"Despite their common French nationality, Camille Saint-Saëns and Maurice Ravel represent very different aspects of French music. Saint-Saëns Third Symphony, one of his finest creations, is lush, ecstatic and compositionally innovative with an eye towards Lisztian methods. Ravel's orchestral works sparkle with endlessly fascinating coloristic outpourings. The Seattle Symphony under their Music Director Ludovic Morlot has enjoyed national and international acclaim for its programming and performances. "

REVIEW:

My feelings about this release are many and complicated. It is the last in the long-running Opera in English series made and compiled by Chandos, as funding from the philanthropic Peter Moore’s Foundation ends this year. If nothing else this is a fine studio recording of Verdi’s Macbeth , well sung and conducted, and special praise goes to Chandos for shoehorning the whole work on to two discs with the ballet and both the 1847 and 1865 endings. If you want Verdi’s youthful masterpiece sung in English, there is no competition (and I doubt there will ever be). But are there many of us who still want Verdi in English? Did we ever?


I am surprised the series lasted as long as it did, to be honest. Studio sets of Italian opera in German ended in the late 1980s (with EMI-Electrola’s La bohème , I believe) and if people sneered that Verdi in German sounded like a grotesque Bavarian drinking song, then singing it in English only makes Joe Green sound like Gilbert and Sullivan. Whereas a theater can argue a case for producing opera in the vernacular (a sense of immediacy, or “relevance” and “inclusivity” if you want to sound like every marketing department), listening to opera in translation on CD only emphasizes two fallacies: The original sound the composer had in mind has gone and diction remains too murky to forgo the printed libretto. Diction is a contentious issue especially with regard to the English National Opera, whose remit was rendered pointless ever since it put in surtitles. In the singers’ defense, the crisp enunciation of the Golden Age was due to the drier acoustic of their former home at Sadler’s Wells. The airy Coliseum is a tough venue to project text, yet in the case of John Tomlinson, Lisa Milne, or even Lesley Garrett, not impossible. Some blame also has to go to the post-Julie Andrews fashion for favoring a smooth, creamy vocal line ahead of clear text. It is a problem that neither the Coliseum nor Chandos ever resolved.


My personal view is that the ties between Chandos and the ENO were not tight enough. The gems of this catalog (The Goodall Ring , Janet Baker’s Massenet and Handel) tend to be live from the theater or, like Richard Hickox’s fabulous Britten recordings, in the original language. What amazes me is how little of the English National Opera there is on DVD, especially when its reputation hangs more on provocative visuals rather than ultimate casts. A phenomenal show like Richard Jones’s technicolor Lulu would be highly desirable on DVD, yet again and again the Peter Moores Foundation thought it better to spend money and record the opera in the studio.


Although the studio sets wisely paired familiar stars with the younger ensemble names, there is a palpable feeling of redundancy when there is no production to link it to. The English National Opera still struggles (although it is currently having a terrific run of hits, be it accessible new opera from Julian Anderson or celebrity-led stagings such as Terry Gilliam’s Benvenuto Cellini ) and with the demise of this series, London’s second opera company has lost yet another media outlet. With its reputation as the youthful, funky alternative to Covent Garden, the English National Opera “Power House” years were at a time when a terrestrial TV station was prepared to broadcast these “sexy,” Postmodern stagings at prime time, so the idea of a corresponding opera set still made sense. I can’t help feeling sad, but times have changed, and Chandos would be better off producing DVDs from the Coliseum.


Anyway, enough of my polemic. How good is this new Macbeth ? With no corresponding audience who want a memory of what they saw, this new studio recording hangs on the star casting of Simon Keenlyside, a welcome but again slightly redundant choice given that you can hear and see his troubled psychopath (in the original Italian) on a fine DVD from Covent Garden conducted by Antonio Pappano. Good as he is here, I do think Keenlyside is best when seen and heard (I don’t say that about many singers) as he is one of opera’s few truly visceral actors. In the cold glare of the studio he gives us a carefully modulated reading, text aware and utterly precise, but just a little bland and unvaried. I do like his creepy chuckle when plotting Banquo’s demise, and such diligence and caution fits the weak and corruptible Thane. Although a bit small for Verdi, his sense of line is good, and he knows his vocal limits, although the tone is getting gritty when pushed.


