005]

If James Levine could zap himself back in time and conduct the premiere of any opera in history, what among his favorites might he choose? Perhaps the Vienna premiere of Mozart's "Nozze di Figaro." Or the Milan premiere of Verdi's "Otello." How about the Munich premiere of Wagner's "Meistersinger," a work he conducts magnificently? I love the idea of Mr. Levine's giving a sublime account of this humane comedy and forcing the anti-Semitic composer to confront his twisted prejudices.

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Levine's Fine Judgment

BY JAY NORDLINGER [NY Sun, 29 December 2005]

James Levine did what he was expected to do on Tuesday night: conduct a superb performance of Berg's "Wozzeck." The Metropolitan Opera has revived Mark Lamos's production of 1997.

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Wozzeck, Metropolitan Opera, New York

By Martin Bernheimer [Financial Times, 29 December 2005]

'Tis the season to be jolly. But no one seems to have told that to the masterminds at the murky and quirky Metropolitan Opera. Apart from a few flighty Fledermice and loony Lucias, the final weeks of 2005 are dominated by bleakness and gore. Nearing the end of its premiere run, Tobias Picker's sordid An American Tragedy served as a matinee-broadcast vehicle on Christmas Eve. Tuesday night Alban Berg's eternally grim Wozzeck returned in preparation for transmission on the afternoon of New Year's Eve. Luckily it is a very good Wozzeck.

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Mario Del Monaco at the Bolshoi

More than official Decca sets, where voices often were somewhat equalized, it shows the power of the tenor’s voice which often overwhelms most of the others on the scene. Pavel Lisitsian, who is a bit of a cult figure among Western collectors as he was so rarely allowed to leave the Soviet Union — one Met-performance in an untypical Amonasro-role — shows a fine though very idiosyncratically coloured voice; but it is clear from this recording that the voice is less powerful than on records. And one notes too that though the top is brilliant there are almost no low notes and his voice is simply not at ease in this role which better suits a bass-baritone. Irina Maslennikova as Micaëla has a rather small shrill lower middle voice and is dwarfed by Del Monaco but gets stronger the higher she sings. The only person on the scene who could give Del Monaco tit for tat is the formidable Irina Archipova, though as a result she sometimes forces the voice and becomes rather vulgar.

By 1960 decades of isolation resulted in Soviet singers more and more going for noise than for musicality. Lemeshev, Kozlovsky, Obukova all studied before the war; often with teachers who themselves had lived through extensive contacts in the West. By the time Archipova studied most of those teachers were deceased and almost no Western records were available. An exception to that rule were the movies by Mario Lanza and Mario Del Monaco, as Soviet censure considered them to be completely harmless. And a lot of Soviet singers took their clues from these examples.

And it was not the La Scala visit of 1964 with Carlo Bergonzi that changed Russian perception on Western singing. After all only members of the party’s nomenclatura got tickets for those much heralded performances; but ordinary Russians didn’t go crazy for Bergonzi, as he was just another tenor and not a star like Mario Del Monaco who had played the title role in Italy’s answer to Lanza’s The Great Caruso (in reality he only lent his voice) and in those popular movies on Verdi , Mascagni and that German pot boiler “Schlussakkord”. Therefore the coming of Del Monaco to Moscow was a major event in 1959 and the tenor met all expectations as he gave them what they thought was the one essential element of tenor singing: strong top notes, kept on as long as possible.

Del Monaco must have felt he was returning to his early days. At that time every high note in the Italian province theatre was still roundly applauded, if necessary in the middle of an aria or a duet and the Muscovites can easily compete with many an Italian theatre. As a result Del Monaco, who even at his best behaviour was always milking for applause, feels no restraint at all. There is of course no denying the richness of the sound, the formidable beauty when he remembers to sing like he did in some of his best moments with strong conductors. But time and again the coarseness takes over and he often uses an ugly glottal stop. In the second act he really has a field day, changing from Italian to French and vice versa whatever part of the role he remembers best in one of these languages. And that fine conductor Melik Pashaev has the great honour to accompany the tenor and keep the orchestra in check so that it patiently waits for the moment Del Monaco has finished his note and it can proceed further. Anyway, the Russians at the time were wildly happy as proven by the well-known video-recording of this performance (2nd and 4th act only).

The Pagliacci of a week later is stylistically better as he can sing in his own language in a role that will accept some sobs. And sob he does whenever he has the opportunity. And once again he is above all showing off his volume and his top notes. “Vesti la giubba” starts off really well, showing the intrinsic beauty of the voice in his last year of grace as all real Del Monacistis will agree with. But then, just after his “Ridi Pagliaccio” he breaks the line in “sul tua amore infranto” by taking a deep breath between “amore” and “infranto” just to score an extra-decibel on that last word. His “No, Pagliaccio non son” starts well and even a little bit restrained; but in the middle section of “Sperai, tanto il delirio” he simply reverts to shouting. The end of the opera is well worth hearing. Del Monaco has decided to improve the score and correct Leoncavallo’s forgetfulness. After “La commedia è finite” his shouts of Nedda followed by magnificent sobs repeated for half a minute probably led to her resurrection. This time Leocadia (and not Irina) Maslennikova has the honour of assisting the tenor and she has a metallic strong voice. The Tonio, Alex Ivanov, was probably a KGB-informer as I see no other reason why he got this role. He is wretchedly bad, more speaking in a dry tone, than singing.

The bonus is spread over two CD’s and is a recital Del Monaco recorded for Melodia on a ten-inch record. The arias from Otello, Tosca and Pagliacci are fine though he has sung them better for Decca; especially the Pagliacci-prologue but I’m sure Del Monaco-lovers will definitely enjoy the Moscow-version with a big “hahahaha” in the middle of the aria. And I’m surprised that Myto, always looking for the best sound possible, couldn’t find a better copy of that record as there is a giant tick in the middle of the recording that makes you sit up.

Jan Neckers

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(1) Georges Bizet: Carmen
(2) Ruggero Leoncavallo: Pagliacci
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(2) Mario del Monaco; Leocadia Maslennicova; Alex Ivanov; Orchestra e Coro dell’Opera Bolshoi di Moscow, Basiliev Tieskovini (cond.). Live recording: Moscow, June 20, 1959.
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Macabre, magical and magnificent

[Daily Telegraph, 29 December 2005]

Rupert Christiansen reviews Hansel and Gretel at the Leeds Town Hall

With its gruesome fascination for the evils of starvation and gluttony, not to mention its rampant depiction of child abuse, Hansel and Gretel ranks among the more macabre of Christmas pantomimes.

ENO changes tune on music director

· Caetani may have been limited to six weeks a year
· Questions raised over 'coronation' appointments

Charlotte Higgins [The Guardian, 29 December 2005]

Things could not get much worse for English National Opera. But having lost its artistic director a month ago, and its chairman a week ago, yesterday the company managed to lose its music director - before he had even taken up his job.

Barenboim hints at La Scala encore

· Conductor fuels rumours he will be musical director
· Milan in raptures over his Christmas concert

John Hooper in Rome [The Guardian, 29 December 2005]

Speculation is rife in the Italian music world that Daniel Barenboim intends to crown his career by becoming musical director of the world's most famous opera house, La Scala in Milan.

SCHREKER: Christophorus oder “Die Vision einer Oper”

How easy it might be to overlook this lesser-known Schreker opera, composed in 1928 and dedicated to Schreker’s good friend Arnold Schoenberg, here in its recorded debut. It has a quite curious libretto, complex and multilayered, and Schreker moves between what are at times quite disparate styles. The whole thing comes off at first blush like a kind of soup made of the leftovers of earlier post-romantic and expressionist idoms, and were it not for our warming sympathies on repeated listening, we might have happily consigned it to the dustbin of history.

Repeated listenings have not been sufficient to entirely sort out the improbable libretto. The story, set in large part in a sort of composer’s atelier, concerns three principal characters, Anselm, Lisa, and Christoph. Anselm is at work upon an opera about the legend of St. Christopher, in which Anselm himself, Lisa, and Christoph, a fellow composition apprentice, are all to play roles. Christopher, Christoph, fiction, real life–the thing’s a narrative muddle, from the dramatic Prelude on. The story comes off like a befuddled Pirandello: half a dozen characters, having found a librettist, now desperately in search of a composer.

Despite the curious nature of the narrative–no let’s get this straight, indeed uninhibited by the narrative–Schreker is in close to full form here. The score is well turned, moments of Berg’s Wozzeck blended with the later Strauss–Ariadne or Arabella . The characters are probable, believable in a kind of irritating way, since they demand a better story line. Anselm’s character, in its developing anger and cynicism, is a model of modernism, and his impassioned interactions with Lisa in Act I are very good operatic duets.

The opera is in two short acts, the first act and its dramatic prelude running just shy of an hour, the second running on 40 minutes. The latter is the tighter of the two: it contains several scenes of good drama and the run away characterizations of the first act settle down here into real persona. Throughout the opera, there is an unusual amount of dialogue, much of it accompanied–a sort of modernist melodrama, where spoken lines are cushioned by a lush, often quietly dissonant orchestral pad. In the whole of Act II, in fact, there is really only one “number,” per se, Scene 3 (track 4), Rosita’s lied. This is Schreker’s portrait of jazz (worthy of comparison with jazz portraits by Weill and Stravinsky), with lisping saxophones and a limpid barrelhouse piano. The lied, in fact, is structured like a duet, and set to a divided stage, on one side Rosita, on the other Christoph in a kind of evaporated opium dream that gradually takes over the stage. Elsewhere operatic “numbers” make an initial appearance, seem to hesitate, and then morph into something else. Now this is nothing new; in German opera, it has been going on at least since Weber’s Euryanthe . But Schreker turns it to his own modernist advantage. Scenes 5 and 6 constitute a lengthy operatic conjuring with a half a dozen characters (and what sounds like a theramin [but may be only a musical saw] and a creepy mandolin obligato) that, in its intensity, harkens back to Weber’s Freischutz Wolfglen scene. And there is a tiny Kinderlied (scene 8), reminiscent of Wozzeck , as well as a lengthier song for child’s voice in the Epilogue, responding in similar fashion to a hazy lied-like passage for Christoph (tracks 14 and 15).

The orchestral writing throughout the work is nothing short of excellent. Orchestral interludes, motivated or not, crop up repeatedly, and beg symphonic treatment. One of the longest of these extends from the end of scene 8 into scene 9 and then moves smoothly into a curious orchestral recitative of a selection from Lao Tzu, before moving into the conclusion of the opera.

On the whole the performance is smooth and competent, if the voices are mostly unexceptional. Hans Georg Ahrens does a most sympathetic Anselm, Susan Bernhard an occasionally uneven Lisa, and Joerg Sabrowski a rather cardboard Christoph. Two voices stand out as very good: Roland Holz, in a speaking role as the critic Starkmann, spoken with a lovely Berliner nasal, gritty and nicely irritating; and Hans Georg Ahrens, bass, as the composition master Johann, with a deep, noble resonance. The live recording is sensitive, with a minimum of boots clumping around on stage and a good set of microphones in the pit.

The booklet is of good use here, explaining the opera’s misfortunes in terms of the years after the First World War, Schreker’s career, the stylistic turns of fortune in which the opera got caught up, and a nice excurse on the stylistic politics of the day. For good measure, the booklet reproduces an “Introduction” penned by the composer, which would seem to explain the need for this twisted narrative (sometimes in unabashedly personal terms), but instead merely adds to the confusion. Schreker’s introduction reads like an apology, but in truth the only thing to be regretted here is the storyline.

It would be a shame to make this work simply an historical artifact, a product, warted, of its day and its composer’s traumas. There is enough good writing here, however, to make the opera worthy of our admiration without recourse to history. What we need now (now that most of Schreker’s opera are available in modern scores and good recordings) is a critical overview. It would be good to compare Christophorus with the “hits,” the better known Schreker operas such as Der ferne Klang , Die Gezeichneten , and Der Schatzgräber , not merely in historical terms (a subject interesting in their own right) but as possible entries into the canon of twentieth-century opera.

This recording stems from a three-part Schrecker cycle at the Kiel Opera from 2001 to 2003, under the artistic director, Kirsten Harms, the other two operas being the premier in full score of Die Flammen , Schreker’s first opera, and Das Spielwerk und die Prinzessin from 1913, perhaps the moment at which Schreker’s career was in fullest flower. The latter two operas are also available on the CPO label.

Murray Dineen
University of Ottawa

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SPITZER & ZASLAW: The Birth of the Orchestra — History of an Institution, 1650-1815

The Birth of the Orchestra — History of an Institution, 1650-1815 by Spitzer and Zaslaw is an outstanding study of the origins of one of the defining ensembles for serious music. As the authors summarize the various elements that play into the evolution of the orchestra succinctly:

Besides the instruments and performers in the pit or on the stage, the process [that culminated in the modern orchestra] involved repertories, performance practices, administrative structures, system for training players, techniques of scoring and orchestra, the acoustics of theater and concert halls, and many other things. Finally, the birth of the orchestra as a matter of people’s beliefs – what people thought orchestras were and what orchestras meant. (p. 531)

In light of the rich traditions that combine in the modern orchestra, those beliefs mean a lot and evoke much fine music. The evolution of the orchestra into the ensemble as it is known today is part of a tradition that continues, and this book is evidence of its persistence in culture. At the same time, this book addresses a need in music history to trace the evolution of the orchestra from the seventeenth century to the early nineteenth, as this grouping took shape for various kinds of music in multiple venues. At the same time the study benefits both from fine research and excellent writing, two aspects of scholarship that do not always coincide as well as they do in this volume.

While the focus of the book is the period identified in the subtitle, the authors have wisely chosen to begin with a consideration of the idea of the “orchestra” as ensembles were envisaged as part of opera at the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Taking as a point of departure various operas that dealt with the Greek myth of Orpheus and Euridice, Spitzer and Zaslaw identified the scope and size of the instrumental ensembles involved, from the relatively smaller forces associated with Peri’s Euridice (1600) to a slightly larger grouping for Monteverdi’s Orfeo (1607). In moving through the seventeenth century, composers returned to the story to create their version of the story in opera and in doing so involved increasingly larger and diverse ensembles to accompany their works. Thus, the orchestra that Lully required for Le ballet des muses (1666) presumes a more clearly defined core of string instruments, the sound of which would be enhanced by winds, brass and percussion for Haydn’s opera Anima del filosofo (1791) – the forces required for the latter work resembling more the sound associated with the so-called classical orchestra.

This exploration of the nature of the orchestra begs the questions that authors address about what to call the earlier ensembles that functioned in the manner of a modern orchestra. The historical perspective that emerges from this discussion is important for distinguishing between the groups of instrumentalists that were used to accompany opera and discussing in substantively the nature of the orchestra as it became understood in the Common Practice Era. At the same time, the discussion of the word “orchestra” offers some insights into its meaning, as the ensemble took shape as a vehicle for music performance that also served as a focal point for a critical body of music literature.

The authors also discuss the transition to the formal orchestra in the chapter on “Pre-orchestral Ensembles,” a deftly written article on the growing place of instrumental performance from the late-sixteenth century to the late seventeenth. This chapter offers a masterful perspective on the stylistic choices that helped to shape the evolving orchestra, as decisions about performing the music influenced the literature that also took shape at the time. While the annotations document the information, they should also point the reader to exploring the volume of research on this topic.

