What Opera Are You Listening to Now?

[Tsaraslondon]

Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas in these three versions:







Composed around 1690, Dido as opera is a curious case, bearing only passing resemblance to the next centuries' works for the stage with their often elaborate plots and musical structure. The first of the 3 versions above presents only what seems to have been left by Purcell - although nothing is certain, as the opera was known only through private performances based on manuscripts. It was printed for the first time in 1840 and it took another 100 years or so before opera houses in England started to take interest. The Leppard version thus presents the music with no extra material, resulting in a chop chop structure where recits, arias and dances are strung together with little concern for dramatic continuity. IOW we get something like Zauberflöte with no dialogue. Except that in the latter case we get all of Mozart's music, whereas in Purcell's time one would most certainly have expected various pantomimes, dance or music interludes to be performed, whether from other Purcell works or from other composers'. As for the performance, it (Leppard's) is closer to an oratorio than a flesh and blood music drama.

The two other versions make a bold attempt at creating a fuller spectacle, with linking material (extra dances, a thunder and wind machine here, a guitar chaconne there). Also, the use of PI and a more interventionist hand from the conductor makes for far more lively and dramatically involving performances. Currentzis is the more interesting and imaginative - some would say provocative - influence here. Haïm is more refined in her shaping and handling of the numbers, but in the end hers sounds like a very good update of the conventional approach. It thus falls to Currentzis to really shake the cobwebs off the work. IMO he succeeds brilliantly, even if doubts arise here and there. There are too many differences, large and small, to detail, but both accounts present a rewarding and complete experience.

When it comes to the singers, just about anything goes, so a role by role comparison is impossible. Dido has been sung by contraltos (Ferrier), wagnerian sopranos (Flagstad), and all sorts of medium to dark female voices. Norman is regal to a fault, and her diction is not always impeccable. Kermes (Currentzis) is a light voice, but one with myriad nuances of light and shade. Her pianissimi are breathtakingly beautiful. Graham has a beautiful instrument, but IMO she doesn't use it to produce a strongly individual vocal portrayal. IOW she sounds slightly anonymous.

The role of Aeneas is similarly allotted to various kinds of male voices. Under Leppard we have bass-baritone Thomas Allen. Strong of voice but he doesn't convince as Dido's love interest. One wonders why she goes berserk over him. With Currentzis and Haïm we have Dimitris Tiliakos, a baritone and Ian Bostridge, a tenor. Both are sharply individual of voice and create a believable portrayal. Bostridge has the edge IMO. As Belinda, we always get a light soprano voice. For my taste Currentzis' Deborah York has it game, set and match over Haïm's Camilla Tilling. York's way with the tongue twisting "Haste, haste to town" is dazzling and a vocal high point of the work, something like Der hölle rache in Zauberflöte.

The important parts of the sorceress, the voice of Spirit and the chorus fare about equally. The choruses are more sizzling under Currentzis (superb laughing choruses), the Sorceress and Spirit more characterful and sharply individual under Haïm. I prefer Currentzis' Sailor to Haïm's.

And so it goes. Dido is such a short opera that listening to 2 performances in a row is shorter than going through the first act of Parsifal (!!), and since Currentzis and Haïm provide complementary virtues and contrasting experiences, I will listen to both again when Dido comes calling.

Thanks for the reviews, Andre.

Of the three recordings you review, the only one I know is the Leppard, which, I would agree with you, is a little too stately.

The Curentzis sounds interesting, but I do have something of a problem with Simone Kermes. In anything else I've heard, I find the vocal production somehwat eccentric and she wouldn't know a legato line if it slapped her in the face. Maybe she's better here?

My go to performance, for all that it might seem somewhat old fashioned these days, is the Antony Collins set with Dame Janet Baker, a non pareil of a Dido. Such impassioned, sincere and committed singing never goes out of fashion.

I also like the Christie version, mostly for the singing of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, who had many of Dame Janet's qualities, a quiet intensity and a gift for communication second to none.

[Tsaraslondon]

Oh, they don't make 'em like this anymore, and it's a great shame that the approach of war and the power of the Nazi regime precluded a complete recording of the opera under Walter, as was the original intention. Lehmann and Melchior might still just be the greatest Sieglinde and Siegmund on disc, and though there may have been more imaginative Hundings than List, his is still a strong, firm presence.

The sound is pretty amazing, considering the recording was made in 1935. Well worth having as an adjunct to any recording of the Ring cycle that one might own.