Nevertheless, he is a good foil to Latonia Moore’s gleaming Lady Macbeth, a fine portrayal which is really worth getting excited about. There’s the she-devil steel to her voice, but she sings her runs cleanly and is equally fearless in the more soaring passages. Her sleepwalking scene, here taken much faster than usual, is especially chilling and fanatical. Only her diction under pressure is wanting, otherwise she holds her own against such luminaries as Fiorenza Cossotto and Shirley Verrett. The rest of the cast are generally fine. In the comfort of the studio Brindley Sharratt’s lightish bass makes enough impression as Banquo, with a very fine account of his aria and Gwyn Hughes Jones is an adequate Macduff. Comprimario roles are well taken, creating a tight, well dramatized ensemble. Having both endings really is a selling point, but I’m personally torn between which I prefer. Verdi’s reworked version has a much better battle but ends with that ludicrous, jaunty, “everything’s fine” chorus, and we lose Macbeth’s chilling final aria, here sung as “I have sinned.” Listeners will find themselves flitting between the two.


Edward Gardner gets superb work from his ENO forces. In the barn-like Coliseum, this young charismatic figurehead has failed to live up to his initial promise, as his readings have often been sluggish, if polished, so this urgent, propulsive account of Macbeth is a real surprise. His tempos go to both extremes, galloping through the jaunty choruses, or giving a deliciously creepy, lugubrious account of the overture, but he understands the overreaching arc of the opera. Ensembles are built up to thrillingly and there is no sense of a static studio run-through. There is good work too from the pickup chorus (The English National Opera chorus must have been busy elsewhere), full of young London-based names, great and good.


Recorded at the Blackheath Halls, the sound is full but cavernous. It lends the production a suitably empty feel for the bleak setting, but some orchestral detail is lost to the closely miked singers. Documentation is up to the usual, thorough standard of this series, with a typically fine essay from Mike Ashman. So, this is worth buying, if only to mark the end of an era. It is a very good performance with a standout Lady Macbeth, but ever so slightly redundant in an age of surtitles, live recording, and at a time when London’s opera in the vernacular struggles to show its face in this harsh multimedia world. It is hard not to feel sad when every new opera set on CD feels like a penultimate nail in the coffin, but this set announces two demises, and I’m not really talking about Verdi’s multiple endings.


FANFARE: Barnaby Rayfield

"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."

In Venice, with the carnival in full swing, the Duke of Pesaro arranges for his lieutenant Spadoni to abduct the beautiful Leonor. To make the young girl love him, he has hired Stradella, a famous singer and singing teacher. The Duke, however, is unaware that Stradella loves and is loved in secret by the beautiful girl. The lovers will be pursued by Pesaro's men all the way to Rome.

"Stradella" was probably composed between 1841 and 1842 (César Franck was just 21 years old) and is probably the result of his early experiences as accompanist to the Italian tenor Mario Bordogni. The opera has come to us virtually complete, as a piano score with some hints of orchestration. Luc van Hove orchestrated it and Stradella was thus staged for the first time at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie on 19th September 2012. Indeed the revival of this stunning opera provides an important tile in the mosaic of the artistic personality of one of the protagonists of 19th-century.

Paolo Arrivabeni,conductor - Jaco van Dormael, stage director, Marcc Laho (Stradella), Isabelle Cabatu (Leonor), Werner van Mechelen (Spadoni), Philippe Rouillon ( Pietro), Giovanni Iovino (Michael), Patrick Mignon (Beppo) Roger Joakim (Un officier)

• A 2011 concert performance by Italian mezzosoprano Sonia Ganassi singing French arias of Bizet, Gounod, Massenet, and others. • Conductor Carla Delfrate leads the Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana. • Recipient of the Italian Abbiati prize in 1999, Ms. Ganassi has appeared in many of the world's major opera houses, and is scheduled to appear with the Vienna State Opera as Jane Seymour in Donizetti's Anna Bolena during the 2013/14 season.