In the subsequent chapters, Spitzer and Zaslaw discuss the various ways in which both composers and conductors dealt with orchestras. After discussing the role of two major figures, Lully and Corelli, the authors review the various national styles one by one, so that the reader gains a sense of the treatment of the orchestra in Italy alongside the function of the ensemble in France. The chapter on Germany is notable for the distinctions the authors make about the circumstances in the orchestra found its place in the German courts and principalities as the various groups changed from emblems of modernity based on Italian and French models to increasingly strong components of native German culture. The strength of their influence was such that by the late eighteenth century the German orchestras were a model for the rest of Europe.

Likewise, the discussion of the orchestra in England offers some insights into the cultural milieu in which it gained ascendancy as part of the country’s contribution to music-making. The inclusion of references to the state of orchestras in the colonies is welcome, as it shows the ways in which music arrived in North America. Such connections are known, but not often expressed well enough to suggest the continuity which existed as the arts took root in the new world. The situation resembles that which exists in South America, where opera took root from the Iberian colonization and developed quickly in that soil. At the same time, the discussion of festival orchestras and their place in the musical culture of England and on the Continent is another element of this study.

At the center of the book, the authors expound upon makeup of the classical orchestra (pp. 306-42) which is supported by several chapters that deal, in turn, with seating arrangements and acoustics (pp. 343-60), performance practices (pp. 370-97), the role of the orchestral musician in the eighteenth century (pp. 398-435), and the technique of orchestration (pp. 436-506). This section of the book stands apart form other studies for the clarity which guides the writing. While some might quibble with a few details, the exploration offers a sound treatment of the topic that should be a model for other, similar studies.

In addition to the tables and graphs that support the research, the authors have selected some excellent illustrations to reinforce the points that they make in their texts. Their comments about the various plates offer some guidance toward understanding the images, especially the ones that have some telling iconography about the placement and relative size of ensembles (a useful point occurs on pp. 345-46). In fact, it is laudable that Oxford University Press used a relatively larger size for this book than some of its other monographs, since it afford a more comfortable presentation of the various illustrations in the book.

The music examples are equally well-chosen and reflect the focus that occurs elsewhere in the book. Eschewing some recent tendencies to publish extensive passages in monographs and articles, the authors use the examples to fine effect. It is laudable when the examples invite further exploration of the very points that the authors want to make. The authors and the Press wisely chose to have the examples set uniformly, thus making them immediately legible. Again, they avoid the temptation of inserting facsimiles of historical prints that represent a variety of hands and styles. With the uniform presentation that occurs here, the examples comfortably support the text and the points that they authors want to make.

Further, the bibliography (pp. 553-91) is significant for the depth of scholarship it represents. The literature represents some of the finest research on the orchestra for the period discussed, including some classic articles by such figures as Emanuel Winternitz, Thurston Dart, Mary Cyr, Henry Prunières, and others, along with some fine recent writers as Luca Della Libera and Kate Van Orden. As lengthy as the references are, the authors wisely choice to avoid segmenting the information into what are ultimately arbitrary categories. Thus, readers will find in the bibliography literature from the period, like Charles Burney, Samuel Pepys, Johann Mattheson, Leopold Mozart, alongside more modern sources. In some cases there citations refer not to only primary and secondary literature, but also, editions, like the oeuvres of Arcangelo Corelli. Those intrigued by this book may want to explore the bibliography to become acquainted further with other research and materials on the topic covered in this volume.

All in all, this fine study should be of interest to scholars, performers, and anyone interested in understanding more about the origins of the orchestra and the way it evolved. Thoroughly documented, with much information in tabular form, the scholarship is highly accessible. As valuable as this work is as an exemplary piece of scholarship, its accessibility makes it useful to anyone interested in the orchestra as a cultural institution. To see the directions that intersected in Western culture as the orchestra took shape gives a glimpse at the incredibly rich traditions that tie together generations of lives, inestimable talent, social and political forces, and other elements. Besides the extraordinary literature that it produced, the strong tradition of orchestral performance is a crucial part of culture. It is fortunate, indeed that Neal Zaslaw and John Spitzer devoted years to distill that sense in this important new book.

James L. Zychowicz
Madison, Wisconsin

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GOUNOD: Faust

First performance: 19 March 1859 at Théatre-Lyrique, Paris

Principal characters

Synopsis

Act I

Faust's cabinet.

The philosopher Faust is profoundly depressed by his inaptitude to reach fulfillment through knowledge and thinks of committing suicide. He pours the contents of a poison phial in a cup, but stops suddenly drinking the deadly liquid when he hears a pastoral choir. He damns happiness, science and faith and calls on Satan to guide him. Méphistophélès appears (duet: " Me voici "). Faust confesses to him that he looks for youth, more than wealth, glory and power. Méphistophélès agrees to fulfill the wishes of the philosopher, in exchange for his services in the infernal regions. As Faust hesitates to accept this condition, Méphistophélès has Marguerite appear to him sitting at her spinning wheel. Faust signs then the document and is transformed into a noble young person.

Act II

The carnival at the city gates. One sees a cabaret on the left.

The curtain rises on a joyful choir of students, soldiers, bourgeois, girls and stout women (choir: " Vin ou Bière "). Valentin enters, holdin in his hand a medal which his sister Marguerite gave to him; he is about to leave for war, and is giving instructions to his friends, notably to Wagner and Siébel, so that they take care of her. They sit down to take a last glass. Méphistophélès appears suddenly, and amuses them with a song on the golden veal (round dance: " Le veau d'or "). Valentin gets angry when Méphistophélès talks lightly about his sister, but his sword breaks in the air before reaching its target. Confronted with a supernatural power, Valentin and his companions brandish crossshaped knobs of their swords in front of the devil (choir: " De l'enfer "). Méphistophélès remains alone, soon joined by Faust and by a group of village waltzers (waltz and choir: " Ainsi que la brise légère "). When Marguerite appears among them, Faust offers her his arm; she refuses with modesty and goes away deftly.

Act III

Marguerite's garden.

Siébel is in love with Marguerite and sets down a bouquet for her (stanzae: " Faites-lui mes aveux "). Faust and Méphistophélès enter the garden; while the devil is in charge of finding a present for Marguerite, Faust shouts out to Marguerite's house and to the defending embrace of nature (cavatina: " Salut, demeure chaste et pure "). Méphistophélès returns and sets down a casket with jewels for the girl. Marguerite arrives, wondering who was the young gentleman who approached her earlier. She sings a ballad on the king of Thulé, discovers the bouquet and the casket of jewels and, quite incited, tries earrings and necklace (scene and air: " Il était un roi de Thulé "). Marthe, Marguerite's governess, tells her that these jewels have to be the present of an admirer. Méphistophélès and Faust join the two women; the first tries to seduce Marthe, while Faust converses with Marguerite, who shows herself still very reserved (quartet: " Prenez mon bras "). While Faust and Marguerite disappear for a moment, Méphistophélès casts a fate to the flowers of the garden. Marguerite and Faust return and she allows Faust to kiss her (duet: " Laisse-moi, laisse-moi, contempler ton visage"); however, she steps back suddenly and asks him to go away. Convinced of the insignificance of his efforts, Faust is resolved to abandon his project altogether. He is stopped by Méphistophélès, who orders him to listen to Marguerite at her window. When hearing that she hopes for his quick return, Faust shows himself and takes her hand; as she drops her head on Faust's shoulder, Méphistophélès cannot refrain from laughing.

Act IV

Marguerite's room.

Marguerite has given birth to Faust's child and is ostracised by girls in the street. Saddened because Faust abandoned her, she sits down at her spinning wheel (air: " Il ne revient pas "). Siébel, always faithful, try to encourage her. A square. The return of Valentin is announced with soldiers' walking, and it becomes clear that things are going to deteriorate. Having heard Siébel's evasive answers to the questions he asked about his sister, Valentin rushes furiously in the house. While he is inside, Méphistophélès satirically plays the role of lover, giving a serenade under Marguerite's window (serenade: " Vous qui êtes l'endormie"). Valentin reappears and demands who took his sister's innocence. Faust pulls his sword; during the ensuing duel, Valentin is lethally wounded. As he dies, he throws back all responsibility on Marguerite and damns her for the eternity. A cathedral. Marguerite tries to pray, but is prevented from it by,first, the voice of Méphistophélès, then by a devils' choir. She finally succeeds in finishing her prayer, but faints when Méphistophélès releases a last curse.

Act V

The mountains of the Harz. The night of Walpurgis.

One hears a choir of will o' the wisps when Méphistophélès and Faust appear. They are quickly surrounded by witches (choir: "Un, deux et trois"). Faust tries to run away, but Méphistophélès hurries to take him somewhere else. A decorated, populated cave of queens and courtesans of the Antiquity. In the middle of luxurious banquet, Faust sees Marguerite's image and demands for her. While Méphistophélès and Faust leave, the mountain closes and the witches return. The inside of a prison. Marguerite is imprisoned for killing her child, but, thanks to Méphistophélès's help, Faust obtains the keys of her cell. Marguerite wakes to the sound of Faust's voice; they sing a duet of love (duet: "Oui, c'est toi que j'aime") and Faust asks her to run away with him. Méphistophélès appears and begs Faust and Marguerite to follow him. Marguerite resists and calls for divine protection. Desperate, Faust watches and falls to his knees in prayer, while Marguerite's soul rises towards heaven (highlight: "Christ est ressuscité").

Synopsis courtesy of Charles Gounod — His life, his works.

Click here for the complete libretto.

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Review: 'Wozzeck' Works for the Holidays

By RONALD BLUM [Associated Press, 28 December 2005]

NEW YORK - Berg's "Wozzeck" does not fit with the frothy and festive fare many classical music institutions regularly offer during the holiday season.

ENO woes continue with new sacking and strike

By Jack Malvern [Times Online, 28 December 2005]

English National Opera received a double blow today when its newly appointed music director was sacked weeks before he was due to start and its staff voted overwhelmingly to go on strike.

Celebrating a Quarter-Millennium of Mozart

Gaby Reucher (jen) (Deutsche Welle, 28 December 2005)

2006 is the 250th anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's birth, and classical Europe is looking to party. A look at one of the geniuses of the German-speaking world.

Unhappy birthday? It's his 250th anniversary, but Mozart is too 'chocolate-boxy' for Radio 3

By Ciar Byrne [The Independent, 27 December 2005]

For lovers of Bach, Radio 3's decision to play the composer's entire works was a stroke of genius, garnering glowing responses from listeners and critical acclaim.

Music writers put an ear to the ground

By FT music critics [Financial Times, 27 December 2005]

The mighty Metropolitan
By Martin Bernheimer

A new year beckons, a year rife, no doubt, with joy and rapture, disappointment and disenchantment. It is always like that in the wonderful, irrational world of opera.

SCHUBERT: Winterreise

Those familiar with René Kollo’s work might associate him more with opera, but he has recorded other kinds of works as well. This release is Schubert’s Winterreise is a recent effort that was created for and released by Oehms in 2004. Kollo recorded it between 17 and 19 February. His statement about the performance is included in the booklet that accompanies the CD, and in it he calls attention to his perspective of the music. As he states,

With my interpretation of Winterreise, I hope to present listeners with a new view of Schubert’s Lied cycle. For me, Winterreise is not primarily a story of farewell and the longing for death. I see it much more as the wrathful flight of a man, who – beset by the realities of class differences – must leave the one he loves. He fails in the face of social tensions; the rich girl is unattainable for him. . . . At the end, I sing of a beginning – not of a standstill. In the person of the hurdy-gurdy grinder, the search finds one who has certainly traveled a similarly fateful path. He now sings his songs with him. The mood is lighter and tends slightly towards optimism. . . .

Yet in concluding his remarks, Kollo acknowledges that the CD is expressly intended as a fund-raiser for the Deutsche Kinderhilfe Direkt (the German Direct Children’s Aid Association). The purpose is stated on the cover of the CD, and the first thing that one finds inside is the statement by Georg Ehrmann that the purchase of the recording is intended to benefit German Children’s Aid, with the address, contact information and even Konto codes for further donations. As a means of calling attention to a cause, this is certainly a unique involvement of the arts, which are often concerned with raising money for their own purposes.

Notwithstanding the reasons for the recording, it merits attention for the mature and well-thought perspective that Kollo brings to a familiar work. This is a sound approach to the work that the performers have borne out well in this recording. As a studio recording, the performance is lacks hall noise and other distractions that sometimes occur, even in the best of circumstances. Yet the sound levels are sometimes extremely close to the voice, thus missing the ambiance that comes from having some distance between the performances and the microphones. The kind of resonance that has been preserved in some other recordings of Schubert’s Lieder is not easy to find on this CD, and it is sometimes difficult to hear the accompaniment blend with the voice.

As to the accompaniment, the performance on this recording suggests that Oliver Pohl has much to offer in the area of Lieder. The nuances that Pohl brings into the fourth song, “Erstarrung,” the one which Kollo holds to be the turning point in the cycle, is effective. This stands in contrast to the sometimes relentless execution he gives to the first three songs, the ones that Kollo states depict the angry flight [zornige Flucht] of the protagonist. The lighter tone that the performers introduce after the first songs culminates in an exceptionally thoughtful conclusion, with the final song “Der Leiermann” fading away in a manner that fully contrasts the opening pieces. Pohl is responsible for this convincing dénouement, and he has clearly worked out the interpretation with Kollo. Overall Pohl supports Kollo solidly, matching the tenor’s intensity with similarly strong playing, which is evident in the exposed passages for piano, like the one in the center of “Der Lindenbaum.”

The liner notes for the CD include the full text of the song cycle, but without any translations. With a familiar work like this, the lack of a translation is not a problem, but it points, perhaps, to the intended audience of the CD in Germany or, at least, in German-speaking countries. In fact, the note by Pohl appended to his biography reinforces the intention of the performers’ support of the Deutsche Kinderhilfe Direkt, and this leads into Kollo’s statement about the interpretation of the cycle.

All in all, this recording has much to recommend, not the least of which is the overtly divergent approach that Kollo offers. In a mature, polished singer conveys his well-considered approach to familiar music. Enthusiasts of Lieder and specifically Schubert’s music may find this recording of interest. At the same time, those familiar with Kollo as an opera singer may want to hear him in the context of this fine recording of Schubert’s Winterreise.

James L. Zychowicz
Madison, Wisconsin

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A Trio of New Year's Concerts

For many years now people have been laughing with the queer and often unintended humorous translations in the interesting issues produced by Bongiovanni; but their records are made on a shoestring budget. La Scala has more means, witness the designer cassette this DVD is wrapped in, but money for good translators still seems to be scarce. The English text of the booklet consequently uses the word “symphony” when an “overture” is meant (sinfonia is either overture or symphony in Italian). The booklet, too, reproduces a photo of the playbill of the evening which clearly proves whose show it is. The name of conductor Riccardo Muti is printed in exactly five times the size Freni and the other singers get. And of course the camera is fixed for lots of time on the face, hands and body language of the conductor; and I cannot say it is a sight I much enjoy. Not that Muti collapses in hysterics or throws tantrums; just that I think he strikes poses. I don’t believe in conductors who in a concert of separate arias, overtures and choruses act as if they have reached another world, even another cosmos where they are deciphering the innermost secrets of the human condition. Looking at Muti who often conducts with his eyes closed reminds me too much of Karajan who introduced this kind of close-up.

