Classical Music

Classical Music

The Places - Vienna was already an ancient Celtic town called Vindobona when around 15 BC the Romans fortified it with a military camp. The town prospered and grew, undergoing considerable further development under the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, who died there in AD 180. In later times Vienna assumed the greatest importance as the capital of the Habsburg Empire and as a bulwark defending Western Europe from invasion from the East, although it failed to repel Napoleon, who occupied the city twice in the first decade of the 19th century. The Music; the eldest son of Johann Strauss I, the younger Johann Strauss was born in 1825, the year in which his father established his popular dance orchestra. The father intended other professions for his sons, but in 1844, two years after his father had abandoned his wife in favor of his mistress, the younger Strauss set up his own orchestra, an enterprise in which he later compelled his younger brothers, Joseph and Eduard, to share. In 1863 Strauss was appointed Imperial Music Director for the balls held at court, a position he held until 1871, when he was succeeded by his brother Eduard. He then began writing a series of operettas, including in 1874 the best known of all, Die Fledermaus. He died in 1899 after a busy and successful career, having composed some five hundred pieces of music; Waltzes, Polkas, Marches, Quadrilles and Stage works.

Maristella

Francesco Cavalli was the most successful Venetian opera composer of the mid-seventeenth century. This new production is orchestrated and conducted by the internationally reputed baroque specialist Federico Maria Sardelli. It is directed by the young Frenchwoman Mariame Clement, who is currently making a name for herself with her infectious directing in German and French opera houses. The title role is sung by the promising counter-tenor Christophe Dumaux.

Libretto and liner notes in Italian and English.

A feast for the ears and for the eyes is what Vicent Martín i Soler and Lorenzo Da Ponte conceived 222 years ago with this playful opera about the struggle between Diana and Love. L’arbore di Diana, staged at the Gran Teatre del Liceu for the first time, is a two-act opera buffa by the composer from Valencia Vicent Martín i Soler with a text by the famous Lorenzo Da Ponte.

With the war raging in Europe, and a mere five days after the D-Day invasion which precipitated the eventual end of the conflagration in the European theater, this performance on a much smaller, less consequential but on its own terms no less historic theater stage in Vienna of Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos was given and recorded. Despite the troubling facts that orbit these wartime performances more generally, for those who know operatic history, the singing cast, including Irmgard Seefried, Paul Schöffler, Max Lorenz and Maria Reining is truly a legendary one, as is the conductor Karl Böhm.

Wagner' epic music dramas revolutionized the operatic repertoire, drawing upon famous legends and history to create a completely new art form of unprecedented spectacle and intense psychological power.

This is not to be confused with the (rightly) famous Philips recording with almost the same cast from a year later, also from Bayreuth. I find this performance somewhat more compelling–it has an energy that the ’62 does not: rarely have I heard the choral moments sound so passionate, whether in outrage or prayer, and I’ve always thought that this opera, more than any other of Wagner’s, needs all the energy it can get. In addition, Grace Bumbry, in her Bayreuth debut (at the moment when the color barrier was lifted) is even better here, singing with a wild security and insinuation that ravishes the ear and, yes, Tannhäuser’s soul. She’s an intensely interesting Venus, sneaky, believable, and somewhat terrifying.

Wolfgang Windgassen is a bit better as well after a really bad off-key start; the voice seems darker than the following year. And his Rome Narrative is riveting, pathetic, and a true tour de force–and he has plenty of voice left, even so late in the evening. His operatic voyage from entranced to rueful to loving to crazed and then to more crazed is shatteringly portrayed.

Victoria de los Angeles preceded Anja Silja as Elisabeth, and she is in her full glory here. Nobody sounds like de los Angeles; arguments were made at one time that her Carmen sounded as if she had just come from a convent–but could that be any more perfect for Elisabeth? Her tonal purity is ideal for “Dich teure Halle” and the last-act prayer, and she lacks only the last smidge of desperation and grandeur for her supplications near the end of Act 2. But what a sound–so gentle and loving, so unadulterated! The other cast difference is the inclusion of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as Wolfram. Again, can anyone sing or feel this music better? The empathy, the dignity, the gorgeous tone are all unique.

Josef Greindl, who seems to have sung every performance of everything throughout the 1960s, is a gruff Landgraf who nonetheless is fair and loving. And popping up from ensembles and offering the occasional solo is Gerhard Stolze, singing with an instantly recognizable timbre as Walther, and happily sounding nothing like either Mime or Herod. The rest are superb. Wolfgang Sawallich’s contribution needs no vote from me; this is his opera, brilliantly formed. The hybrid edition used may trouble some listeners: It’s essentially the 1845 Dresden, but with the 1861 Venusberg music. It doesn’t bother me a bit. The sound, by the way, is excellent mono.

My first choice for this opera remains Solti’s for Helga Dernesch’s Elisabeth and Christa Ludwig’s Venus, as well as René Kollo’s youthful Tannhäuser, not to mention the recording itself and Solti’s passion. But this one, at half the price, is very tempting.

-- Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com

DONIZETTI Gemma di Vergy • Roberto Rizzi Brignoli, cond; Maria Agresta ( Gemma ); Gregory Kunde ( Tamas ); Mario Cassi ( Conte di Vergy ); Leonardo Galazzi ( Guido ); Kremena Dilcheva ( Ida) ; Dario Russo ( Rolando ); Bergamo Musica Festival Gaetano Donizetti O & Ch • BONGIOVANNI 20024 (DVD: 140:00) Live: Bergamo 2011


I certainly applaud the Donizetti Festival in Bergamo for staging a rare production of their namesake composer’s Gemma di Vergy , as seen here from the festival’s 2011 season. Pretty much neglected by opera companies in the modern age since it was championed by Montserrat Caballé in the mid-1970s, Gemma contains some little heard and quite entertaining music by composer Donizetti that deserves wider exposure. Of course Caballé, as was her wont, was not singing Donizetti’s version, but her own, with simplified and smoothed-over vocal lines replacing much of the composer’s bel canto fioratura. The Spanish diva sang the title role well enough in that style, but none of her recordings are, at least in my opinion, a truly satisfactory representation of the original opera.


