MANON LESCAUT

Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca is one of the most dramatic thrillers in the history of opera. In the revived, legendary historic staging of Margarethe Wallmann, Piotr Beczala (“one of the extraordinary singers of our time”, Der Standard) celebrated his acclaimed role debut as Cavaradossi and is “overwhelming” (Wiener Zeitung). At his side is Karine Babajanyan as Primadonna Floria Tosca, making her house debut at the Vienna State Opera and Carlos Álvarez, whose “Scarpia is an ambassador of evil like no other.” (Wiener Zeitung) - a performance of unique and lasting quality!

Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, one of the most played operas today, is performed on the Seebühne for the first time. “Enrique Mazzola leads the Wiener Symphoniker to a beguiling string sound and a flexibility that is so important for Puccini” (Der Tagesspiegel). “Barno Ismatullaeva manages the great aria of Cio-Cio-San touchingly beautifully” (SZ). Stage Director is Andreas Homoki, who together with Michael Levine’s magical stage set with its subtle landscape paintings brings Japanese flair to Lake Constance, supported not at least by Antony McDonald’s colorful costumes. “These are beautiful filigree images that director Andreas Homoki and his team [...] have created” (Der Standard).

Il trittico was premiered in New York on 14 December 1918, composed while the First World War was still raging in Europe. At first glance, the three one-act operas Gianni Schicchi, Il tabarro and Suor Angelica seem to have no connection with each other; their common denominator is solely the entanglement of man in a fateful destiny that only exceptionally, for a moment, seems to promise a happy outcome to the “adventure of life” - a set of themes that in its complexity seems to be in such good hands with few directors as with Christof Loy. The main female roles in the three opera acts are performed by the Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian, a very rare and tremendous feat, but once again connects the works to each other.

Puccini began to compose Manon Lescaut in 1889. It was an act of supreme bravado as only five years previously Massenet had premiered Manon, based on the same novel by Abbé Prévost. The story is set in France and Louisiana in the early 18th century and focuses on – in a way different to Massenet – the fortunes and tragedy of the hero, the Chevalier des Grieux, and his lover, Manon. Its ceaseless melodic beauty and drama were recognized immediately and the first night was an overwhelming triumph, with Puccini effectively anointed as Verdi’s successor and Italy’s greatest operatic composer. Ninety years after its 1893 premiere in Turin, the work was staged by the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. The 1983 production was conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli, making his British operatic debut to such remarkable effect that The Times referred to him as ‘Europe’s most spectacular new opera star’. The cast included three of the greatest exponents of their roles; Plácido Domingo as the romantic hero whose performance ‘was a cause for drop-jawed wonder’ (The Spectator), the radiant Kiri Te Kanawa as Manon and Thomas Allen as her brother, Lescaut. Director Götz Friedrich’s largely traditional staging proved a major theatrical success.

Inspired by the novel of the same name by Abbé Prévost, Puccini achieved his first great triumph with Manon Lescaut. The story of the rise and fall of the courtesan Manon was written with a haunting music, faithful to the principles of the verisme. In this production Liudmyla Monastyrska "one of the most important voices of today" (Beckmesser.com) has a "magnificent voice" (Operawire), Gregory Kunde’s Des Grieux "is genuinely Puccinian" (opera online) and "Carlos Chausson … offered a masterful performance" (bachtrack). Conductor Emmanuel Villaume "provides a vehement and passionate musical reading." (El Mundo)

“La Scala’s season opens with a powerful Tosca” (Financial Times). Premiered in 1900 with huge success, Puccini’s “melodramma” Tosca is one of the most dramatic thrillers in the history of opera. In this performance Riccardo Chailly conducted “a magnificent orchestra and a sonorous choir” (NMZ) while Anna Netrebko had sung “phenomenally. She still has one of the most beautiful voices today.” (Deutschlandfunk) With “Francesco Meli, probably unsurpassable in this role at the moment: lyrically soft, and then again impressively expressive”, and Luca Salsi also “very convincing as the slick, power-conscious Scarpia” (BR Klassik), La Scala has engaged the highest-calibre partners imaginable.

It is impossible to imagine today’s opera repertoire without Puccini’s Tosca, but rarely has an opera been so brutal: Murder, torture and love, jealousy and passion – everything is present in abundance. When it was written in 1900, this thriller set to music caused considerable controversy due to the political figureheads involved. Only much later the story about the deeply religious Tosca, the passionate Cavaradossi and the sadistic Scarpia was interpreted as the psychological drama it was meant to be. The drama on stage is accompanied from the orchestra pit by Marc Albrecht conducting the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra by pointed sketches of the characters, but also - as typical for Puccini - by lyrical turns and beautiful melodies that make this opera shocker unique.