• French composer Erik Satie composed some of the most mystifyingly beautiful music in the piano literature, much of which is in constant demand for live performance and recordings. • Pianist Chisako Okano studied piano in her native Japan and then Germany, and leads a productive concertizing career.

LA TRAVIATA
Mireille Delunsch • Matthew Polenzani • Zeljko Lucic
Orchestre de Paris, Conducted by Yutaka Sado
staged by Peter Mussbach
Recorded at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence (2003)

AIDA
Nina Stemme • Salvatore Licitra • Luciana D’Intino Juan Pons • Matti Salminen
Zurich Opera Orchestra, Conducted by Adam Fischer
staged by Nicolas Joel
Recorded at the Opernhaus Zürich (2006)
BBC Magazine DVD of the month (august 07)
Gramophone DVD of the month (august 07)

MACBETH
Dimitris Tiliakos • Violeta Urmana • Ferruccio Furlanetto • Stefano Secco
Orchestre de l’Opéra national de Paris, Conducted by Teodor Currentzis
staged by Dmitri Tcherniakov
Recorded at the Opéra national de Paris (2009)

Three masterpieces by Verdi in a limited edition 5-DVD box set: internationally acclaimed productions from Aix Festival, Zurich Opera House and paris Opera, by Peter Mussbach (Traviata), Nicolas Joel (Aida) and Dmitri Tcherniakov (Macbeth). Artists as Mireille Delunsch, Nina Stemme, salvatore Licitra, Violeta Urmana and world famous conductors as Yutaka Sado, Adam Fischer and Teodor Currentzis.

Also available on Blu-ray

Giuseppe Verdi
AIDA

Aida – Hui He
Radames – Marco Berti
Amneris – Andrea Ulbrich
Amonasro – Ambrogio Maestri
The King – Roberto Tagliavini
High Priestess – Antonella Trevisan
A messenger – Antonello Ceron

Arena di Verona Ballet
Arena di Verona Chorus and Orchestra
Daniel Oren, conductor

Gianfranco De Bosio, stage director

Recorded live at Arena di Verona, June 2012

Bonus:
- Cast gallery

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Japanese
Running time: 150 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

Composing over 150 works for piano and voice over a period of 44 years, the songs of Francis Poulenc remain consistently popular to concert audiences the world over. Varying in their individual style and character in a way that defies generalization, Poulenc set music to a wide range of different French poetry - both ancient and modern, and from the serious to the surreal. This is the fourth release in our series that will encompass the complete songs of Francis Poulenc, performed by some of the greatest singers of the day and accompanied by the exceptional Malcolm Martineau.

Throughout her career, internationally heralded harpist Yolanda Kondonassis has found herself fascinated by the luscious creations of French composer Maurice Ravel. Ravel: Intimate Masterpieces is a celebration of Kondonassis' longtime love of Ravel's music, and a celebration of the great roster of Oberlin Conservatory of Music talent that came together with her to record the album on campus in January 2013. 'This disc is especially meaningful because I was able to make it with such wonderful players and to celebrate the wealth of artistry and musical opportunity that lives at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music,' says Kondonassis.

Georges Bizet
CARMEN

Moralès – Hans Voschezang
Micaëla – Lisa Milne
Don José – Marcus Haddock
Zuniga – Jonathan Best
Carmen – Anne Sofie von Otter
Frasquita – Marty Hegarty
Mercédès – Christine Rice
Lillas Pastia – Anthony Wise
Escamillo – Laurent Naouri
Le Dancaïre – Quentin Hayes
Le Remendado – Colin Judson
Le Guide – Franck Lopez

Stoke Brunswick School Children’s Chorus
(chorus master: East Grinstead)
Glyndebourne Chorus
(chorus master: Tecwyn Evans)
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Philippe Jordan, conductor

David McVicar, stage director
Michael Vale, set designer
Sue Blane, costume designer
Paule Constable, lighting designer
Andrew George, choreographer
Nicholas Hall, fight director

