MAZZONI Antigono • Enrico Onofri, cond; Michael Spyres ( Antigono ); Geraldine McGreevy ( Berenice ); Pamela Luciarini ( Demetrio ); Divino Sospiro • DYNAMIC 7686/1–3 (3 CDs: 196:58) Live: Grand Auditorium, Lisbon 1/21–22/2011


Antonio Mazzoni was a fairly prolific Italian composer in the middle and late 18th century (1717–1785), and he wrote Antigono for the opening season of one of the world’s shortest-lived opera houses: the Ópera do Tejo in Lisbon. It opened on March 31, 1755, and was destroyed seven months later by an earthquake. (Its site is now a navy dockyard.) The libretto is by the famed Metastasio, and Mazzoni was clearly considered an important figure in his time. Metastasio wrote the librettos of the only three serious operas performed in the seven months of life for the opera house in Lisbon, and the choice of Mazzoni to write the music for one of them demonstrates his reputation at the time. He wrote perhaps 19 operas (we aren’t sure), many of which have not survived. Antigono is performed here in a critical edition edited by Nicholas McNayr.


Some people argue that works that have been forgotten lie in obscurity for good reason. Others argue that there is often merit in undiscovered works, whether or not they reach the stature of greatness. I tend to fall into that latter category. Antigono is no undiscovered masterpiece; a good many of its arias go along like sewing-machine music, humming along without making real impact. However, there are a number of arias and ensembles that do hold the attention of the listener, and reward that attention. This is an opera that is neither great nor terrible, but in that vast middle range. It will provide pleasure to those who enjoy hearing something out of the ordinary. The musical style is best described as late Baroque, with plenty of vocal ornamentation required of the cast. There are some passages of striking originality, including a brief solo harp interlude before the final scene. This is the type of opera against which Gluck rebelled, but we don’t have to choose between Gluck and that which he opposed; we can have both. Dynamic’s performance is very well sung, despite the need for a large and accomplished cast of soloists. I do wish a more imaginative and energetic conductor were on the podium, though Onofri gets some energy going in the march in the middle of the first act, and in general manages real energy in the faster music. However, he doesn’t seem to be able to sustain the musical line or intensity at slower speeds and in the more gentle numbers.


Each of the six characters has at least one challenging aria that makes excessive technical and expressive demands. With four soprano roles, one would ideally like tonal differentiation, but that might be asking too much. What is remarkable here is that all four sing very well. We may be a generation lacking in the great Verdi and verismo singers that we had in the middle of the 20th century, but we surely have more fine Baroque and Classical singers who can turn out roulades and trills with ease. In addition to the four sopranos, the role of Alessandro is sung by a countertenor, and Martin Oro manages it fairly well but without the vocal ease of the great ones. The only traditional male voice in Antigono is the title character, sung by the American tenor Michael Spyres. His is a triumphant performance. His singing of his first aria “Tu m’involasti un regno” is jaw-droppingly spectacular in its technical feats.


I wish Dynamic had a more thoughtful approach to their productions. They make a libretto available on their web site, and I did download and print it, but it is an inconvenience. They could offer the set at two prices, with a higher one including the libretto. In addition, they have misspelled at least one and probably two of the names of their singers. Geraldine McGreevy uses the upper case “G” even on her own web site, but Dynamic spells it Mcgreevy throughout. And all other recordings and web site references to soprano Pamela Luciarini spell her name with one “c,” whereas Dynamic spells it with two. The notes about the opera are informative but the plot summary is rudimentary and too brief. The recorded sound is well balanced and clear, and the audience is not intrusive at all. The only applause we hear is at the ends of acts. Anyone with an interest in opera before Mozart is likely to find this of interest, particularly in this fine performance. It might even be preferable on a recording, because one can listen to one act at a time (each act is an hour or longer), and one can skip past some of the recitatives (sorry, purists).


FANFARE: Henry Fogel

"World premiere recording! Cesar Franck's first opera – staged for the first time! Known mainly for the few transcendent, harmonically adventurous instrumental works of his later years, Cesar Franck's first opera was composed when he was barely twenty years of age. Orchestrated by composer Luc Van Hove, from the autographic piano score manuscript. Paolo Arrivabeni conducts the Orchester & Chorus of the Opéra Royal de Wallonie. Stage direction by Jaco van Dormael."

"The sensitivity of her (Sarah Connolly's) acting and her intense musicality was striking throughout. Lucy Crowe made a delightful Belinda, with Lucas Meachem a quarterback hunk of an Aeneas. The young ad-hoc chorus sang beautifully." - The Telegraph

Henry Purcell
DIDO AND AENEAS

Dido – Sarah Connolly
Aeneas – Lucas Meachem
Belinda – Lucy Crowe
Sorceress – Sara Fulgoni
Second Woman – Anita Watson
First Witch – Eri Nakamura
Second Witch – Pumeza Matshikiza
Spirit – Iestyn Davies
Sailor – Ji-Min Park

The Royal Ballet
Royal Opera Extra Chorus
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Christopher Hogwood, conductor

Wayne McGregor, director and choreographer

Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, on 3 and 8 April 2009.