“Marc Albrecht, with a fabulously disposed ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra, [...] – a masterly achievement.” (Opernwelt). Next to Kristine Opolais, “a great, highly dramatic singing actress whose interpretation gets under the skin” (Kurier), sings the discovery of the evening, “the young tenor Jonathan Tetelman stems Caravadossi with juvenile power and tenoral beam that almost bursts the dimensions of the house.” (Opernwelt)

Giacomo Puccini wrote only a few works for voice with piano accompaniment. Eleven songs were published during his lifetime; others remained lost for over a century. In 2010, a first critical edition of the total of sixteen vocal compositions was presented. Several of them are closely related to Puccini's operas and had already been written during his studies in Milan. It was this edition that inspired Johannes X. Schachtner to arrange the piano score-like accompaniments for orchestra. In early February 2023, the US tenor Charles Castronovo sang these sixteen songs for the first time together with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester conducted by Ivan Repušic. Charles Castronovo has worked with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester ever since a concert performance of Mozart's La clemenza di Tito in 2006. In the 2023/24 season, he will return to Munich as the orchestra's “Artist in Residence”. BR-KLASSIK now presents the CD “Giacomo Puccini - I Canti”.

Puccini's piano songs are entirely in the Italian tradition of the 19th century. Most Italian opera composers - from Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini to Verdi - also wrote lieder, but unlike the German art song, these were always closely related to bel canto, the “beautiful song”. Priority is given here to an irresistible melos over a mostly simple accompaniment, which is nevertheless supported by charming harmonies; hardly ever do these Italian songs eschew the dramatic flair of the opera composer. In the course of his work, Johannes X. Schachtner was increasingly fascinated by the way in which these songs, which were written for very different occasions and have no contextual connection, nevertheless convey the highly exciting story of a composer's life. From the youthful, almost innocent love song “A te” to Puccini's last songs with the impressive “Morire?” – but also small album leaves such as the setting of the Italian proverb “Casa mia, casa mia”, which is only a few bars long. Some songs also afford us a glimpse into the workshop of the composer Puccini, who made use of his earlier pieces in his operas. For example, a melody from the song

“Mentía l'avviso”, which was part of his final examination at the Milan Conservatory, became the famous aria “Donna non vidi mai” of Des Grieux in his opera Manon Lescaut a few years later.

The sixteen songs arranged with orchestral accompaniment are complemented by orchestral works by Puccini, written during his studies at the Milan Conservatory. They reflect the musical spirit of the time that shaped the young composer – ranging from the melodic influences of his teacher Amilcare Ponchielli to the impressions that the music of Richard Wagner left on him. Themes from these pieces also recur in his operas. Puccini's enthusiasm for Wagner shimmers through unmistakably in the “Preludio sinfonica”. In the “Capriccio sinfonica” one can hear a whole reservoir of later opera melodies, the most striking of which (almost note-for-note) is the opening of La bohème. Puccini's funeral music “Crisantemi”, composed for string quartet, was written before his first resounding success with Manon Lescaut, where melodies from it recur. Puccini wrote the piece in memory of Amadeo di Savoia, Duke of Aosta, who died on January 18, 1890, and the morbid scent of the cemetery flowers pervades the three-part Andante movement.

Little did I know when in February I wrote about the Chandos version of this opera (ABR1019), based on an Adelaide Festival production, that an all-star recording, long needed, was so close at hand. That Australian version—John Culshaw's last production—had admirably clear recording as well as crisp orchestral playing, but it was seriously flawed in the singing. That alone would put the new CBS issue with its exceptionally strong trio of soloists into a different category, but the conducting of Lorin Maazel too transforms what I have always thought of as a piece too shortwinded dramatically, seriously lacking in detail of plot and characterization. Maazel with his incisive manner, which yet allows more rubato and more expressiveness than in some of his earlier Puccini recordings for CBS, makes one think of that shortwindedness as economy, a refreshing directness in telling the bald story (parallel with Giselle) of the girl who dies of love and as a spirit in the Black Forest clasps back her faithless (if repentant) lover in death. Here in other words, as Puccini's first operatic essay (in its final revision) is a piece which encapsulates a whole love affair within an hour, concentrating only on bare essentials.