Muti was at the height of his powers (as a conductor and theatre boss) when this concert was recorded nine years ago. He is more than ably assisted by orchestra and chorus who play at their best; and La Scala at its best is indeed outstanding. When one hears the chorus singing as if each of its members is a great soloist in its own right and yet blending the sound, one realizes how less exciting and musically strong most other opera choruses are. In this aspect the La Scala Chorus (and probably its orchestra as well) is its own worst enemy as the unions have always been asking for so much money that most gramophone companies preferred cheaper help and we are all the poorer for it.

As the title tells this concert is something of a re-enactment of the famous re-opening in 1946 after allied bombs had destroyed the house three years earlier. That concert is now more famous for the legendary discovery of a young new exciting soprano, Renata Tebaldi, than for the return of Toscanini. He placed the soprano who had to sing “voice of heaven” during a rehearsal of the Te Deum at the top of the chorus because “ I want this voice of an angel to truly descend from heaven”. Thus was born the still continuing legend that Toscanini said Tebaldi had the voice of an angel.

Muti, the booklet tells us, gives us the same programme with one exception. He replaced the “La Gazza ladra” by the William Tell overture, no reason is given, though I have an inkling the conductor feels it is a better vehicle for a star of the first magnitude like himself. Anyway it must be admitted that it is a fine and spirited performance. Nevertheless there are far bigger differences with the original concert. Toscanini didn’t give “La vergine degli angeli” from Forza as Muti does and the older conductor had the whole of act 3 of Manon Lescaut performed after the intermezzo from the same opera. That act is deleted here and the ubiquitous intermezzo is followed by one aria, the “In quelle trine morbide” from the second act. This may make this DVD somewhat more interesting as it gives the real star of this evening more to sing. Mirella Freni looks decidedly somewhat old in a not very flattering gown but the 61year old soprano is in fabulous voice singing all soprano parts (in 1946 apart from Tebaldi there was Mafaldo Favero) except those few angel-phrases. There is not a hint of breathiness and the famous silvery sound is there from bottom to top, easily riding the concertato in the Mosé prayer and dominating the Forza scene with chorus and bass. Sam Ramey is a fine Mefistofele in the prologue in a role he always performed well. The wobble that so marred many of his later performances was absent and he cuts a convincing figure as well.

This DVD originally was a TV registration and by now we already know that directors either can read a score or have an assistant next to them who points out which instrument is coming on so that everything runs smoothly without abrupt changes or pointless zooms.

The Venice DVD has somewhat more to look at but my first thought went to the music and I wonder why conductors show so little fantasy in some of these galas. Of course they need not play Alban Berg in a New Years’s Concert but even in those surroundings it could be possible to have something else than once again the Manon Lescaut intermezzo or the “Va pensiero”. The star of the evening is 80+ French conductor Georges Prêtre who even starts the DVD by playing a few phrases from an operetta he wrote 50 years ago. But for the rest, Prêtre seems to be an older Muti; he too looks like he is trying to resolve all human mysteries while conducting arias and intermezzi he has probably conducted hundreds of times and which can be played by the orchestra as well without any conductor at all. At the same time the TV director has no problem giving us a shot of the tenor’s back during most of “Nessun dorma.”

In Europe it has now been a tradition for more than 40 years that on the first of January all public TV-stations broadcast the Vienna Philharmonic New Year’s Concert with mostly Strauss-music. This has slowly become big business and, where for many decades Willy Boskovsky, the orchestra’s Concertmeister, conducted his colleagues, some twenty years ago famous conductors started to kill for the honour and the exposure of conducting this concert (Maazel, Muti, Harnoncourt etc). From simple music making, this show has now become an opportunity to show clips with ballet and Vienna tourist traps while the orchestra plays on. And now the Viennese have some competition from the Venetians who use the same tricks — some shots of the city and three nice and very traditional ballet items mostly danced in the splendid building of the restored La Fenice, while an Asian girl dances on her own with the chorus humming along in the Butterfly “coro a bocca chiusa.” The sung pieces are somewhat rare: a rather provincial “Nessun dorma” by Albanian tenor Gipali and a better Butterfly aria by soprano Annalisa Raspagliosi. And then we go for a half-hour of popular orchestral opera pieces before everything ends with the inevitable “Libiamo” from Traviata. Then the 60 minutes of this concert are over and the happy few who assisted (and are sometimes taking photographs from their boxes) can run to the reception. Probably I’m a little too severe as it is a nice souvenir of the theatre and the orchestra and chorus and the picture quality is excellent.

But it is understandable that in a world of clichés the St. Petersburg concerto comes somewhat as a relief. The people in the Philharmonic Hall don’t wear gowns or tuxedos and their dresses, faces and bodies show that most of them do not belong to the jet set. The principal conductor behaves like a normal being, concentrating on his music without pulling strange faces. He lustily applauds with everybody else after a good solo and when he only gets one kiss from Netrebko he almost bows double to get a second one. All the time the sphere is very relaxed and conductor and soloists laugh, make small jokes and amuse themselves and there is less stiffness on the scene than in the clean but sceptic Western concerts. Still there is a lot of good music-making and, though it is not exactly unhackneyed repertoire, it is somewhat refreshing after the Italian perennial favourites. Victor Tretyakov plays a fine Saint-Saëns piece and Elisso Virsaladze proves that her left hand is not her weakest in the Ravel concerto. But it is violoncellist Mischa Maisky who really steals the show with some warm and inspired tone in Respighi and Bruch. And of course there are some singers as well. Anna Netrebko looks far more like a (beautiful) young Russian with less than perfect skin than in the babe-like video registrations from the West. And she wears the same outfit before and after the intermission. The voice is clear, sweet and bell-like and resembles young Mirella Freni a lot, as it is a brilliant lirico with coloratura facility. A pity for us she only sings Italian arias, though maybe her Russian public appreciates this more than we do. I like the small mistake at the end of the first strophe of “quando rapito” as it proves there is no tampering with the recording as some stars nowadays routinely demand in a commercial registration. The voice of Hvorostovsky is becoming more dramatic and voluminous as I noted myself a few years ago in Antwerp. The sound is less youthful but completely homogeneous; and there is a new depth in the lower register so that this fine Onegin has no problems with the bass aria of Prince Gremin. The duet between Silvio and Nedda is passionately sung and acted as well. All in all a nice concert to while away two hours.

Jan Neckers

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BERLIOZ: La damnation de Faust

First performance: 6 December 1846 at Opéra-Comique, Paris

Principal characters

Synopsis

Part One

Faust, alone on a plain at sunrise, praises the awakening spring day, nature's renewal and his own life in solitude, far from the madding crowd. In a nearby village, merry country people celebrate spring with singing and dancing while an army equipped for battle marches by. Faust withdraws untouched by all.

Part Two

Having returned to his study pensive and unhappy, Faust sinks into profound melancholy and pessimism. Intent on suicide, he is about to drink a cup of poison when from outside he hears the Easter hymn. Faust remembers the purity and piety of his childhood. His faith is reawakened and he reaffirms his commitment to life.

Suddenly Méphistophélès appears and, scorning Faust's sentimentality, suggests that he go out into the world rather than dwell in philosophical speculation. He promises Faust, who is mistrustful at first, to fulfill his most extravagant desires. Faust follows this diabolical companion.

The first stop is Auerbach's Cellar in Leipzig. Faust dislikes the drinkers' raucous singing, Brander's coarse song about the "Rat in the Cellar," and Méphistophélès' cynical reply with his "Song of the Flea." He insists they leave without delay.

Méphistophélès next leads him to the banks of the Elbe and sends him to sleep on a bed of roses. Méphistophélès concocts seductive dreams that beguile Faust, showing him a picture of his mistress-to-be, Marguerite. On awakening, Faust demands to be taken to the girl. Méphistophélès promises to arrange it. He advises Faust to join the soldiers and students going into town and to follow them to Marguerite's house.

Part Three

In Marguerites' room, Faust is filled with a sweet premonition of his romantic adventure. When Marguerite appears, he conceals himself. Marguerite has already seen her lover-to-be in a dream. She sings the ballad of "The King of Thule," in which she gives expression to her longing. As soon as Marguerite has fallen asleep, Méphistophélès appears. His band of beguiling spirits seduce and lead Marguerite to her destruction. With a sarcastic song, Méphistophélès delights in his certain victory.

Faust and Marguerite meet and declare their love for one another. They are interrupted by Méphistophélès who urges Faust to flee as the neighbors have become suspicious and want to warn Marguerite's mother. Méphistophélès assures them that they can meet again the following evening.

Part Four

Marguerite has been jilted by Faust. She longs for his return but senses that he will not come back. The singing of the students and soldiers can be heard from the street below. This makes Marguerite even more conscious of her loneliness.

Meanwhile, Faust finds renewed strength in the midst of nature.

He learns from Méphistophélès that Marguerite is in prison awaiting execution for killing her mother — a crime for which Faust is responsible. Faust implores Méphistophélès to rescue Marguerite. He is prepared to do this on condition that Faust seals their pact with his signature. Faust walks into the trap. They charge off on Méphistophélès' magic horses, but not to Marguerite's dungeon. Instead they descend into the depths of hell amidst earthquakes, thunder, and bloody rain, where diabolical spirits are awaiting their arrival. Faust, dammed until eternity, is thrown into the flames; Méphistophélès is triumphant.

In heaven the angels welcome Marguerite who has been absolved of her sins.

Synopsis courtesy of Los Angeles Opera.

Click here for the complete libretto.

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Live performance, Rome, 11 January 1969.

Great News! It's the Dawning of the Atomic Age

By ANTHONY TOMMASINI [NY Times 25 December 2005]

IT'S easy to fault the major institutions in classical music for being stodgy and averse to risk. Yet music lovers count on the leading opera companies and orchestras to be custodians of the repertory. Take the Metropolitan Opera. Recalling the first half of this season, among many rewarding nights, I'll remember James Levine's buoyant and insightful performance of Mozart's "Così Fan Tutte," with a splendid youngish cast that gave you hope for the future of Mozart singing.

Review 2005: opera

Successful productions failed to hide organisational crisis, says Rupert Christiansen

[Daily Telegraph, 24 December 2005]

Earlier this week, Martin Smith stepped down from his ill-starred chairmanship of English National Opera - a decision greeted with widespread relief in the arts world. Now that he's gone, I can't help dreaming of a wholly new management and leadership for the company, spearheaded by a team of enlightened young musicians and theatre practitioners, supported by some wise old heads skilled in administration and fund-raising.

The Year in Music

By Raymond Stults [Moscow Times, 23 December 2005]

Best Operas: Though Helikon Opera, Novaya Opera and the Pokrovsky Chamber Musical Theater all came up with one new production apiece of more than routine interest and merit this year, it was the Bolshoi Theater that produced the real fireworks of 2005 on the local operatic front.

Soprano Cancels Carnegie Recital Debut

NEW YORK Dec 22, 2005 — Anna Netrebko, the glamorous young Russian soprano, has canceled her debut recital at Carnegie Hall, saying she's not ready to perform a solo concert there.

The Order in the Chaos of 'Wozzeck'

BY FRED KIRSHNIT [NY Sun, 23 December 2005]

Alban Berg realized that he and his mentor Arnold Schonberg were in the process of revolutionizing music, and so, when he came to write "Wozzeck," he clung steadfastly to the late 19th-century Romantic tradition still holding sway in the first quarter of the 20th, incorporating many devices from the most beloved operas. This organization creates grounding for the ear in an otherwise phantasmagoric musical world.

JEAN-PHILIPPE RAMEAU: THE SORCERER OF THE STAGE

By Olivier Rouvière. Translated by Marcia Hadjimarkos [Goldberg No. 28]

Jean-Philippe Rameau’s (1683-1764) first opera was staged when he was fifty years old; his last, written when he was over eighty, was not given until the twentieth-century.

Rameau’s aesthetics are thus characterised by maturity, density, homogeneity, and chronological clarity. His early works were already accomplished to a high degree and his operas occupied the French stage for more than thirty years, only to disappear after his death. To quote Girdlestone’s incisive summing up, Rameau wrote “more than ninety acts of dramatic music” - that is, three acts, or tableaux, a year - during the last third of his life.

Tragic Indeed — An American Tragedy is yet another contemporary-opera-by-the-numbers rehash

By Peter G. Davis [New York Magazine, 26 December 2005]

The Lit 101 school of American opera continues to proliferate. Little Women, Of Mice and Men, The House of the Seven Gables, Sophie’s Choice, The Last of the Mohicans, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Rappaccini’s Daughter—the list of ambitious operas based on all those classic novels you read in school (or were supposed to) goes on, even if the success rate has been marginal. Right now, the Metropolitan is presenting the world premiere of Tobias Picker’s An American Tragedy, adapted from the 1925 novel by Theodore Dreiser. Not that long ago we were debating the merits of John Harbison’s operatic version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Can a Met production about a great white whale be far off?

OPERA HOT — The Met’s fall season

by ALEX ROSS [New Yorker, 26 December 2005]

Joseph Volpe, whose sixteen-year tenure as the general manager of the Metropolitan Opera ends this season, may be remembered as a man who stayed true to his title: he managed. Performances went off with maximum efficiency, seven each week. World-class singers showed up in mostly suitable roles, and if they misbehaved they were shown the door, or at least treated brusquely. James Levine was kept happy. Electronic subtitles appeared on the backs of the seats. Modest efforts were made in the direction of fresh production styles, novel repertory, and premières—Tobias Picker’s “An American Tragedy” bowed this month—but not enough to ruffle anyone’s feather boa. Through various crises—a singer dying onstage, a bloated superstar cancelling, attendance figures falling in the wake of September 11th, a Cuban billionaire patron turning out to be neither a billionaire nor a Cuban—Volpe kept the great old house trundling along. Was he a visionary? No. Did rival American companies—particularly the San Francisco Opera, with its history-making productions of Messiaen’s “Saint Francis” and John Adams’s “Doctor Atomic”—challenge the Met’s preëminence? Yes. But the chaos that has surrounded many big houses elsewhere has been absent from the Met, and in this business the absence of chaos is a considerable achievement.

LUTOSLAWSKI: Twenty Polish Christmas Carols

It is based on the collection of twenty Christmas carols for voice and piano that Lutosławski arranged in 1946, a time when the politics dictated that the arts create works like this for the people. Only someone as steeped in Polish culture as Lutosławski could approach arrangements of these carols with the aplomb that they deserve and, at the same time, introduce elements that do not make them caricatures. The collection is as reminiscent of some of the folksong settings of Ralph Vaughan Williams, and the appeal of the music resides in the masterful settings that he gave each piece.

While some of the melodies may be familiar, others are more insular in nature. The carol entitled “Hurrying to Bethlehem” The delicate timbres and floating harmonies of “Lullaby, Jesus” is one of the outstanding selections on this recording. Likewise angular melody of “This is our Lord’s birthday” evokes a Slavic idiom that hints at the kind of choral number a composer like Prokofiev have used in one of his cantatas, while Lutosławski’s orchestration suggests Shostakovich’s style. The wind colors used in “Shepherds, can you tell?” is engaging, especially when they occur with the interplay between solo voice and choral writing. The arrangements by Lutosławski make some wonderful Polish carols available to a broader audience.