Recorded live at the Glyndebourne Opera House, Lewes, Sussex, 17 August 2002

Bonus:
- Illustrated synopsis
- Cast gallery
- Costume design
- How to fight on stage
- Choreographing Carmen
- The music of Carmen
- The Gardens of Glyndebourne

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: LPCM Stereo / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish
Running time: 220 mins
No. of DVDs: 2

R E V I E W:

Carmen can justifiably lay claim to be the world’s most popular opera. As director David McVicar points out in one of the revealing documentary extras on this excellent BBC release, it ‘is probably the first musical, with hit tune after hit tune’. He’s right, but as his own thought-provoking production makes amply clear, it is so much more than that, having deep psychological layers that he teases out very effectively. He has (rightly in my opinion) opted for a colourful, naturalistic production, with costumes and sets all conveying the correct period and general feel; no stylised or ‘concept’ nonsense to distract the viewer. This leaves him clear to get the cast to really act and get under the skin of the complex characters that inhabit the work. This makes for a riveting dramatic experience, with the many famous melodies and set pieces all in proper context. There is an erotic charge running through many of the exchanges of the principals, and McVicar sees sexual frustration as the key to many of these characters’ problems. This may have led to raised eyebrows at Glyndebourne, but it does make a lot of sense, given the ultimate events of the tragedy. He also opts to include the original spoken dialogue rather than the spurious recitatives, another aspect that works remarkably well. It fleshes the story out properly instead of holding up the action until the next big tune, as one might suspect it would.

So full marks for not messing with Bizet’s general instructions too much. Praise must also be heaped on the London Philharmonic, who respond magnificently to the flamboyant young maestro, Philippe Jordan (any relation to Armin, I wonder?). His energy and physical intensity, which is visibly there for all to see in the hectic, brilliant prelude (where he resembles Escamillo!), communicates through to the orchestra at every turn, and Bizet’s wonderful scoring is heard in all its glory. One could cite numerous examples, but hear particularly the characterful wind solos of the Act 2 Entr’acte, or the beautifully weighted brass chords that punctuate the famous ‘Toreador Song’, helping one to appreciate the harmony afresh. It really is a superb aural-only experience, the Gallic lightness making one understand why Richard Strauss once advised young composers learning orchestration to study Bizet’s scores, not Wagner’s.

So the reported controversy surrounding this production appears to be wholly related to the central casting. Here we have one of the world’s finest mezzos seemingly cast against type. Anne Sofie von Otter herself admits that she may not be everyone’s idea of the ideal Carmen – "too tall, Nordic and cool", as she puts it, and remembering great Carmens of the past (Berganza, de los Angeles, Price, Migenes etc.) she does have a point. All I can say is that she seemed to me wholly convincing, sporting a blazing auburn wig to help with the gypsy look (plus Sue Blane’s magnificent costumes) and acting and singing with such conviction that criticism was all but silenced. McVicar and von Otter have obviously worked on other aspects of the character, and rather than the smouldering wildcat, we get a more mature portrayal of a woman who can, as the director has it "eat men whole – and laugh while she’s doing it". She is a woman desperately seeking love, a free spirit that simply needs the right partner. This really does make the final tragedy all the more poignant, because we really believe that she has at last found the right person in Escamillo, but, as the cards tell her, fate has something else in store for her. The famous routines are all superbly choreographed, and she raises a laugh from the audience as she manages the second verse of her ‘Seguidilla’ while lighting a cigar, quite a feat!

Her Don José, American tenor Marcus Haddock, also gives a multi-layered portrayal, and his character probably develops more than any other. He constantly reminds us that this is a man hiding many demons, not least the fact that he killed a man in a duel, so we begin to realise early on what he is capable of. There is also the shadow of his mother, who we learn wanted him to become a priest (all this is in the invaluable spoken dialogue), so he is an unstable individual. His beautifully sung ‘Flower Song’ is not just a showstopper, but tinged with all the psychological baggage of a haunted man. The final confrontation with Carmen is riveting, with the fatal stabbing ghastly but not in the least melodramatic. This is believable verismo.

