English Touring Opera are delighted to announce a season of lyric monodramas to tour nationally from October to December. The season features music for solo singer and piano by Argento, Britten, Tippett and Shostakovich with a bold and inventive approach to making opera during social distancing.
This tenth of ten Live from London concerts was in fact a recorded live performance from California. It was no less enjoyable for that, and it was also uplifting to learn that this wasn’t in fact the ‘last’ LfL event that we will be able to enjoy, courtesy of VOCES8 and their fellow vocal ensembles (more below …).
Ever since Wigmore Hall announced their superb series of autumn concerts, all streamed live and available free of charge, I’d been looking forward to this song recital by Ian Bostridge and Imogen Cooper.
The Sixteen continues its exploration of Henry Purcell’s Welcome Songs for Charles II. As with Robert King’s pioneering Purcell series begun over thirty years ago for Hyperion, Harry Christophers is recording two Welcome Songs per disc.
Although Stile Antico’s programme article for their Live from London recital introduced their selection from the many treasures of the English Renaissance in the context of the theological debates and upheavals of the Tudor and Elizabethan years, their performance was more evocative of private chamber music than of public liturgy.
In February this year, Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho made a highly lauded debut recital at Wigmore Hall - a concert which both celebrated Opera Rara’s 50th anniversary and honoured the career of the Italian soprano Rosina Storchio (1872-1945), the star of verismo who created the title roles in Leoncavallo’s La bohème and Zazà, Mascagni’s Lodoletta and Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.
Evidently, face masks don’t stifle appreciative “Bravo!”s. And, reducing audience numbers doesn’t lower the volume of such acclamations. For, the audience at Wigmore Hall gave soprano Elizabeth Llewellyn and pianist Simon Lepper a greatly deserved warm reception and hearty response following this lunchtime recital of late-Romantic song.
Collapsology. Or, perhaps we should use the French word ‘Collapsologie’ because this is a transdisciplinary idea pretty much advocated by a series of French theorists - and apparently, mostly French theorists. It in essence focuses on the imminent collapse of modern society and all its layers - a series of escalating crises on a global scale: environmental, economic, geopolitical, governmental; the list is extensive.
For this week’s Live from London vocal recital we moved from the home of VOCES8, St Anne and St Agnes in the City of London, to Kings Place, where The Sixteen - who have been associate artists at the venue for some time - presented a programme of music and words bound together by the theme of ‘reflection’.
'Such is your divine Disposation that both you excellently understand, and royally entertaine the Exercise of Musicke.’
Amongst an avalanche of new Mahler recordings appearing at the moment (Das Lied von der Erde seems to be the most favoured, with three) this 1991 Mahler Second from the 2nd Kassel MahlerFest is one of the more interesting releases.
‘And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven … that old serpent … Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.’
If there is one myth, it seems believed by some people today, that probably needs shattering it is that post-war recordings or performances of Wagner operas were always of exceptional quality. This 1949 Hamburg Tristan und Isolde is one of those recordings - though quite who is to blame for its many problems takes quite some unearthing.
There was never any doubt that the fifth of the twelve Met Stars Live in Concert broadcasts was going to be a palpably intense and vivid event, as well as a musically stunning and theatrically enervating experience.
‘Love’ was the theme for this Live from London performance by Apollo5. Given the complexity and diversity of that human emotion, and Apollo5’s reputation for versatility and diverse repertoire, ranging from Renaissance choral music to jazz, from contemporary classical works to popular song, it was no surprise that their programme spanned 500 years and several musical styles.
The Academy of St Martin in the Fields have titled their autumn series of eight concerts - which are taking place at 5pm and 7.30pm on two Saturdays each month at their home venue in Trafalgar Square, and being filmed for streaming the following Thursday - ‘re:connect’.
The London Symphony Orchestra opened their Autumn 2020 season with a homage to Oliver Knussen, who died at the age of 66 in July 2018. The programme traced a national musical lineage through the twentieth century, from Britten to Knussen, on to Mark-Anthony Turnage, and entwining the LSO and Rattle too.
With the Live from London digital vocal festival entering the second half of the series, the festival’s host, VOCES8, returned to their home at St Annes and St Agnes in the City of London to present a sequence of ‘Choral Dances’ - vocal music inspired by dance, embracing diverse genres from the Renaissance madrigal to swing jazz.