This masterful combination of the familiar with a modern touch makes the collection attractive not only as a recording, but also for performances during the Christmas season. The performance preserved on this recording is taken from concerts given on 5 December 2001. In fact, the other pieces on the CD were part of another concert, which was given on 15 January 1997) and include Lutsławski’s Lacrimosa for soprano, choir, and orchestra, as well as his Five Songs for female voice the 30 solo instruments.

The Lacrimosa is one of two settings from the Requiem completed in 1937 by Lutosławski, and as a fragment it offers a glimpse at the composer early in his career. The melody given to the soprano is reminiscent of some of the music Ginastera used in his Bachianas Brasilieras. The overt simplicity that Lutosławski uses in this piece is part of its attraction. As much as it is unmistakably modern, the Lacrimosa is also engaging in its clear presentation of the text, and masterful use of solo voice in contrast to choral passages, all of which are supported by a carefully composed accompaniment. It is unfortunate that the other setting from the Requiem was destroyed and that Lutosławski did not pursue the setting of the entire piece. Those unfamiliar with the work will find this performance to be extremely effective.

Another work that deserves further attention is the set of Five Songs to texts by the contemporary poet Kazmimiera Iłłakowicz (1892-1983). The only nominally secular pieces on this CD, the Five Songs are essentially revisions of children’s verses that have a modern slant, and Lutosławski’s music accentuates that aspect of the texts. Composed in 1957, the Five Songs are a product of a time when Lutosławski benefited from the cultural openness that occurred after Stalin’s regime ended. As with the other pieces collected in this recording, the performance is convincing and conveys the spirit of the music well.

This and the other pieces are performed by the Polish Radio Chorus, Kraców, and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (Katowice) conducted by Anoni Wit. The soprano for the set of Twenty Polish Christmas Carols and the Lacrimosa is Olga Pasichnyk, with the alto Jadwiga Rappé serving as soloist for the Five Songs. The diction is clear and serves the texts well, but it is unfortunate that the texts and translations are not provided with the recording. With the exception of Lutosławski’s Five Songs, the texts are available at the Naxos website (www.naxos.com/libretti/20carols.htm), the publication of the materials with the CD makes a difference. At the same time it would also be useful at least to have the titles of the pieces and their components in the original language and also in translation. Nevertheless, this recording makes available some fine music and in turn, it shows yet another side of one of the most important Polish composers of the twentieth century.

James L. Zychowicz
Madison, Wisconsin

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Christmas with Renée and Bryn

She judiciously mixed some of these songs with specific Christmas items and made it a bestselling classical album. Since that time all major singers have recorded recitals of “canti sacri.” Depending upon the number of carols, these were sometimes presented as Christmas albums, though even then there was usually no escaping the two Ave Marias, Louis Niedermeyer’s Pieta Signore, Franck’s Panis Angelicus, Händel’s ode to the shade of a tree and a few Mozart or Bach items — none of which has anything to do with Christmas. Decca’s marketing division and Renée Fleming have decided that it’s better to split these things more rigorously and so together with these “sacred songs” she recorded a “carol album only,” which corresponds with her current concert tour.

Fleming’s repertoire on this CD is almost wholly traditional, while Terfel is more adventurous, though it nevertheless roams along in the same sphere. And there is indeed no escaping Bach/Gounod, César Franck or Amazing Grace on both records. So why did I feel such a marked difference when listening to those two great vocalists? It starts with the title of their albums. I don’t think there is anything sacred to Humperdinck’s Hänsel and a lot of the other items on Fleming’s CD were definitely written by their composers to catch some not very sacred money. Therefore a less pretentious title like “Songs of Faith and Devotion” would maybe have been a better idea. Though “The Lord” and “God” is as much present on Terfel’s CD, his “Simple Gifts” someway makes a more sympathetic impression. Then there are the sleeve photographs: just Terfel looking earnestly into the camera while Fleming is photographed with eyes closed into what looks far more to be an orgasmic moment than a prayer of faith; and I have a feeling that some of the less enthusiastic reactions to Fleming’s CD were initiated by title and photo.

But of course Fleming got a lot of flack on her singing as well. Some comments on those venomous opera-forums spoke of Händel à la Duke Ellington. This is simply not fair as she doesn’t glide or scoop. True, she uses all kinds of allowable vocal tricks like rubato and a good trill, which are arms not all sopranos have. The first impression after her first tracks Ave Maria and Jesus bleibet is one of “how exquisite, how refined” and then first weariness and finally boredom makes its entrance. So what’s wrong in a CD-recital that would not have been boring on 78-records? Well, by the third track one realizes that she is not going to use her full voice and that she will never sing out; that everything will stop at mezza-voce while in that half voice she tries hard to unveil all hidden meanings in each word, if necessary in each syllable by voice inflexions. Moreover as she is nowadays the female star of the label, she suffers from what I’d call Kohnanization, though Domingo and Eugene Kohn are not the only perpetrators. Classical stars nowadays prefer to bring either their own maestros with them or otherwise want to be indulged by the conductor whom they honour by allowing him to have their name as well on their records. So Andreas Delfs nicely follows Fleming but definitely was not engaged to tell her some truths and to bring some vitality to the recording sessions. Once upon a time, Karajan conducted the Price Christmas recital, Gavazzeni led Bergonzi in his début recording and Molinari-Pradelli put the fear of the gods in Sutherland and no singer would have got away with these kind of easy tempi. Levine, Solti, Mackerras, Eschenbach, Tate were the conductors of Fleming’s many successful earlier recordings; and in retrospect one realizes that they were sympathetic to the artist without sapping all rhythmic liveliness from the CD, indulging every whim of the singer (and you didn’t need a looking glass to find their names on the sleeve).

That too is one of the differences with the Terfel recording. Barry Wordsworth may not be a big name either as a conductor but he doesn’t linger on and at least gets his photograph in the booklet (or Terfel himself has a far better sense of tempi). Not that everything is perfect in this record as it shows some serious vocal problems. The bass-baritone who came in second after Dmitry Hvorostovsky in the Cardiff competition in 1989 has made some far fetching decisions. Though the voice has the tessitura of a real bass-baritone (I heard him do a fine Dulcamara in Amsterdam a few years ago), Terfel was blessed with good top notes and he couldn’t keep his hands off real baritone territory. His Amsterdam outing as Scarpia was not really a success. Moreover he has now stepped into heavy Wagner with some successes in Rheingold and Walküre but recently he withdrew as Wanderer in Siegfried. The low and middle register are still very beautiful but the voice really makes a clearly unmusical jump which sometimes almost becomes a shout to reach an F; and, as he does it several times on this record, it is clear he has somewhat damaged his vocal means.

Terfel doesn’t have Fleming’s intrinsic beauty of voice, indeed his timbre is somewhat indistinct, but his sense of phrasing and words is far greater. His Sondheim-song is particularly impressive. He too sings a lot in warm toned pianissimo but realizes that parts of some songs demand full voice. And then there is the repertoire: maybe not very adventurous but still known to most opera buffs who collect drawing room songs and ballads by Crooks, Kullmann and friends; and one can easily savour Terfel’s fine English pronunciation without his losing the vocal line. The CD offers us two duets with baritone-colleague, Simon Keenlyside, who clearly makes a bigger noise than Terfel (on record at least), though the voice has nothing of the beauty and the subtlety of the Welsh singer. Clearly I could easily have done without his part; but it is a nice reminder that Terfel, notwithstanding some vocal problems, is still a great artist.

Jan Neckers

image=http://www.operatoday.com/content/Fleming_Sacred_Songs.jpg
image_description=Renée Fleming: Sacred Songs

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product_title=(1)Renée Fleming: Sacred Songs
(2)Bryn Terfel: Simple Gifts
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(2) Bryn Terfel, with Simon Keenlyside, John Williams and Aled Jones, London Symphony Orchestra, Barry Wordsworth (cond.).
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(2) DG 477 5563 (Int'l) 4775919 (UK)

RACHMANINOV: The Miserly Knight

Each of these productions has been released separately on DVD; though the operas themselves are less than 70 minutes long, each DVD also features bonus material, including interviews with conductor, director, and stars. Even at less than full price, the 95-minute long The Miserly Knight DVD may not seem like a bargain, but for an outstanding performance of a rare repertory piece, it offers good value indeed.

In the first of three short scenes, all apparently only slightly adapted from the original source material by Rachmaninov, we meet a young knight plagued by debts. A moneylender suggests that he arrange for the murder of his father, a baron (the eponymous character) who hoards his fortune and keeps his profligate son on a tight budget. The young knight refuses, and decides to protest his case to the Duke. The second scene, a long dramatic monologue for the father, has no action whatsoever. Then, in the confrontation before the Duke, the father accuses the son of desiring his death. The son denies it (and is carted away by the Duke’s men in this production), and then the father collapses and dies.

Not exactly a narrative arc of Puccinian drama and characterization. Undoubtedly the challenges of staging the work have contributed to its neglect. Rachmaninov would go on to write one more one-act opera, Francesca di Rimini, and along with the earlier Aleko, all three works reflect his mastery of orchestral texture and drama, and give some evidence of his melodic genius. And yet none really quite makes a case for itself as a total success. Recordings led by Neeme Jarvi of all three have recently been released on the DG “Trio’ series, and they make for fascinating listening.

But seeing The Miserly Knight in this Glyndebourne production, directed by Annabel Arden, makes one wish more opera companies would search out interesting one-act operas to be paired with the more successful ones, as Glyndebourne did by presenting the Rachmaninov with Puccini’s classic. Director Arden has fully bought into the tormented drama of Rachmaninov’s score, and the dark, monochromatic sets effectively partner the excellent acting of the cast.

Arden’s riskiest move, and a brilliant success, involves an "aerialist” (Matilda Leyser), who dangles from ropes and clambers around the multi-level sets. An androgynous figure, with the skin and hair of an old man but the youthful, impish face of a youth, this figure appears briefly at the start and then throughout scene two, managing to enhance the long monologue, so brilliantly delivered by Leiferkus, without distracting from the focus on the knight. A booklet explaining the links between the two productions describes the aerialist as “the spirit of greed, the Baron’s conscience and death itself…” One can experience this supernatural figure on that level, or one can simply revel in the eerie effect created by Leyser’s amazing physical dexterity and truly astounding facial expressions.

Richard Berkeley-Steele, a fairly good Siegmund in the recent Barcelona Ring DVD set, does even better here, sounding comfortable with both the language and tessitura of the role. As the Duke, Albert Schagidullin creates a character in a few short lines, a self-satisfied, cold-hearted ruler who adopts a pose of fairness to cover his own avaricious nature (Arden has him claiming the Baron’s wealth after his death). Viacheslav Voynarovskiy sings with appropriate unctuousness as the Moneylender, a role that in the unexpurgated original apparently veers into anti-Semitic characterization (this according to a recent Gramophone review of a Chandos recording of the opera). Here, he is just one more loathsome figure in a misanthrope’s daydream…or nightmare.

Vladimir Jurowski, clearly relishing both the score and his own youthful, handsome self (those tresses are something else), leads the LPO in a riveting performance.

Glyndebourne by reputation is seldom an easy ticket to acquire, even if one happens to be taking the summer in the UK. To have a new production from last year available on DVD is wonderful in itself, and when it is the quality of this particular one, then generosity can be said to be at the heart of this Miserly Knight.

Chris Mullins
Los Angeles Unified School District, Secondary Literacy

image=http://www.operatoday.com/content/miserly_knight.jpg
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An Enjoyable Farce of an Operetta

( Photo: Deluxe Photography, Nigel Dickson)
BY JAY NORDLINGER [NY Sun, 21 December 2005]

If it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas - and New Year's Eve - it must be "Die Fledermaus" time. And so it is, at the Metropolitan Opera. On Monday night, the company started up a run of Johann Strauss Jr.'s classic operetta, in the marvelous Otto Schenk production (1986). This production has the dialogue in English, and the singing in the original German - a smart arrangement. Rarely do you have so much fun in an opera house, as when you imbibe the Schenk "Fledermaus."

National Opera chairman quits

By Sherna Noah, PA [The Independent, 21 December 2005]

The chairman of the English National Opera, Martin Smith, has quit his post following a flood of calls for his resignation.

This Barber is a cut above

[Daily Telegraph, 21 December 2005]

Rupert Christiansen reviews Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Royal Opera in Covent Garden

The Royal Opera's cheerful and colourful new production of Rossini's most popular work is a copper-bottomed hit. Its principal virtue is Mark Elder's superb conducting. For wit and polish, his interpretation is on the level of Beecham's or Abbado's, though in other respects his approach is radically different from theirs.

Capturing Sound: How Technology Has Changed Music

Mark Katz, a professor at the Peabody Conservatory of Music at The Johns Hopkins University, discussed his book, "Capturing Sound: How Technology Has Changed Music." The event was sponsored by the Library's John W. Kluge Center, the Music Division and the Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division. According to Katz, who teaches in the Department of Musicology at the Peabody, there is more to sound recording than just recording sound. Not just a tool for the preservation of music, the technology is a catalyst for change. In "Capturing Sound," Katz writes a wide-ranging, informative and entertaining history of recording's profound impact on the musical life of the past century, from Edison to the Internet.

Beethoven: The Universal Composer

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edmund Morris discussed his new book, "Beethoven: The Universal Composer." The Library's Music Division cosponsored the event with the Center for the Book. Morris, a classically trained pianist, has studied Beethoven and his music for 40 years. "Of all the great composers, Beethoven is the most enduring in his appeal to dilettantes and intellectuals alike," Morris writes. "What draws them is Beethoven's universality, his ability to embrace the whole range of human emotion, from dread of death to love of life--and the metaphysics beyond--reconciling all doubts and conflicts in a catharsis of sound."

Internet encyclopaedias go head to head — Jimmy Wales' Wikipedia comes close to Britannica in terms of the accuracy of its science entries, a Nature investigation finds

Jim Giles [Nature.com, 14 December 2005]

One of the extraordinary stories of the Internet age is that of Wikipedia, a free online encyclopaedia that anyone can edit. This radical and rapidly growing publication, which includes close to 4 million entries, is now a much-used resource. But it is also controversial: if anyone can edit entries, how do users know if Wikipedia is as accurate as established sources such as Encyclopaedia Britannica?

Giulini Conducts Mozart and Mahler

Among those recordings is the release in February 2005 of a concert Giulini led on 2 August 1987 at the Salzburg Festspiel. According to the notes that accompany this CD, it is the last recording the conductor approved for release.

Because of its length performances of Mahler’s song cycle Das Lied von der Erde sometimes preclude the inclusion of other works with it either in concert or on recordings, and the pairing with Mozart’s Symphony no. 40 in G minor reflects the programming used in Salzburg. Yet it is what Giulini chose for the particular concert, a rare opportunity for the conductor to lead the Vienna Philharmonic. As a highly esteemed interpreter of both Mozart and Mahler, Giulini offers strong performances of the two works. At a time when Mozart’s works were being performed with a bow to historic practice, Giulini chose to use a fuller orchestra than other conductors might employ. This reflects tacitly the tradition in which Giulini worked, where an earlier composer like Mozart did not have to be rediscovered through reviving older performing traditions. Rather, Giulini had been performing Mozart’s work throughout his career, having played under such conductors as Toscanini. Mozart’s music was part of the living tradition of the day.