[North Star]

Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas in these three versions:



Composed around 1690, Dido as opera is a curious case, bearing only passing resemblance to the next centuries' works for the stage with their often elaborate plots and musical structure. The first of the 3 versions above presents only what seems to have been left by Purcell - although nothing is certain, as the opera was known only through private performances based on manuscripts. It was printed for the first time in 1840 and it took another 100 years or so before opera houses in England started to take interest. The Leppard version thus presents the music with no extra material, resulting in a chop chop structure where recits, arias and dances are strung together with little concern for dramatic continuity. IOW we get something like Zauberflöte with no dialogue. Except that in the latter case we get all of Mozart's music, whereas in Purcell's time one would most certainly have expected various pantomimes, dance or music interludes to be performed, whether from other Purcell works or from other composers'. As for the performance, it (Leppard's) is closer to an oratorio than a flesh and blood music drama.

The two other versions make a bold attempt at creating a fuller spectacle, with linking material (extra dances, a thunder and wind machine here, a guitar chaconne there). Also, the use of PI and a more interventionist hand from the conductor makes for far more lively and dramatically involving performances. Currentzis is the more interesting and imaginative - some would say provocative - influence here. Haïm is more refined in her shaping and handling of the numbers, but in the end hers sounds like a very good update of the conventional approach. It thus falls to Currentzis to really shake the cobwebs off the work. IMO he succeeds brilliantly, even if doubts arise here and there. There are too many differences, large and small, to detail, but both accounts present a rewarding and complete experience.

When it comes to the singers, just about anything goes, so a role by role comparison is impossible. Dido has been sung by contraltos (Ferrier), wagnerian sopranos (Flagstad), and all sorts of medium to dark female voices. Norman is regal to a fault, and her diction is not always impeccable. Kermes (Currentzis) is a light voice, but one with myriad nuances of light and shade. Her pianissimi are breathtakingly beautiful. Graham has a beautiful instrument, but IMO she doesn't use it to produce a strongly individual vocal portrayal. IOW she sounds slightly anonymous.

The role of Aeneas is similarly allotted to various kinds of male voices. Under Leppard we have bass-baritone Thomas Allen. Strong of voice but he doesn't convince as Dido's love interest. One wonders why she goes berserk over him. With Currentzis and Haïm we have Dimitris Tiliakos, a baritone and Ian Bostridge, a tenor. Both are sharply individual of voice and create a believable portrayal. Bostridge has the edge IMO. As Belinda, we always get a light soprano voice. For my taste Currentzis' Deborah York has it game, set and match over Haïm's Camilla Tilling. York's way with the tongue twisting "Haste, haste to town" is dazzling and a vocal high point of the work, something like Der hölle rache in Zauberflöte.

The important parts of the sorceress, the voice of Spirit and the chorus fare about equally. The choruses are more sizzling under Currentzis (superb laughing choruses), the Sorceress and Spirit more characterful and sharply individual under Haïm. I prefer Currentzis' Sailor to Haïm's.

And so it goes. Dido is such a short opera that listening to 2 performances in a row is shorter than going through the first act of Parsifal (!!), and since Currentzis and Haïm provide complementary virtues and contrasting experiences, I will listen to both again when Dido comes calling.

Good timing as I just got the Currentzis recording from the post, and am listening to it now for the first time (I've only heard the famous lament before). All in all, I agree with what you say of the recording. I would have liked to hear the ' dance gittars chacony' indicated in the libretto after 'Pursue thy conquest, Love' (track 11), the transition to the following chorus seems jarring without it.

Kermes's legato has no trouble here, her singing is gorgeously nuanced, as André says.

[André]

There's more to Dido and Aeneas than the famous lament of course, but since it is still sung regularly I suppose it shows that aria's incredible beauty.

For your enjoyment, hear how Maureen Forrester phrases it here. She is accompanied by John Newmark at the piano - more appropriate than one might think IMO. "Remember me" lies a bit high for her, but it's even more poignant that way.


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VncZznq-b90

Kermes and Currentzis can be heard in it, too (followed by a very droopy "With drooping wings"):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae1IUPHxFzs

And, who can but shed tears when listening to the Dido of the ages, Kirsten Flagstad ?


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_SGappJ3EZc

Finishing off with Janet Baker's heart-rending incarnation in a 1966 film with Charles Mackerras. Listen in particular to her way with the recitative "Thy hand, Belinda", and the ethereal pianissimi on the first cries of Remember me! It doesn't come any better than this.


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D_50zj7J50U

[JBS]

Lorraine Hunt Lieberson
https://youtu.be/MYYY6QGzEJY



Although I don't particularly the recording for other reasons (IIRC, this is the one with the nasally Witches and the hokey Sailors).