Just a few unison string wriggles from the opening of Mozart’s overture to Le nozze di Figaro are enough to make any opera-lover perch on the edge of their seat, in excited anticipation of the drama in music to come, so there could be no other curtain-raiser for this Gala Concert at the Royal Opera House, the latest instalment from ‘their House’ to ‘our houses’.
"Before the ending of the day, creator of all things, we pray that, with your accustomed mercy, you may watch over us."
When she won the Rosenblatt Recital Song Prize in the 2007 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, soprano Elizabeth Watts placed rarely performed songs by a female composer, Elizabeth Maconchy, alongside Austro-German lieder from the late nineteenth century.
A similar pattern followed at Wigmore Hall, where Watts and pianist Julius Drake opened their recital with lieder by Richard Strauss and Alban Berg, subsequently complementing the late-Romantic richness with the lighter ‘salon’ songs of Cécile Chaminade. The latter seemed to introduce a more relaxed directness into Watts’ expression which was sustained in the lovely sequence of songs by Rachmaninov with closed the recital.
Watts performed the recital from memory - no unimpressive feat given the range of styles and languages she confidently explored. There’s no doubt that her soprano has ample power, fullness and shine and she launched impassionedly into the opening series of lieder by Richard Strauss, but I felt that she had a tendency to work too hard in these songs, striving too often for climactic expressive and dynamic peaks which might have blossomed with the natural effortlessness embodied in Strauss’ music - and which the generous Wigmore Hall acoustic would complement and carry. At times I felt a little overwhelmed by the sheer presence of the sound, and the swelling volume occasionally - at the close of ‘Einerlei’ (Sameness) and ‘Rote Rosen’ (Red roses), for example - affected Watts’ intonation, as did the prevailing wide vibrato that she employed, particularly in the chromatic twists of ‘Winterweihe’ (Winter consecration)
Drake’s accompaniments were more modulated: the opening of the aforementioned ‘Einerlei’ was relaxed; the tension built convincingly through ‘Rote Rosen’ which concluded with the piano’s delicately fading dream-image; the dramatic narrative of ‘Cäcilie’ was persuasively shaped. Watts was most convincing when she softened the tone, as in ‘Meinen Kinde’ (To my child), which had a lovely distanced gentleness through which we could hear the subtle interplay of the piano’s inner voices. Similarly, the simplicity of ‘Die Nacht’ (The night) sensitively brought forth its mystery.
Of the 88 songs that Alban Berg composed, 70 remained unpublished during his lifetime. In 1928, however, he combined seven of his early songs - written 20 years before when he had been a student of Arnold Schoenberg - into a ‘cycle’ and published them in piano and orchestral versions. Bearing a dedication to Berg’s wife, ‘My Helene’, the Sieben frühe Lieder do not present a ‘narrative’ but do communicate a story of love through Straussian outpourings which give musical embodiment to textual intimations of ecstasy. They also show the influence of Debussy and, not surprisingly, Berg’s then teacher, in their exploratory harmonic digressions.
Watts was more self-composed in this sequence, singing with greater refinement and shaping the vocal lines with elegance and discernment. The dreamy piano sequences and elaborations which open ‘Nacht’ seemed to signal a change of tenor - and a more natural responsiveness to the texts: for example, there was a slight ‘pressing’ quality in the first stanza, as through the mists the valley was unveiled, building to the portentous, ‘Oh gib acht!’ (Take heed!). Watts created a convincing protagonist in ‘Schilflied’ (Reed song) through the firm shapeliness of the vocal line, while quietude at the start of ‘Die Nachtigall’ (The nightingale) built skilfully through the bird’s murmured wanderings, towards the final ecstatic proclamation, ‘Die Rosen aufgesprungen’ (the roses have sprung up). ‘Traumgekrönt’ (Crowned with dreams) floated wistfully, while ‘Im Zimmer’ (In the room) revealed the richness of Watts’ lower register, which Drake complemented with his darkly plummeting final chord. An intoxicating scent, a fin de siècle sumptuousness, billowed through the closing songs.