In approaching a familiar work by Mozart with a relatively large orchestra, Giulini used relatively slower tempos, particularly in the outer movements. Yet tempo is only one dimension of this music. The clarity of line that emerges in the first movement is characteristic of this particular recording. Giulini achieves this quality not only with a modest pacing, but he allows lines to end, with points of silence that help to delineate the phrasing. He allows the slow movement (Andante) to linger and in doing so brings out some of the ensemble passages that the Vienna Philharmonic executes well. With the third movement, Giulini’s pacing contributes an almost solemn character to the stylized minuet. Within the string textures that Giulini uses well in this performance, the winds are notable for the careful and delicate timbres they create. Details like these emerge in the final movement (Allegro assai), which is taken at a modest pace. Inflections of modality are clearly apparent in this recording, in which Giulini brings out sonorities that may be passed over when the movement is taken at faster tempos than those found in this dignified performance.

In interpreting Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, Giulini’s tempos are similarly conservative in an evidently thoughtfully conceived interpretation of this monumental work. His soloists were the mezzo soprano Brigitte Fassbaender and the tenor Francisco Araiza, two fine singers who bring wonderful technique and facility to this demanding work. Both Fassbaender and Araiza offer compelling performances that complement Giulini’s leadership.

Araiza offers some fine performances of the three pieces for tenor and orchestra. As demanding as each can be, his makes maintains a fluid tone that conveys a sense of ease and comfort with the music. He delivers well the sustained opening piece “Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde” is engaging in the third song, “Von der Jugend.” With “Der Trunkene im Frühling” Araiza maintains the level of intensity that he used to excellent effect in first song, always evoking a fresh and ringing tone.

Fassbaender was at the height of her career for this performance, with a wonderful control of the various nuances required for expressing this piece effectively. With “Der Einsame im Herbst,” Fassbaender brings approaches the piece with a subtlety that brings out the details that are essential to the text. Her voice moves well within the orchestral accompaniment, which is Giulini has shaped well. Fassbaender maintains the intensity of this piece well, and the silence at its end is tribute to her command of the audience. With “Von der Schönheit,” Fassbaender colors her voice well, and Giulini’s pacing allows details to emerge comfortably. Some problems arise in the orchestra, though, when the tempo increases, and while the performers recover, it mars the result. Nevertheless Fassbaender never seems to lose her vocal composure in bringing the song to its conclusion.

“Der Abschied” is one of Mahler’s most demanding pieces, and this is a fine rendering of the music. The opening chimes resonate deeply to suggest to a break between the world of the first five songs and their counterpart in this single extended movement for voice and orchestra. The spacious tempos that Giulini chose for this performance create some extraordinarily moving passages that other conductors do not always achieve. From the start, Fassbaender is in good form as she shapes the vocal line with Giulini working well with her. The orchestral interlude before the second part, just prior to the passage “Ich stieg vom Pferd” is particularly effective, and from that point, the conductor and soloist never seem to relent in their intensity as they bring the music to its inevitably ambiguous conclusion. Fassbaender’s nuanced sound lingers on the repeated “ewig” at the end of “Der Abschied” and blends into the somewhat extended silence before the enthusiastic applause with which the recording ends.

All in all, the sound on this release is not as vibrant as can occur with studio recordings, and is reminiscent of some fine radio broadcasts. In addition to applause at the end of Mozart’s Symphony in G minor, some audience sounds occur at various points, although they are not entirely distracting. The voices benefit from the microphone placement, and while the orchestral sound is never blurred, at times the balance is off. As to the release itself, it is a rare live concert conducted by Giulini late in his career, and his masterful approach to both the Mozart Symphony and Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde is laudable. Yet the existence of some gaffs in the orchestra show what can happen in live performances, even with such exceptional performers. Nevertheless, it is a fine souvenir of Giulini at the Salzburg Festspiel that captures both Fassbaender and Araiza at a fine time in their careers. While Das Lied von der Erde lends itself well to studio recordings, this is a memorable live performance.

James L. Zychowicz
Madison, Wisconsin

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image_description=Giulini Conducts Mozart and Mahler

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product_title=Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 40 in G minor KV 550; Gustav Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde
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Live recording: Großes Festspielhaus, August 2, 1987
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Two Super Audio CD re-releases of Elly Ameling performances for Philips

(Oh, all right, I admit it, the convenience of CD’s has long outweighed any attachment I could possibly have to the benefits some audiophiles hear in analog, and I have kept my vinyl collection around, to the despair of those who have had to help pack and move my belongings, to hear performances that aren’t available on CD or that I can’t justify buying again on CD. True audiophiles, and you know who you are, will probably have to read another review to find out just how good the sound quality of these SACD’s is or isn’t—although if you read on, I can give you some clues.)

So when I put the Mozart concert arias into the CD player and heard once again the radiance of Ameling’s performance with the English Chamber orchestra, there were two of me listening to it: my mature self determined to make an objective assessment, and my much younger self, falling in love all over again with Mozart’s arias through a voice that at the time I thought of as the “definitive” lyric soprano. Years later, having sung (after a fashion) most of these pieces in voice lessons and opera workshops, I still can’t help thinking of her performances “Yes, that’s how they should be sung.” My more experienced ears tell me that there are more intrinsically gorgeous voices around, but the diction, phrasing, and breath control are all admirable, along with a grace and elegance that, for me, really bring this beautiful music to life. The Mozart selection includes many of the most familiar arias of Zerlina, Cherubino, and Susanna, from Don Giovanni and Le Nozze di Figaro, along with “Come Scoglio” from Così fan tutte, the difficult runs and skips of which she navigates very competently. The concert arias include the tour de force “Ch’io mi scordi di te?” with Dalton Baldwin providing the thrilling piano obbligato that Mozart wrote for himself to play as Nancy Storace, for whom the aria was written, bid farewell to Vienna. The rest of this disk consists of music Franz Schubert wrote for various projects for the stage that never were very successful. Ameling’s performance of them with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra make it clear that the projects’ failure to enter the repertoire was not due to the music. While the two pieces from Goethe’s Claudine von Villa Bella are better known as lieder in their piano transcriptions, there are also some more substantial arias, and all of this music shares the disc with Mozart’s arias very comfortably.

The second SACD that I heard also combines a re-released favorite of mine, entitled Lieder für Gretchen, Ellen and Suleika, with Schumann’s Frauenliebe- und Leben, of which I’ve probably heard more performances than I would have chosen to, because it makes its way onto compilation discs that I buy for other reasons. I guess for each of us there are is a masterpiece or two that we just cannot find it in ourselves to love, and I have long resisted this one because of the text. I had wondered why great artists kept performing and recording it, until, in listening to this aria with the care that a review requires, I realized, of course, that it is really wonderful music. The program on the original Frauenliebe und -Leben LP was split up so that this cycle could be combined with a set of Schubert Lieder that also take the point of view of female characters: Goethe’s Gretchen from Faust, the Suleika texts he lifted from his friend Marianne von Willemer to include in his West-östlicher Divan, and Sir Walter Scott’s Ellen, from The Lady of the Lake, as well as Craigher’s “Die junge Nonne”, which the liner notes misleadingly imply is part of Goethe’s Faust set. The listener can compare Schumann’s interpretation of the kind of domestic drama that he was about to enter when he wrote the cycle in the year of his marriage, with the decidedly undomestic emotions of the young women that Schubert presents. Ameling and Baldwin perform all of these songs with their characteristic high standard of musicianship and technical achievement.

Conscience required me to at least try to evaluate the audio quality of these discs, which are Hybrid Super Audio Compact Discs, playable either on standard CD players or on multiple channel equipment with which I was, frankly, unfamiliar. Apparently the original analog recordings were quadraphonic, although, according to the liner notes, “it turned out to be almost impossible to reproduce the major increase in quality on the gramophone record of the time in combination with the sound systems used by consumers in their homes.” Hence my vinyl copies were released as “stereo” or “deluxe”, and it is only recently that multi-channel reproduction systems have made enough inroads into the consumer market to make it worthwhile to release these recordings with the original four distinct channels of sound. So, on a snowy weekday morning when I figured business was likely to be slow, I took the discs to my local high-end audio establishment, Magnolia Audio-Video, figuring they’d have the equipment if anyone would. They were kind enough to set me up in their plush home theater room, where I was treated to some of my favorite music sung by one of my favorite singers on a carefully prepared recording through about $50,000 worth of McIntosh audio equipment. Needless to say, it was heaven while it lasted.

Not being a true audiophile, I am not expert enough to say where these discs fit in the spectrum of high-quality audio, or even, to tell the truth, to say for sure whether the discs succeed at what they set out to do. Did I feel like I was in the space where the performances were taking place? Yes, for the most part (except I’ve never yet sat in a leather lounge chair in a concert hall). I did notice that, when a track began, rather than hearing dead silence before the music started, I could hear a bit of the noise from the original analog recording. At the climax of “Gretchen am Spinnrade” (“und ach…sein Küss”) I couldn’t tell for sure, but I thought there was some sound that was not actually the vibrato in her voice. I would hesitate to call it distortion without knowing for sure and had no one at hand to ask about it. And, although I was listening on a system that included “effects speakers” all around me, I did not in fact hear much coming from behind me, which is what would be expected if one were sitting in a hall where the performance was coming from the stage and there was absolutely no coughing or fidgeting in the audience, or there was no audience at all (which was presumably the case when the recordings were made).

I asked what would be the lowest end equipment one could own on which the special audio characteristics of these discs could be heard and was told that the “theater in a box” systems that can be had for about $350 would pick up all the channels. It would not sound the way I had heard it, of course, but it would be an option.

At the other end of the spectrum, I needed to do some serious multi-tasking while preparing both to celebrate the holidays and to write this review, so I downloaded the lieder tracks onto my Palm Zire to rehear as MP3 tracks through ear buds. It was in this format that I found myself most deeply aware of the clarity of the recording and of Ameling’s diction, as not a word was lost.

So if your family clamors for a theater-in-a-box this Christmas to better enjoy the special effects on today’s movie DVD’s, you might want to pick up one or more of these discs too. Then, if you are fortunate enough to find a moment when you can have the sound system to yourself, treat yourself to this music. My personal choice for several minutes of pure transcendence would be the coda of “Ch’io mi scordi di te”, where Mozart builds the virtuosic voice and piano parts together to a spectacular conclusion. But if you seek even more peaceful transcendence, you may prefer “Ave Maria”, which closes the lieder disc. Either way, you will rise from your chair renewed.

The liner notes include information about the recording process itself and notes about the songs and arias in English, German, and French, as well as texts and English translations of the works. For those who, like me, have some or all of these tracks on vinyl and might be trying to figure out which CDs might replace which LPs, the Arias disc includes all of Philips LP 6500 544 (Mozart Opera and Concert Arias) and the pieces from Philips 9500 170 (Schubert on Stage) in which Elly Ameling performs solo. The lieder disk includes all of Philips LP 9500 169 (Songs for Gretchen, Ellen, and Suleika), except for D126 (“Scene from Faust”), which was not a solo, and the “Frauenliebe und -leben” from Philips 6500 706 (Frauenliebe und -leben). The remainder of the songs from Philips 6500 706 are on the third SACD in this series (PentaTone 5186 132: Schubert Lieder), along with more songs by Schubert, originally from Philips 6500 704 (Schubert 16 Lieder).

Barbara Miller

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image_description= WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART/FRANZ SCHUBERT: Opera & Concert Arias

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(2) PentaTone PTC 5186 131 [SACD]

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe himself as a musical hero: The case of Lehár’s Friederike

The idea of a “Singspiel” about young Goethe arose with one of Lehár’s best librettists, Dr. Fritz Löhner (or Beda). He would tragically die in an extermination camp, hoping till his last moments that Lehár would use his influence. The composer didn’t dare to help him as his wife too was Jewish and it was only Lehár’s quick (and chancy) call to Himmler, who was in his office, that saved his wife from Löhner’s fate when two Gestapo-men appeared to arrest her.

Löhner did his utmost best to introduce historical reality, though some operetta conventions had to be respected. “Friederike” tells the story of one of young Goethe’s great loves and the inspiration she offered him. The first act takes place in an Alsatian village where the father of Salomea (20) and Friederike Brion (17) is a vicar. The fiancée of Salomea is the historically correct Friedrich Weyland, a student at Strasbourg University — Strasbourg had recently been conquered by Louis XIV but everybody still spoke German while the courses at its university were in Latin, of course. Weyland often visits his future in-laws and has brought with him his fellow students Johann Goethe (at the time without the “von”) and Jakob Lenz (another famous German poet). Goethe and Friederike are clearly in love and at the end of the act he first kisses her.

The second act takes place in Strasbourg a few months later. There is a big party going on at the place of Friederike’s aunt. She and Goethe once more declare their love and he intends to marry her and leave for Weimar where the Grand-Duke has offered him a splendid position. But the duke’s deputy tells Weyland that only an unmarried man may take it. Weyland convinces Friederike to give up her dreams and she starts to flirt outrageously with Lenz. Goethe is angry and leaves immediately for Weimar with the duke’s diplomat.

In the short third act Goethe and the Grand-Duke pass through Sesenheim eight years later. In the meantime Jakob Lenz has tried in vain for years to marry Friederike but as she explains “nobody who has ever loved Goethe can forget that experience and marry another.” During his short stay Goethe reminiscences upon his youthful love and takes his definitive farewell from Friederike before leaving for Switzerland with the Grand-Duke.

There are of course some deviations from historical reality. The first act corresponds with the real situation but in the second act operetta and opera are looking around the corner. In reality Goethe had more or less tired of Friederike whom he found utterly charming in her village but somewhat unsophisticated in his Strasbourg surroundings. Father Goethe who had heard about his son’s infatuation didn’t like an early marriage and recalled Goethe to Frankfurt. Goethe immediately obeyed his father’s wish, maybe even somewhat relieved as he didn’t even take the pains of saying a decent farewell. But in the meantime he had written some of his best poems. Friederike sacrificing herself is pure musical theatre convention as Goethe in reality only left for Weimar 4 years later. They never met again but it is true that after Goethe’s flight that other great poet Jakob Lenz tried in vain to marry Friederike. She would never marry and lived after the death of her parents with her sister Salomea and Weyland. She died in 1813, 59 years of age and a short time after Goethe had published his warm-hearted memories of her. Due to the European war at the time, she escaped attention but shortly afterwards people started to come and visit her grave on a pilgrimage. It is somewhat strange that “von Goethe” (enobled by the Grand-Duke) who thought Friederike a little bit too unsophisticated took up shop with a working class girl in 1790 who gave him a son and whom he would marry 16 years later.

The reaction in academic Germany when it became known that Lehár would compose an operetta on this topic was one of horror. Official Germany had never liked the many operas composed on themes by Goethe. Gounod’s Faust immediately got changed into “Margarethe” as it was considered a blasphemy to the original poem (Provincial theatres which perform in German still use that title). Mignon was considered sentimental nonsense, which had nothing to do in reality with Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister. Of course, like elsewhere, the opera-loving world and the singers couldn’t care less and loved those operas so much that at a certain moment the Vienna Opera was called the “Faustspielhaus”.