[mc ukrneal]

There's more to Dido and Aeneas than the famous lament of course, but since it is still sung regularly I suppose it shows that aria's incredible beauty.

For your enjoyment, hear how Maureen Forrester phrases it here. She is accompanied by John Newmark at the piano - more appropriate than one might think IMO. "Remember me" lies a bit high for her, but it's even more poignant that way.


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VncZznq-b90

Kermes and Currentzis can be heard in it, too (followed by a very droopy "With drooping wings"):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae1IUPHxFzs

And, who can but shed tears when listening to the Dido of the ages, Kirsten Flagstad ?


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_SGappJ3EZc

Finishing off with Janet Baker's heart-rending incarnation in a 1966 film with Charles Mackerras. Listen in particular to her way with the recitative "Thy hand, Belinda", and the ethereal pianissimi on the first cries of Remember me! It doesn't come any better than this.


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D_50zj7J50U

Very interesting to compare. I find it odd that you liked the Kermes and Currentzis version when your comment was so negative about Norman's diction. I find Norman much easier to understand than Kermes (at least in this). Anyway, it's pretty, but I think the weakest of the bunch. Flagstad wouldn't be my first choice in this role either, but what a voice. Forrester didn't do it for me either.  Lorraine Hunt Lieberson does a nice job. But then, there is Baker. I heard this and I was shattered. To sit in front of a computer listening on headphones and simply be pierced with such emotion...she was phenomenal. The control of the voice and breath were outstanding. I wouldn't blame those actors/singers if they had real tears at the end!

[Tsaraslondon]

There's more to Dido and Aeneas than the famous lament of course, but since it is still sung regularly I suppose it shows that aria's incredible beauty.

For your enjoyment, hear how Maureen Forrester phrases it here. She is accompanied by John Newmark at the piano - more appropriate than one might think IMO. "Remember me" lies a bit high for her, but it's even more poignant that way.


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VncZznq-b90

Kermes and Currentzis can be heard in it, too (followed by a very droopy "With drooping wings"):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae1IUPHxFzs

And, who can but shed tears when listening to the Dido of the ages, Kirsten Flagstad ?


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_SGappJ3EZc

Finishing off with Janet Baker's heart-rending incarnation in a 1966 film with Charles Mackerras. Listen in particular to her way with the recitative "Thy hand, Belinda", and the ethereal pianissimi on the first cries of Remember me! It doesn't come any better than this.


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D_50zj7J50U

Baker out in front by a mile for me. Such beauty, such emotional commitment, such restrained passion, such communication, aligned to such technical mastery, the voice spun out on a seamless legato which never breaks the musical line. Superb.

I still have a problem with Kermes. She uses what John Steane used to call the "squeeze box" style of emission, with almost every note given a little push, which destroys the long legato line. I know a lot of HIP singers used this method, but I'm afraid I don't like it, and find it unmusical.

[ritter]

First approach to the big Eugen Jochum opera and choral box, with Così fan Tuttle:



[asin]B0766FLLJW[/asin]

So far, the orchestral backdrop is working very well, and there's a lightness of touch in Jochum's approach that is most pleasing (and rather surprising, to be honest), coupled with a very warm sound of the strings.

The men are all superb, if slightly Germanic sounding (particularly Ernst Haefliger's otherwise very elegant Ferrando). Irmgard Seefried is a singer I very much appreciate, but I tend to agree with the extended opinion that she's not at her best in this recording (let's see how she manages Come scoglio...). Nan Merriman, on the other hand, clearly shows why she was so much in demand as Dorabella in the 50s and 60s. Enjoyable.

[ritter]

This was the first opera set I ever owned and, as such, has a great deal of significance in my life. Norma swiftly became my favourte opera, though I despair of ever hearing it adequately sung and staged live.

Of Callas's two studio recordings this one has by far the better cast. Corelli and Zaccaria completely outshine the crudely inadequate Fillipeschi and woolly-toned Rossi-Lemeni in the first and, for my money, Ludwig outshines the over-the-hill Stignani. She was an unexpected, but very successful, piece of casting, sounding, as she should, like the younger woman. Her coloratura may not be as precise as Callas's, but the two singers blend their voices surprisingly well.

As for Callas, the voice has deteriorated in the 6 years since the first recording, though not as disastrously as one might expect. The middle and lower parts of the voice are still beautiful, her command of legato unparalleled, but the top of the voice can now sound edgy and hard. For all that she still makes more of the role than any other recorded singer. Furthermore her characterisation has deepened even further, with certain passages almost more experienced than sung.