As Escamillo, Laurent Naouri is also encouraged to act with some subtlety, to enjoy his big moments but give us some character insight. Thus his oft-heard ‘Toreador Song’ is punctuated by glances towards Carmen, who responds with knowing eye contact (obviously the camera close-up helps here), and an immediate chemistry is established. His is less a testosterone-fuelled macho man than a virile counterpart to Carmen herself; one can actually believe they would have made a satisfied couple.

The Micaëlla, Lisa Milne, is a touch matronly for me, but I suppose we have to believe in her as the saintly sister figure, and while I miss some of the fragility of others in this part, she sings beautifully and makes a good contrast to Carmen. All the smaller parts are taken with real relish, and I particularly liked Jonathan Best’s Zuniga. Costumes, as mentioned, are stunning, with the stage for the final act dominated by black and a symbolic blood red. The dancing is a delight, sexy and energetic, and stage designs (by Michael Vale) atmospheric yet practical.

The extras on the double DVD set are worth having. There are revealing interviews with director and principals, as well as substantial individual features on music, costume, choreography and stage fighting. There is an illustrated synopsis, cast gallery and a ten-minute feature on the famous Glyndebourne garden. Having loaded the discs with the extras, the booklet is devoted to a specially commissioned reworking of the Carmen libretto by Jeanette Winterson, entitled ‘The World Beyond’, a moving and worthwhile updating of the basic story.

Whether you want to fork out for two full price discs may depend totally on your idea of the casting of the eponymous heroine. When this was broadcast last year, some of my colleagues thought von Otter so wrong they couldn’t watch it through to the end. While I accept she may not be what is expected visually, I think it is short-sighted to not see the whole package. Carmen does dominate, but there is an awful lot going on around her, and David McVicar has managed quite the most intelligent, believable opera production I’ve seen for some time. This is ensemble directing at its best. With von Otter (and everyone else, for that matter) in absolutely superb voice, accompanied by gloriously inspired orchestral playing, this is a musical and visual feast. Sue Judd’s subtle camera work helps the television experience. The BBC packaging is first rate, making an altogether outstanding record of a thrilling event.

-- Tony Haywood, MusicWeb International
, Reviewing original release, Opus Arte 868

Note: This Blu-ray Disc is playable only on Blu-ray Disc players, and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

La Valse

Hikaru Kobayashi
Ryoichi Hirano
Samantha Raine
Bennet Gartside
Helen Crawford
Brian Maloney

Music:
Maurice Ravel: La Valse


Meditation from Thaïs

Leanne Benjamin
Valeri Hristov

Music:
Jules Massenet: Thaïs, Act II: Meditation


Voices of Spring

Yuhui Choe
Alexander Campbell

Music:
Johann Strauss: Fruhlingsstimmen (Voices of Spring), Op. 410


Monotones I and II

Emma Maguire
Akane Takada
Dawid Trzensimiech
Marianela Nuñez
Federico Bonelli
Edward Watson

Music:
Erik Satie: Gnoissienes and Gymnopedies


Marguerite and Armand

Tamara Rojo
Christopher Saunders
Sergei Polunin
Gary Avis

Music: Franz Liszt: Piano Sonata in B Minor, S178/R21

The Royal Ballet
Royal Opera House Orchestra
Emmanuel Plasson, conductor

Frederick Ashton, choreographer

Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, February 2013


Bonus:
- Introduction to Voices of Spring, Meditation, Monotones and The Ashton Foundation

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Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English
Running time: 97 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

Also available on standard CD

Coinciding with the 200th anniversary of Giuseppe Verdi’s birthday, CSO Resound releases its second recording with Maestro Riccardo Muti featuring Verdi’s second-to-last opera, Otello. Recorded live in concert at Symphony Center in 2011, this album will stand for years to come as a unique benchmark in Verdi performance and interpretation by one of today’s finest conductors. Maestro Muti and the CSO’s first recording together was a lauded album of Verdi’s Messa da Requiem, which won two Grammy Awards.

C Major continues it's Tutto Verdi edition with his Messa da Requiem. This film includes a 52-minute bonus documentary introducing US to Verdi's beautiful homeland, the region of Parma; from the little village where Verdi was born, to the estate close to Parma where Verdi always came back to and chose to spend most of his life.