Still this wasn’t on the ocean deep level of having Germany’s greatest poet singing love songs on the scene. And that young Goethe himself had written some sentimental “Singspiele” in his youth was unimportant. Lehár and Löhner didn’t let them be deterred by this adverse criticism which was often inspired by the main German Lehár-hater, Richard Strauss who was almost insanely jealous of Lehár’s (financial) success. The Singspiel (Lehár never called it an operetta) had its successful première in October 1928 and became a staple of the German operetta theatre in the decades that followed, though from 1933 till 1945 the name of the librettist was no longer printed in the theatre programme.

In the seventies, Friederike gradually disappeared from the repertoire as did most operettas; a real loss as it is a masterpiece. For the moment there are some selections available and one complete recording on EMI with Austrian (actually Italian, as Italy was allowed to conquer a piece of purely Austrian land) tenor Adolf Dallapozza and Texas soprano Helen Donath as Goethe and Friederike. The 1981 recording is a very good one.

Yes, I love Friederike and if I had to take one Lehár show to the legendary desert island that would be the one. That is not to say it is perfect as there are three flaws in it. The first one is of course Löhner’s doing: the reality of Goethe tiring of his love and leaving without a word or even a small letter probably suits our jaded cynical time far better than the flirting nonsense Löhner concocted. But the public of the twenties and thirties wouldn’t have accepted such callous behaviour from the hero and loved that kind of sacrifice by the poor heroine. The second flaw is Lehár’s. He purposely did away with some of the clichés of operetta. There is no second couple that takes care of our comic relief and has some pop melodies to sing in contrast to the more operatic fare of the tenor and soprano. But even here Lehár cannot do without the obligatory short third act where nothing of musical substance happens. And the third flaw is nobody’s fault. The first Goethe was Richard Tauber (“I don’t sing operetta, I sing Lehár”) and he often co-composed his arias together with the man he called his brother without the blood tie. They are so well-tailored to Tauber’s voice and the tenor himself was such a giant of belcanto that it is almost impossible to follow in his tracks. Some of these melodies are so etched in our memory with Tauber’s voice that even the best of his successors sound a little bit out of place when they try to sing Friederike.

Still there is almost an embarrassment of melodic ideas in the score. In the first act there is the wonderful first aria of Friederike (“Gott gab einen schönen Tag” (God gave a beautiful day)) celebrating springtime. Then the students enter and with them the real Goethe as they sing his poem “Mit Mädchen sich vertragen” (Meeting girls), already composed by Van Beethoven, though less lustily. Then the theatre Goethe makes his appearance as by that time the original public was probably already clamouring for Richard Tauber. He too has a fine and inspired slow waltz to sing “O so schön, wie wunderschön” (Ah, how beautiful), which is an ode to nature and the idyllic surroundings of Sesenheim (Werther’s entrance aria “O nature” in Massenet’s opera tells the same story).

Then there is a short love duet between tenor and soprano inspired by another of the great German’s poems. But the great challenge for Lehár was the composition, word for word, of the famous Goethe-poem Heideröslein. Every educated German knew by heart the famous rendition of Franz Schubert. But Lehár succeeds triumphantly in finding authentic melodic inspiration which can easily compete with Schubert’s. It is no co-incidence that this second aria for Tauber was picked up for recording by other tenors as well. After some introductory music it is time for the big moment in every second act of Lehár’s later output: the Tauberlied (the famous “You are my heart’s delight”) often composed in narrow collaboration with the tenor himself. This “O mädchen, my mädchen” (Oh maiden, my maiden) is one of Lehár’s very best: an unforgettable memorable tune in 6/8 without any cheap tricks and the leitmotiv of the work. Tauber’s famous record is unsurpassed; but the melody is so irresistible that many a great tenor (Konya, Wunderlich among others) have recorded it and failed honourably. Moreover the text is derived from an authentic love song for Friederike Brion: the sixth strophe of Goethe’s “Mailied” (Maysong). But the soprano has her big moment, too, with the magnificent (operatic) aria “Warum hast du mich wachgeküsst” (Why did you kiss me awake). Of the many recordings none can compare in beauty and passion with Lucia Popp’s 1988 version. The lover’s quarrel starts with a broken E-major chord and the duet goes over in yet another Tauber aria “Liebe seliger traum” (Love, wonderful dream) that ends in despair with “Oh! Geh nicht von mir” (Don’t leave me).

The third act has a short solo for Friederike, a lovely duet between Lenz and Salomea and a few sentences by Goethe. I’ve always regretted that Lehár didn’t keep that moving second tenor aria in the second act for the final of Friederike. Now the piece ends with a violin slowly repeating “O Mädchen, mein Mädchen” before the curtain falls on a fortissimo chord in C-major.

Jan Neckers

image=http://www.operatoday.com/content/goethe2.jpg
image_description=Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)

Monteverdi Choir/Gardiner — Cadogan Hall, London

George Hall [The Guardian, 20 December 2005]

It's not often one has the chance to hear a new work by Bach, but the centrepiece of this programme by the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists under John Eliot Gardiner was the UK premiere of a much-heralded recent discovery. In May, researcher Michael Maul came across a short unknown aria in the composer's hand in a Weimar archive. It sets a poem celebrating the 52nd birthday in 1713 of the Duke of Saxe-Weimar, Bach's then employer. The text alludes to the Duke's motto, "All things with God, and naught without him," which forms the title of the piece. Cut down from the original 12 stanzas to a more manageable three, this minor work nevertheless proved a charmer; melodically graceful and expertly crafted. Soprano Elin Manahan Thomas sang it with flawless tone and perfect diction.

God Is in the Music

By FRED KIRSHNIT [NY Sun 20 December 2005]

One of the many unsolicited press releases that I received this month reassured me that although their client's concert had the word "Christmas" in its title, the event itself was completely devoid of religious content and therefore suitable for the entire family. This missive was quickly filed where it belonged,but piqued my thirst for a good, old-fashioned Christmas concert combining the sacred and the festive. On Sunday night, at the Metropolitan Museum, that particular itch was scratched.

Acoustics first, then architecture

By George Loomis [Financial Times, 20 December 2005]

The city of Wroclaw has had several names in its 1,000-year existence and the current one helps disguise its past. When the borders of Poland were shifted westwards at the Potsdam Conference in 1945 the German city of Breslau ceased to exist. Much was already gone, thanks to Hitler and the Red Army. As a final gesture, the city was entirely repopulated. What was left of its German population was expelled, and residents of the Polish city of Lvov, which ended up in Ukraine, were ordered to move to Wroclaw.

How's That Again? An Echoing Refrain

By BERNARD HOLLAND [NY Times, 20 December 2005]

Echo is the musical gift that keeps on giving, sometimes longer than you wish it did. We get a lot of echo this time of year. Christmas music belongs in churches, and the big ones are bighearted enough to make sure we hear a single performance not once but a number of times in quick succession.

In the space of a second, light moves 186,000 miles. In the meantime, sound has limped about, say, 1,100 feet. Think of fireworks in the distance. We see them; the sound arrives later. Creating music indoors is like throwing a number of balls around a four-sided handball court and waiting for them to come back to you. If the balls are of different sizes and thrown at different speeds, your ears, so to speak, will have their hands full.

Voices of doom at the Coliseum

Anthony Holden [The Guardian, 18 December 2005]

The year ended with English National Opera back in turmoil, as the abrupt departure of its artistic director and chief executive, Sean Doran, led to calls for that of its chairman, Martin Smith. Despite box-office successes with Jude Kelly's On The Town and Anthony Minghella's Madam Butterfly, and a fine Clemenza di Tito from David McVicar, ENO has never settled back into artistic self-confidence since Smith fired the country's most reliable man-about-opera, Nicholas Payne, in 2002. As it prepares for further strife over sur-titles above opera in English, amid huge financial problems and staff muttering, the company's future must now be declared uncertain.

WAGNER, S.: Der Heidenkönig

No wonder, then, that Siegfried Wagner first decided on a career in architecture. Had he stuck with that resolve, he would likely have gotten a lot more professional respect than he did as a composer. Yet seventy-five years after the death of the junior Wagner, more and more of his operas are making their way into the catalogue—most recently his 1914 opus Der Heidenkönig (The Heathen King), a work that never made it to the stage during its composer’s lifetime.

Listening to Siegfried Wagner’s music, it isn’t hard to understand both phenomena: the lack of respect, and the growing interest. Of course it is unfair to compare Siegfried’s operas to Richard’s—as unfair as it is inevitable. There is much pleasure to be found in Der Heidenkönig. The younger Wagner, who studied with Engelbert Humperdinck, was clearly a well trained and sophisticated composer, despite an approach which must have been considered old fashioned for a composer born midway between Richard Strauss and Arnold Schönberg.

The opera’s musical texture is filled with many delightful details, both harmonic and orchestral. That being said, and despite the clear influence of father upon son, the music only very intermittently reminds one of Richard Wagner’s titanic music dramas. It is rather closer in spirit to the work of his teacher Humperdinck, though perhaps less melodically inspired. Missing from Heidenkönig are so many of the things we expect from a “Wagner opera”—the big musical ideas, the vast philosophical pretensions, the almost careless confidence in his own genius.

Richard Wagner’s operas rarely contain a great deal of action or incident, but rather move in a deliberate manner though the mental and spiritual states of their protagonists. Der Heidenkönig, based not on mythology, but rather on a rather strange and complex episode in central European history, is jam packed with plot detail. It concerns the resistance of the Wends (a slavic tribe that lived in Prussia) to forced Christianization at the hands of the Poles.

The hero of the story is Radomar, whom the Wends have chosen to be secretly crowned their new king (the “Heathen King” of the title). But both a Christian monk and Radomar’s wife Ellida warn him not to accept the crown, which she dreams is poisoned. Ellida had once been unfaithful to Radomar, and, as the story progresses, the Polish general Jaroslav blackmails her into betraying Radomar once again, both sexually, and by revealing the plans for the secret coronation. But in the end, in a page out of the Wagner family playbook, she sacrifices her life to redeem her love.

Overall, Christianity is presented as triumphant, as the traditionalist Wends are portrayed as lying schemers, who perpetuate belief in their gods through trickery. But the Christian Poles are hardly whitewashed either, as Jaroslav’s blackmail of Ellida demonstrates. The noble Radomar and his love Ellida stand between the two camps.

Sadly, it is very difficult to wholly judge Der Heidenkönig as drama, because Marco Polo has not included the libretto in its booklet. This is especially unfortunate, as I could find no evidence that the libretto is available elsewhere—at least in translation. Perhaps a better introduction for those curious about Siegfried Wagner’s operas would be Die heilige Linde on the wonderful CPO label, which makes a practice of including translated libretti in their operatic releases.

Both sets share the wonderful soprano Dagmar Schellenberger, who here sings the role of Ellida. I was not familiar with most of the other singers, such as tenor Thorsten Scharnke as the Radomar and baritone Adam Kruzel as Jaroslav. All aquit themselves satisfactorily. Hiroshi Kodama leads the Solingen-Remscheid Symphony Orchestra with conviction.

For fans of Siegfried Wagner, Der Heidenkönig will be a welcome and worthy addition to the growing list of the composer’s available titles. For others, who don’t know the music of the junior Wagner, they may find considerable enjoyment in this set, provided they approach it without the expectations generated by that famous surname.

Eric D. Anderson

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The legendary Magda Olivero

OK, let’s call a spade a spade. Some 15 years ago I produced a TV-show for Flanders and the Netherlands on the decline of Italian singing and I asked a mutual friend who knew Tebaldi and Olivero very well to ask for their cooperation. Both ladies agreed to receive me a few weeks before shooting would start but my friend warned me that making an exact appointment would be difficult as Tebaldi was not one to be pinpointed on a date. So I started calling the great prima-donna and of course got her assistant Tina who kindly asked me to phone back tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, next week etc. till La Signora had made up her mind. At last we agreed I should come to Italy and try from there and Tina was sure La Signora would receive me.

So I went because by that time I was sure this would not be a journey for nothing as I had also placed a call to La Olivero. I had stated my business to her assistant and within a minute Olivero herself took the call, looked at her agenda and gave me a date and an hour at her apartment. On the exact date and hour I arrived and she herself opened the door. She offered a drink and as she was a little (really only a little) shaky I wanted to pour out myself a cup of tea. I’ll never forget Olivero charmingly taking my hand and friendly but firmly saying: “So sorry but it is my duty and honour to serve you!” Of course she always was a member of the rich bourgeoisie. (Yes, I finally succeeded in meeting Tebaldi as well).

Now to the record. The title gives the impression that here we’ve got all of Olivero’s official solo-records but this isn’t so and it’s a pity the firm didn’t produce a second CD with the lacking titles (the Cherry duet with Tagliavini; Amami Alfredo from Traviata; Amor, celeste ebrezza from Loreley; Panteismo and Triste est la steppe). That would have been short value but they could re-issue as well her only solo LP-album with songs of Faith and Devotion from 1970.

Of course we are not lacking in Olivero-issues as she herself said to me “I’m the queen of pirate recordings” (Leyla Gencer makes the same claim) and proudly showed a recent issue of her Mefistofele from Rio with Siepi and Labo which a fan had sent her for approval. Still not all of these many recordings were produced in excellent conditions and sometimes the sound picture is not a thing of beauty. I’m sorry to report that the sound on this CD is not always pristine as well. Two items were run through an echo chamber for I don’t know what reasons and the producers definitely didn’t use the original matrixes or tapes but used some less than mint 78’s as from time to time a small crackle pops up.

Now what can be said of the actual singing that has not been already said so many times before? Olivero is something of an acquired taste and she succeeds with means that could be called limited. The voice was not big but immensely well projected. It has an obtrusive vibrato, somewhat more in the pre- than in the post-war-recordings. Now for vibrato lovers like me that is a plus but in the Anglo-Saxon world that didn’t help her career. A score is not a sacrosanct object to revere but a means to construe a character and, if for that aim note values have to be lengthened or shortened, so be it. Sighs, sobs and growls are fine as long as it helps to define the heroine’s problems, though there are no such weird sounds to be found on these records that can compete with a lot of her live recordings where she pulls out all stops. And of course she is the queen too of the “fil de voce”, spinning out a phrase eternally to an almost whisper before swelling the tone once again to a forte. Everything is so exaggerated, so blown up that once more camp becomes pure art.

During my re-listening for the n-th time to these recordings I especially concentrated on the difference between her 1940 and her 1953 recordings and there is almost none. As is well-known, she didn’t sing in opera between 1941 and 1951 (desperately trying to get children) though she often performed in concerts and there is not the slightest wear. The only difference seems to be in the style where the sobs are more obtrusive, preparing the ground for her triumphs of the late fifties and sixties. In short Olivero’s solo-arias are a must in every vocal buffs collection. And by the way, in her big Traviata scene she is assisted by a nice tenor whose name is never mentioned on any re-issue. He is the completely forgotten Muzio Giovagnoli.