Admirable as the orchestral ensemble was in the Chandos version, the playing of the National Philharmonic here is far subtler with the sharp syncopations characteristic of the piece (particularly in the cross-rhythms of the dances of the spirits, "La tregenda") punched home with much more bite. Maazel is excellent too in drawing out the individuality of the soloists without allowing self-indulgent phrasing of the kind which consistently marred the Australian performance. In Adelaide the soloists tried to make up for their vocal shortcomings by adopting an exaggeratedly grand manner, and the ease and assurance of Scotto, Domingo and Nucci here, as well as their vocal richness, transforms each Puccinian melody. The tunes still often sound more like Mascagni than genuine Puccini, but in this performance at least I find they catch readily in the mind, above all the love duet theme of the first scene which returns, suitably elaborated, at the beginning of the final duet when the spirit of Anna, the heroine, has declared that she is no longer love but revenge.

Though Scotto's voice as usual these days tends to spread at the top of the stave, this is one of the richest and warmest performances I have heard from her for some time, while Domingo as Roberto, rich and firm, manages to bring out the attractive anticipations of Des Grieux's music in Manon Lescaut. Leo Nucci as the hero's father avoids false melodrama in the set-piece aria of Act 2 immediately after the central symphonic interlude, with characteristic tone rather like Cappuccilli's. And if all this was not commendation enough, there is a delightful vignette from Tito Gobbi resonantly speaking the verses (omitted from the Chandos version) which come as a melodrama over the Prelude to Act 2 and then immediately before "La tregenda". The recording, not so sharply detailed as the Australian one, is yet far more spaciously atmospheric, with the chorus—the Ambrosians in excellent, incisive form—far more convincingly placed, not least in the eerie off-stage passages. I now want to see Le villi given on stage in a performance of comparable quality.

-- Edward Greenfield, Gramophone [5/1981]

PUCCINI: MANON LESCAUT PERLEA

BOHEME

Although one of his most consistently lyrical operas, La rondine remains one of Puccini' least known. Dissatisfied with the result of his work, Puccini wrote three versions, with two different endings, and continued to make further revisions up to h.

Review of a prior CD issue of this recording:

Both Scotto and Domingo, and Scotto especially, sing with real conviction and affection, and to have Tito Gobbi, no less, so obviously relishing the preposterous text of his spoken role is a considerable bonus. In all the score's more interesting passages Maazel too makes it clear that this score has as much of accomplishment to it as promise.

– Gramophone

This two-disc set documents the revival of Peter Gelb's inaugural production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly at New York's Metropolitan Opera House, telecast in Times Square and in the plaza at Lincoln Center to the delight of thousands when it was brand new in 2006. It is exquisitely designed by Michael Levine and directed by the late film auteur Anthony Minghella. Since the director's death, his widow and the show's choreographer, Carolyn Choa, has been responsible for the stunning, evocative action. This performance was filmed in high-definition in March 2009.

Highly stylized and in bold, brilliant colors, our first visual is of a young Japanese woman approaching from the rear or the stage, trailing twenty-foot-long red scarves from her kimono; a sloping mirror rises from the rear of the stage multiplying the image and turning it into a kaleidoscopic event. Figures in black wearing veils — a repeated image throughout — circle her and wrap her in fabric. Only then does Puccini's music begin. The entire experience is practically tactile, and the rest of the production follows suit. Han Feng's costumes constantly surprise and please and Peter Mumford's lighting, making the most of the mirror that appears and disappears throughout, adds to the all-consuming physical enchantment. Butterfly enters wearing white against a sky of brilliant blue; her love duet with Pinkerton takes place amidst dozens of white lanterns and their reflections; later, curtains of flower petals fall from the sky. The stage is almost invariably empty of props; color and action take their place and we can focus on the singers. Minghella has minimized the singers' actions as well; there is no over-emoting. The sad story is allowed to speak for itself.

But Minghella's true coup-de-théâtre begins in the second act, when Butterfly, in her confrontation with Sharpless, shows him the child she has borne Pinkerton. The boy is played by a Bunraku puppet, operated by three veiled men in black. Yes, it startles and amuses at first, but as the opera continues we grow accustomed to it. The puppet is so effortlessly manipulated that even if our disbelief is never truly suspended, we are captivated by how real he seems and how touchingly Butterfly relates to him — and him to her. Look carefully at the face and you'll realize that it is emotionless; take a longer view and you'll feel that he's real. In the interlude before the last scene, a puppet Butterfly and male dancer enact the couple's upcoming tragic meeting. It is performed while the actual cast sits perfectly still; the effect is enchanting and troubling at once.