The story itself, like Bellini’s Beatrice di Tenda and Donizetti’s earlier Anna Bolena , tells of an aristocratic wife (here a Countess) repudiated by a husband because she has not borne an heir. The locale is France in the final years of the 100 Years’ War during the victorious ascendancy of Joan of Arc. It is instructive to note that all of these sanctimonious gents wishing to move on from barren marriages seem to have a comely lass waiting in the wings, more than ready to take up conjugal duties. Unlike Beatrice or Anna, Gemma does not go quietly or nobly into the night. She is more into the cat-fighting mode, trying to kill her new rival, the lady Ida de Gréville, and inadvertently inciting her faithful Saracen retainer Tamas (secretly in love with her) to kill the Count. Gemma spurns this rather extreme act of devotion (those crazy Saracens!) and Tamas kills himself rather than be taken by the count’s loyal followers. In fact, the opera ends quite unhappily for everyone, but in a welter of melodious, engaging music.


The Bergamo sets are simple yet effective. Painted risers and some props come and go, along with a gorgeous blue stained-glass backdrop with medieval themes. Traditional costumes are finely detailed and rich-looking, probably much too fine for war-ravaged France, but an operatic excess I can easily live with. It is when the action and singing begins on stage that the warning lights begin to go off. In fact, there is very little action, period, and what does occur seems rather amateurishly staged. The singers mostly stand and sing, and like Caballé, they don’t really do bel canto . That particular style of singing was losing cachet by 1834 when this opera premiered, but in modified form it was still central to Donizetti’s work. The lack of that type of expertise from this cast is disappointing. Young soprano Maria Agresta sings quite passionately in the demanding title role (Caballé said it was more difficult than singing three Norma s) but her voice spreads rather unpleasantly in higher register. Neither bass Leonardo Galeazzi as Guido, the Count’s retainer, nor baritone Mario Cassi as the Count really have enough voice fully to command their roles. Cassi, although good-looking in the part, could benefit from some acting lessons. The best singer seen here turns out to be veteran American tenor Gregory Kunde in the role of Saracen Tamas. Kunde’s voice occasionally displays a bit of the ravages of a long career, but he still possesses a ringing tenor top and generally turns in a fine performance. The Festival chorus is given little to do, but they sing quite satisfactorily and the orchestra is led in some brisk pacing by Maestro Roberto Rizzi Brignoli.


This is the first Bongiovanni DVD I have seen. The label’s video capture of the stage production uses pretty straightforward basic camerawork but looks professionally rendered. Sound is fine in stereo with no surround option available. Subtitle choices are limited to Italian, English, and Japanese. To my mind, despite a sincere effort here, poor Gemma is still looking for a good representative recording of her opera. This Bergamo DVD will serve to replace the Caballé discs as a place-holder until something better comes along.


FANFARE: Bill White

Puccini: La bohème (Recorded Live 1961)

This new release is a live opera performance, recorded at the Bologna Teatro on November 28, 1961. Oliviero De Fabritiis conducts this outstanding performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s Ballo in maschera. This performance features Leyla Gencer, Carlo Bergonzi, and Mario Zanasi.

Verdi: Il trovatore (Live)

Richard Strauss: Salome, Op. 54, TrV 215 (Live)

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Mozart: Don Giovanni, K. 527 - Schubert: Lachen und Weinen,

Wagner: Das Rheingold, WWV 86a (Recorded 1952) [Live]

This world premiere recording of Schmidt's Notre Dame is dominated not by Paris or Quasimodo, but by Esmeralda, played by Gwyneth Jones. She is the center of the stories which make up the plot and the Esmeralda motif is the principal theme of the opera.

Wagner: Das Rheingold, WWV 86a [Recorded 1948]

Featuring a front-line cast (Rysanek, Frick, Suthaus, Hotter, Nilsson, etc...) that sends Wagner aficionados into states of reverie at the prospect of listening once again to the authoritative, superlative singing casts one could assemble in the 1950's, this amazing performance of the second opera in the "Nibelungen" tetralogy also proves that conductor Herbert von Karajan live was, like the singers, in a class of his own in the 1950's as well. His few surviving Wagner recordings from this period, like this La Scala 1958 Die W�lkure, are a must for every Wagner connoisseur.

Bellini: Norma [1958]

Bellini: La sonnambula (1957)

An excellent find for fans of ethereal music, while classical listeners will find this disc exceptionally refreshing.

Cristal is an excellent and original recording. This is a disc that is fresh and exciting. Its brilliance comes through from the first piece right through to the last. Cristal, subtitled "Glass Music Through the Ages," is a unique recording that features Linda Ronstadt with glass virtuoso Dennis James. This recording showcases a variety of different moods, but the glass harmonica and the crystal baschet have lush and serenely sweet sounds that bring the pieces to life while also letting them settle in the background. Cristal features a variety of performers, including the Emerson String Quartet and Ruth Ann Swenson. The recording also features original glass music by Mozart, Beethoven, C.P.E. Bach, and Purcell. For fans of ethereal music, particularly space and new age music, this is an excellent find. Fans of classical and more mainstream music will also find this recording to be exceptionally refreshing. Overall, this is a fantastic work and one that belongs in any music lover's collection.

-- Matt Borghi, AllMusic.com