Jan Neckers

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RAUTAVAARA: Rasputin

That didn’t happen, perhaps, if one may dare to assume, because Nicholas and Alexandra received such scathing reviews. But a DVD has appeared with the central characters of the czar, czarina, and the Mad Monk, in an opera that premiered at almost exactly the same time as the Dratell work. Einojuhani Rautavaara’s Rasputin, performed at the Finnish National Opera, doesn’t have to be compared to the woe-begotten Nicholas and Alexandra to merit praise. The DVD captures an intense, riveting evening of dramatic musical theater and a performance by Matti Salminen in the lead role that manages to capture all the seedy charisma and ecstatic lechery of this fascinating figure. If opera-lovers sadly cannot expect a world-tour of this great artist performing in a fine opera written with him in mind, they must at least obtain the DVD and settle in to experience Salminen’s brilliant work in a operatic stage work of genuine achievement.

The opera only covers Rasputin’s life from the time he entered the life of Russian royal family as they desperately sought relief for their hemophiliac son. He is seen as a dangerous influence by the established order, represented in the opera by two men seeking to marry the czar’s daughter Irina — Dimitri and Felix, whose rivalry is muted by the fact of their own homosexual relationship. As Rasputin’s influence grows, desperation sets in, and finally the Monk’s enemies can find no other option than to poison, stab, and shoot him to death. The conflagration to come reveals itself in a dream of the czar’s, as flames fill the stage.

Rautavaara’s opera, therefore, takes its place in the Faustian tradition as an innovative portrait of a malevolent but charismatic figure and the havoc he wreaks in a society of false piety. And like Mephistopheles, Rasputin makes for a great role for a deep, resonant voice (Domingo’s in the Dratell work was, of course, set higher — if not in true tenor range).

Salminen revels in the both the role’s musical challenges and the character’s schizophrenic nature. For like all truly great characters, Rasputin isn’t faking either his religious ecstasy or degrading himself with his libidinous rampages — they are integral parts of his Falstaffian nature, the ying and yang of a life force beyond understanding or control. The character’s first set piece – a long, dark meditation translated as Evil will sink in the water — quickly establishes Rasputin’s ominously attractive personality, and Rautavaara’s music, while not conventionally melodic, makes for a trance-inducing lullaby, and the audience falls under the Monk’s spell just as the Czarina and her ailing son do.

Like the best opera composers, Rautavaara sees to it that all the major roles get their time in the limelight. Lilli Paasikivi’s czarina begins the opera with a desperate plea for someone to save her son’s life, recalling in its minor key drama Butterfly’s final aria to her “piccolo iddio.” Jorma Hynninen’s Nicholas comes across as a weak man but a loving father, concerned that his daughter Irina might be about to marry one of two very wrong men, while allowing his wife to have her way in terms of Rasputin’s growing influence. Jyrki Anttila (Felix) and Gabriel Suovanen (Dimitri) both exude proper amounts of elegant sleaze as lovers who see Irina as a ticket to power, and Rasputin as the greatest threat to their ambition.

In three acts, the opera runs about 2 and half hours, so with two intermissions probably required, it would be a substantial, and probably expensive, proposition to stage. But this original production has much to recommend it, as smoothly moving walls slide into formulations to quickly signify shifting locations, and the lighting and costuming are of consistently high standards. Hannu Lindholm designed the production and Vilppu Kiljunen directed.

The production of new operas seems to be increasing, which, while healthy by most any measure, also means that some good works can be swept away by the next tide of newer works. Opera houses the world over would do very well to check out this Ondine release and realize that here is a new opera of potent drama and searing musicality, and if Matti Salminen is available, what more could be wanted? Anyone without the patience — formidable, indeed — to await that development should acquire this Ondine DVD soon.

Chris Mullins
Los Angeles Unified School District, Secondary Literacy

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Making waves as the tide goes out at Scottish Opera

SARAH JONES [Scotland on Sunday, 18 December 2005]

THIS year was not for those with a nervous disposition, particularly if you like opera. Indeed, the tide of names washing in and out of the Scottish classical scene was enough to make even those used to arts-world shenanigans feel a little sea-sick.

Katarina Karneus — Wigmore Hall, London

(Photo: Robert Walker)
Erica Jeal [The Guardian, 17 December 2005]

A few winners of the Cardiff Singer of the World competition have shot to stardom, but most have built their careers more steadily - including the Swedish mezzo Katarina Karneus, who took home the trophy a decade ago. This recital was one of Radio 3's lunchtime series, broadcast live, in which one often finds the more interesting up-and-coming singers in the Wigmore Hall's calendar. In the case of a singer as accomplished as Karneus, currently making an impression as ENO's Xerxes, it is perhaps a surprise that she hasn't already become more of an evening fixture at this venue. At the same time, there was a feeling of restraint, even nervousness, to her performance that made one wonder if, at the moment, she might feel more at home on the operatic stage.

Push to Rescue Met Recordings

By DANIEL J. WAKIN [NY Times, 16 December 2005]

In a Metropolitan Opera House studio jumbled with tapes and 16-inch lacquer discs one day last week, nine of the most famous high C's ever sung shot out from the throat of Luciano Pavarotti. It was the recording of a live, broadcast performance of Donizetti's "Fille du Régiment," at the Met on Jan. 6, 1973.

Irresistibly moving — Billy Budd, Coliseum

[The Spectator, 17 December 2005]

English National Opera’s production of Billy Budd originated in Wales seven years ago, and is also shared with Opera Australia. Neil Armfield is the producer, and the set design is by Brian Thomson. It is an hydraulic platform, which in Cardiff occupied the whole stage, but at the Coliseum leaves a lot of surrounding space unused, and induces less claustrophobia in the audience, though it could well, in its restless heaving, cause motion sickness.

BOITO: Mefistofele

Pick of 2005: Opera

(Photo: Mike Hoban)
By Ian Irvine [New Statesman, 19 December 2005]

Giulio Cesare at Glyndebourne (and at the Proms)

A star was born. David McVicar's enormously enjoyable production of Handel's showpiece (set in an imperial imagerie d'Epinal version of Egypt) was distinguished by the British debut of the beautiful young Australian soprano Danielle de Niese. Not only did her voice easily surpass the rigorous requirements of the role of Cleopatra, but she gave, in Kenneth Tynan's term, a high-definition performance - sexy, witty, compelling - at a level rarely seen on an opera stage. The outstanding cast also featured Sarah Connolly as Caesar and a harrowing Angelika Kirchschlager as Sesto. Praise God, it's being revived next summer, when a DVD will also appear.

Met Opera Slashing Budget

By RONALD BLUM [Associated Press, 15 December 2005]

NEW YORK (AP) -- The latest tune at the Metropolitan Opera is the box-office blues.

Because of a slump in ticket sales, Met general manager Joseph Volpe wants to cut operating expenses for the company's current fiscal year by 5 percent.

Singer's perfect storm — Soprano Dawn Upshaw's sense of adventure draws her to 'El Nino'

By David Mermelstein [LA Daily News, 16 December 2005]

It's been some time since Schoenberg's scowling mien or Boulez's hard gaze represented the face of new music. The standard-bearers today have softer countenances, like John Adams, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Simon Rattle. Yet even they fall short of warm and fuzzy.

Bryn Terfel — Millennium Centre, Cardiff

Rian Evans [The Guardian, 16 December 2005]

Not everyone who came to Cardiff last weekend was searching for Oasis. A couple of thousand were making the pilgrimage to see Bryn Terfel - and for them Christmas arrived early.

Singing A to Z on the cusp of stardom

(PHOTO: David Michaud)
By Andrew Clark [Financial Times, 16 December 2005]

Wherever Joyce DiDonato makes a debut she creeps in at the back door and leaves by the front. "And when I get invited back," she says, "I come in the front door to a great welcome."

Malena Ernman, Simon Rattle and OAE at the Barbican — Three Reviews

OAE/Rattle/Ernman — Barbican, London
Tom Service [The Guardian, 13 December 2005]

It was billed as the chance to hear the doyen of British conductors in musical harmony with his new partner: classical music's glamour couple Simon Rattle and mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kozena, in concert with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. But anybody wanting to sample the musical chemistry between these two icons of the classical scene would have been disappointed. Kozena had to pull out, to be replaced by the Swedish mezzo, Malena Ernman.

Click here for remainder of article.

OAE/Rattle/Malena Ernman, Barbican, London
By Robert Maycock [The Independent, 13 December 2005]

Deputising as half of classical music's charmed couple has to be the one-night chance of a lifetime. When Magdalena Kozena sent in a sick note the day before her concert with Sir Simon Rattle, the window of opportunity opened for the Swedish mezzo Malena Ernman. She made her mark at Glyndebourne two seasons ago, the same year as Kozena. Most of the audience were initially busy being disappointed at the no-show, but it was clear that the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment had warmed to her, and by the end everybody knew why.

Click here for remainder of article.

Concert:OAE/Rattle
Geoff Brown at the Barbican [Times Online, 13 December 2005]

Simon Rattle conducting Mozart and Haydn with the Czech wonder and light of his life, Magdalena Kozená: Friday’s Great Performers concert at the Barbican was a dream ticket for music lovers and gossips alike.

But life isn’t like vintage Hollywood, and dreams don’t always come true; Kozená fell ill, and at barely more than a day’s notice the young and lively Swedish mezzo-soprano Malena Ernman bravely agreed to stand in her place, with a rejigged programme.

Click here for remainder of article.

image=http://www.operatoday.com/content/ernman.jpg
image_description=Malena Ernman

Christmas surprise

By Kevin Shopland [The Budapest Sun, 15 December 2005]

THE Palace of Arts has been host to two brilliant concerts recently, one by Les Arts Florissants on Dec 7, the other by the Budapest Festival Orchestra on Nov 25.

The French period-instruments orchestra and chorus Les Arts Florissants, led by American conductor William Christie (pictured), gave a semi-staged performance of Rameau's opera Les Paladins. Though the audience was comparatively small (I guess Rameau will never draw in the crowds the way Beethoven does), it ate up the perfect enactment of this wonderfully charming work, leaving off its enthusiastic cheering only when the orchestra finally walked off stage after numerous curtain calls by the soloists.

Sensitive autocrat in a season of content

John Carmody [The Australian, 16 December 2005]

THE young woman at the ticket office of Hamburg State Opera in northern Germany has no mixed feelings about the new music director. "We all love Frau Young," she says, handing over the tickets.

When this is mentioned to Simone Young a few days later, the conductor giggles, and adds with a dash of Australian irony: "I should hope so. I'm her boss."

The Dream of Gerontius — Barbican, London

Tim Ashley [The Guardian, 15 December 2005]

For many, Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius represents the pinnacle of the late Victorian choral tradition. The composer's contemporaries, however, saw it somewhat differently. The overtly Catholic subject matter caused disquiet in Protestant establishment circles, while Elgar's style was deemed overly Wagnerian. At the time of the work's premiere some considered it to be a natural successor to Parsifal, and consequently dangerous and inherently modernistic.

Rigoletto at the Met — Three Reviews

The local censors took great exception to “the disgusting immorality and obscene triviality” of the plot and to the depiction of the hunchback Rigoletto. But Verdi refused to make the changes they demanded, and the opera (including “Caro nome” and “La donna e mobile”) has remained firmly at the top of the list of popular operas since then – not just with audiences, but even more so with the greatest singers. [Source: The Metropolitan Opera]

A Glamorous Twosome Fills an Opera House

By ANTHONY TOMMASINI [NY Times, 12 December 2005]

Like the behemoth it is, the Metropolitan Opera moves slowly. Because seasons are planned years in advance, it finds it hard to accommodate sudden phenomena in the opera world, like the vocal partnership of Anna Netrebko, the gorgeous and immensely gifted Russian coloratura soprano, and Rolando Villazón, the dashing and ardent Mexican tenor.

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An Uneven Night for the Hottest Singers in Opera

BY JAY NORDLINGER [NY Sun, 12 December 2005]

If you'll pardon the celebrity-world language, Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon are probably the hottest singers in opera.They appeared in Verdi's "Rigoletto" at the Metropolitan Opera on Saturday night. She is a Russian soprano, and he is a Mexican tenor.They are paired together in opera houses around the world, in such operas as "Romeo et Juliette" (Gounod) and "La Traviata" (Verdi again). Last summer at the Salzburg Festival, they sang in this latter opera, and caused a sensation. They were virtually the talk of the Continent.

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Verdi's 'unending string' breaks at the Met
BY MARION LIGNANA ROSENBERG [Newsday, 14 December 2005]

Verdi left behind little commentary on his operas, content to let his work speak for itself. In the case of "Rigoletto," though, he was explicit, saying that he conceived the opera as "an unending string of duets."

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image_description=Rigoletto

Sherrill Milnes - An All Star Gala

Producer: You know we have Burt Lancaster as a host? What set are we going to use?

Director: Censure just gave a movie free that is called Carrousel. Typically American. Wasn’t Lancaster an acrobat?

Producer: Yeah and a carrousel somewhat resembles a circus! And we can put him and a few of the artists on the wooden horses and we can build a small stage next to it to use for Pagliacci.

Director: Fine. Have you already written the script?

Producer: Well, there’s a snatch. Lancaster is rather expensive and we can have him only for a day. There are a lot of fragments to be introduced and his memory is not what it used to be.

Director: You know? In the West they have autocue-machines

Producer: Yeah, but we don’t. You know what we can do. We give Lancaster his cues for a few presentations and we ask him to make a general statement which we can insert everywhere. And when he’s tired or has gone we can always ask Sherill to introduce an aria himself. And I’ve heard from my Flemish colleague Jan Neckers who once produced a Domingo-special that the tenor presented himself on camera for him in Dutch. And that took Domingo 5 minutes to learn. And here he can do it in English if Lancaster is gone.

Director: OK with me. By the way, did you get that call from the Stasi?

Producer: Yeah; they want an East-German artist to perform as well, preferably in those fine sets we all admired in Esther Williams-movies. And it seems the singer has to be Peter Schreier. Well, Sherill told me he has no German roles in his repertoire but he is willing to conduct that Wunderlich-surrogate and we can use some old footage from Sherill beating a stick for a few seconds. What do you think?

Director: Wunderbar!

OK friends? That’s enough fun for now but this gives you a fair idea what to expect. I’d like to add that the whole show is dubbed but the artists all know their job and they do it rather well though every opera lover knows that no singer can open his mouth as aesthetically correct as they do here when they go for a strenuous high note. During the show I had one moment that had me really looking up: the duet from Don Carlos (truncated) with Domingo. The sounds the Spanish tenor uttered didn’t belong to him anymore in 1985 and as there is no line in the accompanying booklet telling you who was the conductor I had to wait for the credits. And look and behold next to some East-German luminaries there stood the name of Anton Guadagno proving that the two gentlemen play-acted their recording from 14 years earlier. The rest of the show was clearly recorded for the show and there are some minuses and plusses. Milnes always was a controversial artist, even at the Met. A lot of opera fans thought the voice somewhat unexceptional without an abundance of colour in it though he had a formidable almost tenor top which sat somewhat loosely on the rest of the voice. Moreover, opera stars are often becoming a small household word in the wider world the moment their salad days in the opera house are gone but this is the time television finally picks up and we have to be glad with what we get. And this is surely the case here. In Pagliacci Milnes is chopping up the line, not singing really fluently though proving he can act believably.