Bonus:
- Illustrated synopsis and cast gallery
- Interview with Wayne McGregor

Picture format: NTSC 16:9 anamorphic
Sound format: PCM Stereo / 5.1 Half DTS
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian
Running time: 72 mins
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)

An exhilarating new Carmen from Glyndebourne. Director David McVicar describes Carmen as "the first ever musical", and in his new production, with Anne Sofie von Otter in the title role, Carmen is restored to the original Opera. Comique as Bizet wrote it, stripping away subsequent re-workings which turned it into a grand opera. Philippe Jordan makes his Glyndebourne debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Glyndebourne Chorus and a cast that includes Marcus Haddock, Laurent Naouri and Lisa Milne. This double disc set also includes extensive extra features on costume, dance, characters and the gardens of Glyndebourne.

Extra features include:
* Costume design
* How to fight on stage
* Illustrated synopsis
* The cast and their characters
* Choreographing Carmen
* The Gardens of Glyndebourne
* Booklet with new short story by novelist Jeanette Winterson

PICTURE FORMAT: 16:9
SOUND: dts Surround/LPCM Stereo
SUBTITLES: English

Sung in English

Region Code: All regions
Picture format: 16/9 Anamorphic
Sound format: Dolby Digital stereo, Dolby 5.1 surround
Menu languages: English
Subtitles: French/German/Spanish
Running time: 120 minutes

"It's a wonderfully rich piece of musical theatre, of course gorgeous melodies but also the story touches on some real basic truths about human relationships" -- Director Lotfi Mansouri

BBC Opus Arte are proud to release Lotfi Mansouri's spectacular last production as General Director of The San Francisco Opera with Yvonne Kenny making her debut in the title role of the Merry Widow. To bring fresh insight into Lehár's classic operetta new dialogue was specially commissioned from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Wendy Wasserstein. Also an original ballet was composed to set the scene 'Chez Maxime.' This production also features another world premiere, Njegus's song "Quite Parisian" although Lehár in fact, wrote it later.

Extra Features:
* Illustrated Synopsis
* Cast Gallery
* "Impressions" - Lotfi Mansouri, Yvonne Kenny, Bo Skovhus, Angelika Kirchschlager and Gregory Turay discuss The Merry Widow.
* Illustrated booklet with an essay by Camille Crittenden examining what insight the Merry Widow gives into women's roles in fin-de-siecle Vienna.

Reviews

‘A production that deftly captures the sparkle and eroticism of Lehar’s music. I love it. Under Erich Kunzel, the orchestra brings out all the sparkle and eroticism of Lehár's bewitching melodies and orchestrations. Best of all, perhaps, are Michael Yeargan's sets and Thierry Bosquet's costumes. The gently varied range of colours as the curtain rises on the Widow's lamp-lit Act 2 party is quite simply breathtaking, and Act 3, too, is a riot of colour. Enjoy!’ The Gramophone

‘Mansouri’s staging, lavishly kitted out in elegant Jugendstil sets and costumes by Michael Yeargan and Thierry Bosquet, achieves the rare feat of bringing off the work’s unique mix of boulevard farce and sophisticated eroticism.’ The Independent

‘…this is about as lavish a production of Franz Lehár’s adorable operetta as you are ever likely to see…soprano Yvonne Kenny is perfectly cast in the title role.’ Classic FM Magazine

‘Michael Yeargan’s glamorous and beautifully-wrought designs and Thierry Bosquet’s extravagant costumes. We see all too little of this kind of splendour in these cash-strapped days.’ Opera

"Franz Lehar's immortal Merry Widow is presented here in a San Francisco Opera production recorded during a performance Dec. 8, 2001 at the War Memorial Opera House. New dialogue from Pulitzer Prize-winning playright Wendy Wasserstein adds to the production as does an original ballet during the 'Chez Maxim' scene. The entire cast is superb, with soprano Yvonne Kenny singing the title role for the first time and doing so brilliantly. Angelika Kirschschlager, who already has to her credit a superb SACD of Bach arias (REVIEW), is wonderful as Valencienne. In addition to fine singing throughout, all of the singers are attractive, the many stretches of dialogue spoken with style. Everything about this production is first-rate, the beautiful sets and costumes are perfect, camera work exemplary, and the Dolby digital surround sound totally natural." - CLASSICAL CD REVIEW