After the heady opulence of the first half of the recital, I was surprised, and delighted, by the natural and uncomplicated manner with which Watts inhabited the personae created by Cécile Chaminade in her charmingly innocent salon songs. Drake opened ‘Ronde d’amour’ (Love’s roundelay) in boisterous fashion and Watts responded with coy intimations which blossomed fulsomely at the close. The piano’s shimmering high chords embodied the once strong sheen of the silver ring that the lover of ‘L’anneau d’argent’ wishes would return to her dulled love-token. Here Watts’ really made a virtue of the voice’s reticence, a sweet but potent pause making us reflect on the image of eternal sleep when the silver ring may shine still, on a ‘bony finger’. After the persuasive rhetoric of ‘Ma première lettre’ (My first letter), ‘Attente’ (Expectation) glittered with the lover’s yearning anticipation, pushing forward through feverish visions, retreating fragilely with disillusionment. Each song, however ‘slight’, told a story. Drake’s lazy chords at the start of ‘La lune paresseuse’ (The idle moon) presaged an intense declaration of anticipated passion and fulfilment, the piano ringing with golden fervour at the close. Drake’s playful, precious sparkling in ‘Écrin’ (Jewel-case) - all ripples and rushes - captured the barely suppressed ecstasy of the over-excited girl who has been captivated by ‘mischievous eyes the colour of emeralds’ and ‘satin lips’, as Watts’ soprano flew upwards, light and free. ‘Villanelle’, which depicts a harvest dance, romped with rustic vibrancy, joy and exuberance. This was a truly lovely sequence of songs.
And there was more pleasure to come in the closing set of songs by Rachmaninov. While I am not qualified to judge the authenticity of Watts’ Russian pronunciation, she did seem to inhabit the spirit of these songs, communicating their sentiments with strength, directness and honesty. The tranquillity of ‘Sireni’ (Lilacs), with its tender piano oscillations, contrasted with the urgency of ‘Otryvok iz Musse’ (Fragment from Musset) in which the torments of a troubled, lonely heart sank into a sad pathos, ‘O loneliness, O poverty’, then raged forth in the piano’s desperate postlude. The tender rhapsody of ‘Zdes’ khorosho’ (Here it’s so fine) was transformed into ecstatic longing in ‘Ya zhdu tebya’ (I’ll wait for you). After the lively dialogue of ‘One olvechali’ (They answered), ‘Ostrovok’ (The isle) floated dreamily. The rapture which spills into uncontrollable desire in ‘Kakoe schast’ye’ (What happiness) brought the recital to a fittingly euphoric end.
Well, not quite end - we had two encores. In the first, Rimsky-Korsakov’s ‘The Nightingale and the Rose’, Drake delicately suffused an oriental perfume through Watts’ beautifully languorous melody, gently calming the lingering fervour of Rachmaninov. The second, ‘Someone’s been sending me Flowers’ by the American jazz singer-pianist Magrethe Blossom Dearie, lowered the temperature still further, and - though charmingly sung - swept aside the sincerity that had been established so powerfully in the second half of the recital.
Claire Seymour
Elizabeth Watts (soprano), Julius Drake (piano)
Richard Strauss: ‘Einerlei’ Op.69 No.3, ‘Meinem Kinde’ Op.37 No.3, ‘Rote Rosen’, ‘Liebeshymnus’ Op.32 No.3, ‘Winterweihe’ Op.48 No.4, ‘Die Nacht’ Op.10 No.3, ‘Cäcilie’ Op.27 No.2; Berg: Sieben frühe Lieder; Cécile Chaminade: ‘Ronde d’amour’, ‘L’anneau d’argent’, ‘Ma première lettre’, ‘Attente’ (Au pays de Provence), ‘La lune paresseuse’, ‘Ecrin’, ‘Villanelle’; Rachmaninov: ‘Lilacs’ Op.21 No.5, ‘Fragment from Musset’ Op.21 No.6, ‘Dreams’ Op.38 No.5, ‘How fair this spot’ Op.21 No.7, ‘I wait for thee’ Op.14 No.1, ‘They answered’ Op.21 No.4, ‘The isle’ Op.14 No.2, ‘What happiness!’ Op.34 No.12.
Wigmore Hall, London; Monday 7th October 2019.