John Steane put it very succinctly when he suggested that for Callas as Norma, you take 1954, but for Norma with Callas, then the second recording is the better option.

I might add that for Callas as Norma and Norma with Callas, then you opt for the live 1955 La Scala account, with Simionato and Del Monacao, which sounds very well, especialy in its Divina transfer, and captures Callas on a night when everything seemed to be going right.

Fuller review of the 1960 studio set on my blog https://tsaraslondon.wordpress.com/2017/01/07/callass-1960-norma/

That stereo Norma was the recording with which I got to know both the opera and Callas's art, in this incarnation (on LP):



I was bowled over! Coming from a teenage obsession with Wagner, Mozart and R. Strauss (as far as opera is concerned), I realised there was much beauty in this repertoire which I had frowned upon. Since then, my relation with Italian opera has cooled a bit (or rather, has its ebb and flow), but Norma will always remain a work I admire and enjoy, and Callas will always be Callas.

I went for the mono version on CD, and you are right: Filipescchi is insufferable! I also recall there being more poignancy and fragility in Callas's later portrayal , so I should get hold of it sometime soon.

[Tsaraslondon]

That stereo Norma was the recording with which I got to know both the opera and Callas's art, in this incarnation (on LP):



I was bowled over! Coming from a teenage obsession with Wagner, Mozart and R. Strauss (as far as opera is concerned), I realised there was much beauty in this repertoire which I had frowned upon. Since then, my relation with Italian opera has cooled a bit (or rather, has its ebb and flow), but Norma will always remain a work I admire and enjoy, and Callas will always be Callas.

I went for the mono version on CD, and you are right: Filipescchi is insufferable! I also recall there being more poignancy and fragility in Callas's later portrayal , so I should get hold of it sometime soon.

I listen to the 1960 recording more than the 1954, to be honest, but most of all I listen to La Scala 1955 live. It's the best Norma I've ever heard - from anyone.

[André]

I listen to the 1960 recording more than the 1954, to be honest, but most of all I listen to La Scala 1955 live. It's the best Norma I've ever heard - from anyone.

If I recall correctly, I bought the Divina Records issue of that 1955 performance a few years back, based solely your recommendation. It's an extraordinary performance indeed and it neatly solved that vexing conundrum: Callas I or Callas II ?? 

[Tsaraslondon]

We have four different recordings of Callas as Amina; live from the La Scala prima under Bernstein, and two from the 1957 revival under Votto, recorded when the company toured to Cologne and Edinburgh.

The studio recording was made just prior to the 1957 revival, and, as you would expect, enjoys the best sound of the four, though it doesn't quite catch fire the way the live performances do, particularly La Scala 1955 and Cologne 1957, the fault for which can squarely be laid at the feet of Votto, who can be ploddingly dull.

On the other hand, Callas is in fine voice in the studio, her singing having a pearly softness entirely apt for the character, phrases spun out to prodigious lengths, her legato and cantilena well nigh impeccable. Though the revival saw her shed some of the more elaborate ornamentation Bersnetin had given her, the coloratura is still astounding. In the cadenza between the two verses of Ah non giunge she sails up to a fortissimo Eb in alt, effecting a diminuendo from this stratospheric note before cascading down a two octave chromatic scale, a feat un matched by any other singer. In addition the somewhat carboard character comes to life with a warmth and humanity rarely experienced. It is amazing how she can encapsulate the whole character in just a line of recitative, like the way she sings the simple words Il cor soltanto, when the notary asks what she brings as dowry. Those three words sum up all Amina's love, trust and warmth of heart. In its own way her Amina is as great a portrayal as her Norma, which reminds us that the two roles were written for the same singer, Giuditta Pasta.

The supporting cast is a good one too. Monti is a little wan, and no match for Valletti in the live 1955 La Scala broadcast, but good enough, and in fact recorded the role a few years later with Sutherland. Zaccaria is a melifluous Count and Cossotto a sympathetic Teresa.

Though I usually reach for either the Bernstein or the 1957 Cologne performance, where Votto wakes up and gives a much more alive account of the score, it is good to have Callas's Amina preserved in good (mono) studio sound, and I wouldn't want to be without the set.

More on my blog https://tsaraslondon.wordpress.com/2017/01/08/la-sonnambula/

[JBS]

This, in the form of its budget reissue
[asin]B00000AG7G[/asin]
This is the original 1835 version, but the usual lack of liner notes leave it up to the listener to figure out the differences.