Almost worth the purchase of the DVD is the duet from La Traviata (however not including the cabaletta) with Mirella Freni. The soprano (50 at the time) not only looks half her age but sounds half that age as well. She has brilliantly mastered the role in all its nuances and the voice has broadened without losing its magnificent silvery shine. She made a fine TV-recording in 1973 with Bonisolli but she is even better here, vocally and as a convincing actress. Milnes is not on a par with her. The voice has not much weight in the lower register and the sound in the middle register, never his biggest asset, is simply not rich and broad enough to compete with Freni. The baritone was never known as a lieder singer and purists will shrink when they hear him singing a Brahms-song in a kind of language that shows some relationship with German. Yet, it reminds me of Carlo Bergonzi singing a Beethoven and a Schumann lied. You smile when you hear the atrocious German coming from those mouths but after some seconds you are resigned and you just concentrate on the big and beautiful sounds coming. I’ve got an inkling that some of those composers wouldn’t have minded major voices in the Italian repertory singing their lieder, how bad the pronunciation may be. And Milnes brings with him more than the usual heft of voice in this lied. He ends it with a very fine falsetto. Milnes does a fine Jago too as he can use his still estimable vocal means in an aria where legato is not the first requisite. The Schreier aria from Cosi in a kitschy set that ought to be seen to be believed is a strange and superfluous interlude. The best of the show is the fine duet with small but sensuously voiced Migenes in the Romberg piece. Maybe the music here too lies a little bit low for Milnes but he and Migenes sing with utter conviction and charm proving how fine this music is. A pity nobody thought of asking those two artists for a whole show of classical American operettas and musicals. As far as I know this is the only DVD figuring the American baritone in a solo recital and therefore indispensable for his fans and for those of Freni and Migenes.

Jan Neckers

image=http://www.operatoday.com/content/Milnes.jpg
image_description=Sherrill Milnes - An All Star Gala

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Rising star may yet call the tune for Scottish Opera

ROWENA SMITH [The Herald, 14 December 2005]

In an Edinburgh Festival memorable for its controversial performances (Arab-Israeli youth orchestras, new plays dealing with the subject of paedophilia) Scottish Opera's production of The Death of Klinghoffer led the field. The Festival's decision to give the long-overdue UK stage premiere of the opera by John Adams based on the hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruise liner by Palestinian terrorists, attracted a good deal of criticism from certain quarters from the moment it was announced. Further interest was generated when details of the production – the storming of the ship from the body of the theatre – were revealed, and by talk of a distinct lack of tendresse between director Anthony Neilson and what remained of Scottish Opera Chorus (now, of course, no more).

Divas and dabblers — The lesson of the crisis in English opera is that we have to overhaul how the arts are governed

Charlotte Higgins [The Guardian, 14 December 2005]

If Martin Smith, chairman of English National Opera, survives the week in his post, it will be a miracle. The opera company, once more famous for theatrical invention and fearlessness than for cock-ups, is in meltdown. The sacking of artistic director Seán Doran two weeks ago can only mean that the rumours which have been wafting out of the London Coliseum about financial troubles (despite an £11m Arts Council England bailout in 2003) are true. The council has condemned the coronation of Doran's successors - tantamount to a withdrawal of support from Smith. He, meanwhile, has self-deludingly posted a letter on the ENO website about the company's "genuine and very exciting renaissance". The words Nero, fiddling and Rome spring to mind.

Follower of the main story

By Shirley Apthorp [Financial Times, 14 December 2005]

"There is no swan," says the Australian director Barrie Kosky. That is no surprise. Kosky, at his ease in Vienna's gloomy Café Sperl, sports silver rings, numerous piercings, and dark red nail polish. At his feet sits a cocker spaniel. Neither of them looks the type to take Wagner at face value.

Stravinsky in San Francisco — Two Reviews

A.C.T. Artistic Director Carey Perloff directs Oedipus Rex, based on Sophocles's classic tragedy. It features an international cast of vocal soloists and British film, stage, and television actor Roger Rees. The magical fairy tale The Nightingale, directed by Patricia Birch, showcases an array of vocal soloists, actors, dancers, and members of the "avant-cabaret" Vau de Vire Society. Michael Tilson Thomas, one of the world's foremost interpreters of Stravinsky, leads both works. [Source: San Francisco Symphony]

Le Rossignol/Oedipus Rex, San Francisco
By Allan Ulrich [Financial Times, 13 December 2005]

Michael Tilson Thomas's annual forays into semi- staged opera have reaped revelatory results during his 11-year tenure at the San Francisco Symphony. The conductor's infrequent visits to the formal world of opera do not signify an antipathy to lyric theatre, but confirm his unfashionable belief that, in this collaborative venture, the music must nevertheless take priority over mise-en-scène.

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Stagings draw out Stravinsky's theatrical verve
Joshua Kosman [SF Chronicle, 10 December 2005]

Stravinsky's music all sounds different, and it all sounds fundamentally alike.

The two stage works that Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony undertook for Thursday's fascinating program in Davies Symphony Hall -- the shimmery fairy tale "The Nightingale" and the starkly neoclassical "Oedipus Rex" -- encompass wide leaps in style. Yet there's no mistaking the guiding sensibility at work behind every measure.

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image=http://www.operatoday.com/content/Nightingale_set.jpg
image_description=Set of The Nightingale (San Francisco Symphony)

A Song Cycle With Bells On

BY FRED KIRSHNIT [NY Sun, 13 December 2005]

There are four distinct types of song recitals. The most popular are those mounted by opera singers, who are often woefully untrained to sing lieder; the song portion of the evening tends to be short at these events, and everyone waits for the encores, which will consist of opera highlights. Recitals can also be crazyquilts of individual songs with little rhyme or reason to their juxtapositioning. Then, of course, there are the programs wherein an actual lieder singer comes to perform. And then there are presentations of a much more substantial menu that impresses with a unified structure designed by its composer: the song cycle.

An Intrepid Tenor Faces Un-Schubertian Obstacles

By ANTHONY TOMMASINI [NY Times 13 December 2005]

Ideally, Schubert's "Winterreise" should be performed without a break. The 24 songs in this 70-minute cycle trace the harrowing narrative of a young man, delirious with anguish over a lost love as he wanders amid winter weather in the outskirts of the village where the woman who rejected him lives.

Sir John's passion

[The Guardian, 12 December 2005]

John Eliot Gardiner, one of the world's foremost interpreters of Bach, tells Alan Rusbridger why he embarked on a 'pilgrimage' to record every one of the composer's 200 cantatas

There is a famous painting of Bach by Elias Gottlob Haussmann which graces the front cover of Christoph Wolff's recent biography. Bach is portrayed displaying an extremely complex piece of contrapuntal writing. It is a portrait of a master at the height of his craft - self-confident, even a bit arrogant.

GAY: The Beggar’s Opera

Thus, there is little surprise in his taking on a modern realization of John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera, an undertaking that, as Philip Brett observed, “signifies the culmination of a process of self-conscious rapprochement with history and national identity, part of what Britten thought necessary, as a newly connected and ‘located’ artist, to fulfill his role.” Certainly The Beggar’s Opera claims a special place in the English musical legacy. First performed at Lincoln’s Inn Fields in January, 1728, its satirical volley aimed at Walpole’s administration, the aristocracy, and the Italian opera struck a responsive chord in London audiences—audiences that could have seen it performed an impressive sixty-two times during its first year alone! And London audiences would find it performed annually throughout the remainder of the eighteenth century. The best-known “ballad opera,” The Beggar’s Opera combines spoken dialogue and popular tunes drawn from English ballads, Irish, Scottish, and French airs, and melodies from composers like Purcell, Handel, and Bononcini, all intertwined in a tale of “low life.”

The musical content was originally skeletal—melodies with bass lines devised by Johann Pepusch. Britten’s realization gives the tunes a content-rich accompaniment, employing harmonies, effects, and inflections far-removed from the eighteenth century. Pepusch is left behind here, and what emerges is not a dressed-up neo-classicism—Pepusch with modern spice—but rather a fresh re-imaging of the melodies’ harmonic and dramatic propensities.

Britten created his Beggar’s Opera for performances by the English Opera Group in 1948, the year after its founding by Britten, the artist, John Piper, and librettist-director, Eric Crozier. This present CD offers a digitalized recording made from acetates of the 1948 production. Peter Pears takes the role of Captain Macheath, and it is wonderful to savor his voice in moments of lightness and ease, as in the second act air, “The first time at the looking-glass.” But by and large, the biggest presence on the recording seems to be Britten himself. The radical transformation of the airs through such highly inflected accompaniment transforms the nature of the work itself. In part this has to do with the manner of performance. The amount of “information” in the orchestra goes hand-in-hand with a necessary slowing of the airs, and as a result, one misses their often-times lilting quality. But additionally, the sophistication of the accompaniments and their amount of information transforms the aesthetic from one of engaging popular simplicity to a more complex, multi-layered affair, seemingly rich with meaning and inflection. In short, the eighteenth-century ballad opera has here taken on the language of opera, that which it had originally lampooned.

If one’s interest lies in The Beggar’s Opera itself, the Britten 1948 version will be of only tangential interest, I suspect. But, if one’s interest lies in Britten and his ability to transform and create within the constraints of pre-existent material, this is a rich sample, indeed, and a valuable historical artifact of English musical life in the early years after World War II.

Steven Plank
Oberlin College

image=http://www.operatoday.com/content/beggar_opera.jpg
image_description=John Gay: The Beggar’s Opera

product=yes
product_title=John Gay: The Beggar’s Opera
A Musical Version Realised from the Original Airs by Benjamin Britten.
product_by=Original 1948 Cast, including Peter Pears, Nancy Evans, Jennifer Vyvyan, and Otakar Kraus. The English Opera Group Orchestra; Benjamin Britten, conducting.
product_id=Pearl GEM 0225 [CD]

Frederica Von Stade, With Verve and Vitality

(Photo: Lieberman Photography)
By Tim Page [Washington Post, 12 December 2005]

Some great musicians are revered, others are loved; the mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade is both. The capacity audience that greeted her Vocal Arts Society-sponsored recital at the Terrace Theater on Saturday night would happily have listened to her for hours -- and then cheered for more.

War and Peace opens in Moscow, survives scandal

By Meg Clothier [Reuters, 12 December 2005]

MOSCOW (Reuters) - When Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre postponed its new production of "War and Peace" after the conductor walked out, critics sharpened their pencils expecting the opera to be an embarrassing failure.

The Marriage, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

By RICHARD FAIRMAN [Financial Times, 12 December 2005]

Somebody at the Philharmonia Orchestra must have a sense of humour. It was a nice idea to turn a concert into a speed-dating event, but is Musorgsky's unfinished comic opera The Marriage really the right work to fill young hearts with romance?

Savoring the Season of Comfort & Joy

BY FRED KIRSHNIT [NY Sun, 12 December 2005]

Imagine how difficult it must be to hold a position as an official church composer when your country changes religions. Now imagine that there were three such changes in your lifetime, and you will have some idea of the trials and tribulations of Thomas Tallis, whose 500th birthday was celebrated Saturday evening at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle. For Tallis to have kept his head - both literally and figuratively - is a testimony to his subtle compositional skills and his natural penchant for humble quietude.

Grammy Award Nominees — Classical Vocal Music

	Britten: Death In Venice Richard Hickox, conductor; Michael Chance, Philip Langridge and Alan Opie; Brian Couzens, producer (BBC Singers; City Of London Sinfonia) [Chandos Records Ltd]
	Conradi: Ariadne Paul O'Dette and Stephen Stubbs, conductors; Barbara Borden, Karina Gauvin, Ellen Hargis, Jan Kobow, Julian Podger, Marek Rzepka, James Taylor & Matthew White; Renate Wolter-Seevers, producer (Boston Early Music Festival Chorus; Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra) [CPO]
	Strauss, R.: Daphne Semyon Bychkov,conductor; Johan Botha, Renée Fleming, Anna Larsson, Michael Schade and Kwanchul Youn; Michael Haas, producer (West German Radio Symphony Orchestra (Köln)) [Decca]
	Verdi: Falstaff Sir Colin Davis, conductor; Carlos Alvarez, Bülent Bezdüz, Marina Domashenko, Jane Henschel, Ana Ibarra, Maria Josè Moreno & Michele Pertusi; James Mallinson,producer (London Symphony Chorus; London Symphony Orchestra) [LSO Live]
	Vivaldi: Bajazet Fabio Biondi, conductor; Patrizia Ciofi, David Daniels, Ildebrando D'Arcangelo, Elina Garanca,Vivica Genaux & Marijana Mijanovic; Nicolas Bartholomée, producer (Europa Galante) [Virgin Classics]

(Award to the Choral Conductor, and to the Orchestra Conductor if an Orchestra is on the recording, and to the Choral Director or Chorus Master if applicable.)

	Bernstein: Mass Kent Nagano, conductor; Simon Halsey & Kai-Uwe Jirka, choir directors; Richard Grant and Lynne Morrow, chorus masters (Julian Frischling & Jerry Hadley; Rundfunkchor Berlin, Staats-Und Domchor Berlin & Soloists Of The Pacific Mozart Ensemble; Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin) [Harmonia Mundi]
	Bolcom: Songs Of Innocence And Of Experience Leonard Slatkin,conductor; Jerry Blackstone, William Hammer, Jason Harris, Christopher Kiver, Carole Ott and Mary Alice Stollak, choir directors (Christine Brewer, Measha Brueggergosman, Ilana Davidson, Nmon Ford, Linda Hohenfeld, Joan Morris, Carmen Pelton, Marietta Simpson and Thomas Young; Michigan State University Children's Choir, University Of Michigan Chamber Choir, University Of Michigan Orpheus Singers, University Of Michigan University Choir and University Musical Society Choral Union; University Of Michigan School Of Music Symphony Orchestra) [Naxos]
	Lauridsen: Lux Aeterna Stephen Layton, conductor (Polyphony; Britten Sinfonia) [Hyperion]
	Penderecki: A Polish Requiem Antoni Wit, conductor; Henryk Wojnarowski, chorus master (Izabela Klosinska, Ryszard Minkiewicz, Piotr Nowacki & Jadwiga Rappé; Warsaw National Philharmonic Choir; Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra) [Naxos]
	Schoenberg: Accentus Laurence Equilbey, choir director (Jonathan Nott; Accentus; Ensemble Intercontemporain) [Naive]

Best Classical Vocal Performance(Award to the Vocal Soloist(s).)

	Bach: Cantatas Thomas Quasthoff (Rainer Kussmaul; Members Of The RIAS Chamber Choir; Berlin Baroque Soloists) [Deutsche Grammophon]
	Bolcom: Songs Carole Farley (William Bolcom) [Naxos]
	Gounod - Massenet: Arias RolandoVillazón (Evelino Pido; Orchestre Philharmonique De Radio France) [Virgin Classics]
	Opera Proibita Cecilia Bartoli (Marc Minkowski; Les Musiciens Du Louvre) [Decca]
	Strauss: Amor Natalie Dessay (Antonio Pappano; Orchestra Of The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden) [Virgin Classics]

Source: Grammy.com image=http://www.operatoday.com/content/death_venice.jpg image_description=Britten: Death in Venice

Posted by Gary at 8:13 PM