Patricia Racette's Butterfly is magnificent. Her full-bodied voice is imbued with a warm vibrato and her phrasing is natural and sharply musical. But just as crucially, she listens and reacts like a young girl and her movements are economical; her face registers her inner feelings — a remarkable portrayal. Marcello Giordani sings and plays Pinkerton with handsome tone and intelligence; his early swagger is offset by the realization of what he's done in the final scene. Dwayne Croft's Sharpless is sympathetic and Maria Zifchak's Suzuki is grandly sung and well-acted: her silent reaction to Cio-Cio-San's conversion to Christianity speaks volumes. Patrick Summers leads with intensity and great understanding.

Both sound and picture are splendid, as is Gary Halvorson's direction for the screen.

– Robert Levine, Listen [Spring 2011]

"In every dimension Ms. Racette’s effort was exceptional; hers is a performance not to be missed." – The New York Times

"Anthony Minghella’s sumptuous production of Madama Butterfly, Giacomo Puccini’s heartbreaking tale of love and betrayal, offers viewers a rare visual treat...Minghella, who died unexpectedly in March 2008, marks his debut in opera with the re-staging of Madama Butterfly – this is also the first time in 20 years that a new production has opened at the Met. The New York Times described it as “a gorgeous cinematic spectacle.”...Madama Butterfly, conducted by Patrick Summers, features costumes by Han Feng, with sets by Michael Levine, lighting by Peter Mumford, choreography by Carolyn Choa, and puppetry by the Blind Summit Theater." – PBS.org

Patricia Racette as Cio-Cio-San, Marcello Giordani as American Navy Lieutenant B. F. Pinkerton, Maria Zifchak as Suzuki and Dwayne Croft as Sharpless. Patrick Summers conducts the Metropolitan Opera and Chorus.

Region 0 - All Regions

Classical Music

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

Also available on standard DVD

Puccini’s Japanese tragedy Madama Butterfly is given a ravishing production by The Royal Opera. Its alluring imagery of Japan from the 19th-century European Imagination heightens the intense clash of East and West. When the American naval officer Pinkerton seduces the young ‘Butterfly’ Cio-Cio-San, he seems to promise every happiness – but his cruel abandonment leads to her tragic self-sacrifice. Antonio Pappano, Music Director of The Royal Opera and renowned for his interpretations of Puccini, conducts an exceptionally fine cast with the Royal Opera Chorus and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. Powerful performances show why Madama Butterfly remains one of the all-time operatic favourites. ‘‘Always at his best in Puccini, Antonio Pappano conducts with passionate sincerity.’’ (The Guardian 5 Stars) ‘‘An opera that ranks among the very greatest of the 20th century.’’ (The Daily Telegraph 4 Stars) ‘‘Ermonela Jaho is the best Cio-Cio-San London has seen in years’’ (Independent 4 Stars)
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REVIEWS:

The Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho is one of the great singing actresses of our time. Hers is not a sumptuous soprano, but the colors she brings to her portrayal are astonishing. Her Flower Duet with Elizabeth DeShong's feisty, sympathetic Suzuki is quite beautifully sung. Pappano - arguably today's greatest Puccianian conductor - draws ardent playing from the orchestra, superbly detailed in its commentaries.

– Gramophone

Pappano is particularly alert to Puccini borrowing traditional Japanese melodies; at times he makes you hear this score, as well as the drama on stage, as a tug of war between East and West. It’s Sharpless and Suzuki who steal the show – a consul with a tender conscience from Scott Hendricks and Elizabeth DeShong as a maid who could melt the stoniest of hearts.

– BBC Music Magazine

Puccini: Madama Butterfly

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Also available on standard DVD


This release is a delight, a relay from Covent Garden which was, as far as I’m aware, broadcast live into cinemas last December. It features their current production which has been doing the rounds since the early 1970s, here revived by the original director himself. Copley’s production is traditional and beautiful, its chief concern being to tell the story directly. In December 2009 some criticised it for looking a little worn and shabby. Don’t believe a word of it! In the close-up of the screen it looks neat, fresh and as good as new, every piece of furniture and inch of set design serving the purpose of the drama nicely. The garret is well designed on two levels so that the most intimate action takes place closest to the audience, away from the busyness of the entries and exits. The Barrière d’Enfer looks beautiful with its warm looking tavern and gently falling snow. The Cafe Momus is uncrowded and easy on the eye, though the action in the street outside seems rather cramped. Costumes and sets place us firmly in Paris in the 1830s and there is nothing to detract from the basic narrative. Some might find this unimaginative, but there is a lot to be said for telling a story well and this is certainly one production (or, by extension, DVD) to which I would happily take a newcomer to opera.