[Tsaraslondon]

Konwitshcny's Der fliegende Holländer gets off to a rolicking good start with Wunderlich's gorgeously sung Steersman and actually has a lot more going for it. Fischer-Dieskau's darkly intellectual Dutchman won't be to everyone's taste, especially for those who prefer a true bass-baritone, but I rather like it, and Frick is an excellent Daland. Schock's Erich is as good as any, and a good deal better than some, but Schech's mature sounding Senta is a bit of a liability, though, truth to tell, this time round she didn't seem as bad as I remembered. Either I've become more forgiving or she just seems better in the light of what passes for good Wagner singing these days.

The sound is very good and Konwitschny has a fine grasp of the score. Well worth a listen.

[André]

Easily my favourite Dutchman !

[André]

Boieldieu's La Dame blanche was created in 1825. It was one of the most enduring hits of the Opéra Comique (1650 performances). Based on two novels by Walter Scott, it was the first opera to introduce a 'fantastic' element and as such influenced the operatic scene of the Romantic era (Lucia di Lammermoor, I Puritani, La Jolie fille de Perth, Robert le Diable, Faust). Its influence can also be felt in Guillaume Tell (1829). The lead role is not the Dame blanche of the title, but a character named Georges Brown. Rossini wrote the role of Arnold very much like that of Georges, with a suave head voice emission and plenty of high Cs (to be sung with the voix mixte, not in chest voice as Nourrit would do in the 1830s).

The production is from the 1964 Netherlands Festival at Hilversum, where Jean Fournet reigned for many years on the french repertoire. The cast is all-Dutch except for Gedda. There is nary a trace of a foreign accent to be heard. Gedda is in fine voice, with ringing top notes. The head voice is sometimes a bit rough, but who sings like that any more ? The important role of Gaveston, the villain who intends to spoil Georges from his family heirloom is impressively sung by bass Guus Hoekman. Erna Spoorenberg is the Dame blanche, a delicate presence with a beautiful voice - she was a well-known Mélisande.

Chorus, orchestra and the whole cast acquit themselves admirably and the sound is in impeccable stereo. There is another version under Minkowski with Rockwell Blake singing Georges Brown. I intend to explore this production soon.

[mc ukrneal]

Boieldieu's La Dame blanche was created in 1825. It was one of the most enduring hits of the Opéra Comique (1650 performances). Based on two novels by Walter Scott, it was the first opera to introduce a 'fantastic' element and as such influenced the operatic scene of the Romantic era (Lucia di Lammermoor, I Puritani, La Jolie fille de Perth, Robert le Diable, Faust). Its influence can also be felt in Guillaume Tell (1829). The lead role is not the Dame blanche of the title, but a character named Georges Brown. Rossini wrote the role of Arnold very much like that of Georges, with a suave head voice emission and plenty of high Cs (to be sung with the voix mixte, not in chest voice as Nourrit would do in the 1830s).

The production is from the 1964 Netherlands Festival at Hilversum, where Jean Fournet reigned for many years on the french repertoire. The cast is all-Dutch except for Gedda. There is nary a trace of a foreign accent to be heard. Gedda is in fine voice, with ringing top notes. The head voice is sometimes a bit rough, but who sings like that any more ? The important role of Gaveston, the villain who intends to spoil Georges from his family heirloom is impressively sung by bass Guus Hoekman. Erna Spoorenberg is the Dame blanche, a delicate presence with a beautiful voice - she was a well-known Mélisande.

Chorus, orchestra and the whole cast acquit themselves admirably and the sound is in impeccable stereo. There is another version under Minkowski with Rockwell Blake singing Georges Brown. I intend to explore this production soon.

I cannot compare as I only have the Minkowski, but I find it a pure delight. Let us know what you think.

[Tsaraslondon]

This should have been a great recording of Berlioz's Légende dramatique, but it is badly let down by the perfunctory conducting of Georges Prêtre, which nowhere captures the fantasy and originality of Berlioz's score.

It is a great shame, because he has a near ideal cast at his disposal. Baker, in prime voice, is superb as Marguerite, singing with that specificity and intensity so peculiar to her. Gedda too could have been born to sing the Berlioz Faust. At least he got to re-record the part in better circumstances, under the baton of Sir Colin Davis, where he is the Romantic anti-hero ro the life. Bacquier could hardly be bettered as Méphistopheles, but all these wonderful singers are let down by the direction, and one is left wondering what they might have achieved under a Davis, a Munch or a Beecham.

[JBS]

This was actually one of the greatest hits of Victorian theater

Despite a rather silly plot that has more than a few holes
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_(opera)

[André]

Ravel's Fantaisie lyrique:



Still weaves its magic after almost 60 years.