The cast of singers are all young up-and-comings, but they are all the better for that. Bohème is all about the energy of youth and the excitement of young love, and this cast all look the part as well as sounding great. Hibla Gerzmava is a lovely Mimi, lyrical and vulnerable with a very beautiful voice: she is at her best during the parting duet of Act 3. Teodor Illincai is a very fine Rodolfo with a great ring to his voice and lots of youthful ardour. Strangely, though, Che gelida manina is probably the weakest point of his performance as he attacks from below the note – a shame as the top of his voice is thrilling. Inna Dukach is a characterful Musetta, her bright, slightly sharp soprano contrasting well with Gerzmava’s. Viviani is a warm, likeable Marcello, powerful in Acts 2 and 3 and very moving in the duet at the start of Act 4. Kostas Smorginias is of rather pale voice until the Raincoat aria which he sings with strength, and Jacques Imbrailo’s Schaunard is lovely of presence and voice. Benoit and Alcindoro are acted well by two stalwarts who love every minute of it.

Like his cast, conductor Andris Nelsons brings youth, vigour and energy to this ever-young score. The pulse of the first Act is infectious and the great crashes that begin and end Act 3 are razor-sharp. The orchestra play this most familiar of scores as if it were the only performance they would ever give, enthusiasm and virtuosity coming through in every bar. They are helped in this by production values of the highest order: the DTS sound, in particular, is outstandingly clear and well-separated without drawing attention to itself. The picture is also crystal-clear and the camera-work is effective and entirely non-intrusive.

Opus Arte’s usual high standards are maintained in the presentation and title menus, and there are brief interviews with Nelsons and Copley about the production. There are many Bohèmes available on DVD, but this one is as recommendable as any, and it feels good to be able to say this about such a home-grown product. Covent Garden have kept this production for so long because it works so well, and I think that anyone with this DVD in their collection would feel the same way.


-- Simon Thompson, MusicWeb International

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J Regions: All regions
Picture Format: 1080i High Definition / 16:9
Sound Type: 2.0 LPCM & 5.1 DTS Surround
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian

Rodolfo: Teodor Ilincai
Mimì: Hibla Gerzmava
Marcello: Gabriele Viviani
Musetta: Inna Dukach
Colline: Kostas Smoriginas
Schaunard: Jacques Imbrailo
Benoit: Jeremy White
Alcindoro: Donald Maxwell
Royal Opera Chorus
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Conductor: Andris Nelsons
Director: John Copley

Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, in December 2009

Extra features:
Cast gallery
Interview with Jonathan Copley
Interview with Andris Nelsons

*** This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD or HD DVD players. ***

Picture Format: 1080i High Definition, NTSC 16:9 Anamorphic
Sound Format: 2.0 and 5.0 PCM audio
Region Code: 0 (All Regions)
Menu Language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian
Running Time: 149 mins
No. of Discs: 1 (Blu-ray)

Classical Music

Puccini: Tosca, S. 69 (Highlights)

Having admitted to only qualified enthusiasm for Dame Kiri's recent CD albums of popular repertoire and folk-songs, it is a pleasure to recommend this programme of Verdi and Puccini arias without reservation. The beautiful voice has never sounded better and the clear well-balanced recording allows us to hear the expressive pointing of meaning and characterization to perfection. Orchestral sound too is excellent, though slightly set back in relation to the ideally perspectived voice.

-- John Borwick, Gramophone [5/1985]

Classical Music

The best thing about the Caruso legend is that it's more than true. If you've never heard him, whatever you have heard about him can't do justice to how good he really was: the golden bigness of the voice, the dramatic genius and generosity of spirit that he projected. Fortunately, as the first vocal superstar of the Victrola age, he made hundreds of recordings that survive to give substance to the legend.
CARUSO IN LOVE combines favorite opera arias by Verdi, Puccini, and Donizetti with popular love songs of the period, including one by Ruggiero Leoncavallo, Caruso's friend and the composer of 'I Pagliacci.' The excellent transfers of these 78 rpm sides made for Victor between 1906 and 1920 are the result of the epic remastering project RCA undertook in the early '80s to represent the entire Caruso legacy with the best possible sound.