Volume 10 Issue 4 - December 2004

OPERA, CHORAL AND
VOCAL MUSIC
Rameau - Les Boreades (DVD)
Opera National de Paris;
William Christie
BBC Opus A.rte DVD OA 0899 D
continued from page 14
THIS MONTH'S REVIEWS
This productioh
of Ramei..
's Les
Boreades
from the
P a r i s
Opera is
daringly
contemporary.
Butdirector
Roben
Carsen. an ex-Torontonian. nt:ver
tlistons the music.: or the lihre110 10
Iii his concept. It's not just thoroughly
effec1ivt:. but unfailingly
1rue to Rameau's great opera.
High tenor Paul Agnew lights
up 1he stage wiih an ardent lieux
deso/ees and 1he playfully jaunty
Jo11i"sso11s. Soprano Barbara Bonney
maintains a severe presence,
even when she literally lets her hair
down. But her light, clear soprano
is unfailingly lovely. Baritont: Laurent
Naouri brings a charmingly
buffoonish t0uch to his complex.
brilliant entrance aria. Obiissez.
Carsen brings in the innovative
choreographer Eduard Lock and
his remarkable dancers, La La La
Human Steps. from Montreal. Dividing
up each beat with their angul11r.
hyper-kinetic movements.
they provide a tremendously exciting.off-centre
connection 10 Rameau's
rhythmically intricate dance
music.
Under the pioneering William
Christie. the outstanding period
instrument ensemble Les Arts Florissams
is exquisitely buoyant. The
chorus members manage to sound
and look terrilic, even though they
are kept busy with umbrellas and
hrooms, spreading, then sweeping
up, stagefuls of flowers. leaves,
snow. and rain. These seasonal
props were designed by Torontonian
Michael Levine, as were the
stylized costumes of exaggerated
black business suits and !lowing,
rumpled white linen.
The generally close camera
work catches wiuy detai Is of staging
like an angry suitor st-ubbing
out his cigareue in the oversize: wedding
cake.
Pamela Margfes
Performance note: Levine is designer
of the Canadian Opera Company's
complete Ring cycle. His
designs for Siegfrie.d will be seen
in performances in January and
February at the Hummingbird. He
will direct Das Rhei11goftl in September
2006 in the new Four Seasons
Centre.
Haydn - The Seasons
RIAS Kammerchor;
Freiburger Barockorechester
Rene Jacobs
Harmonia Mundi HMC
901829.30
Just as Handel's Messiah appears
continually at Christmas. Haydn's
oratorio The Seasons is perfect for
celebrating the New Year. And
Rene Jacobs' ne·w recording is the
most joyfully celebratory yet on
disc.
Jacobs puts his distinctive stamp
of clear tcxwres and buoyant accents
on Haydn's glorious orchestrations,
with their innovative use
of slide trombones, clarinets, timpani,
and tambourine. In Simon's
hunting aria Sehr auf. colourfully
sung by baritone Dietrich Henschel,
Jacobs even adds gunshol.
His tempos are brisk, and he happily
takes off wildly when Haydn
asks for pit( moto. But he is equally
inclined to drawn out a slow aria.
The Seasons is Haydn's final
great work. The three soloists, Simon.
a farmer. his daughter Hanne,
and Lukas, comment on !he
seasons and their effects on people
and the countryside. When
Hanne and Lukas surprise us by
declaring their love in lhr Schone11.
soprano Marlis Petersen and tenor
Werner Gura perfectly capture the
mood of affectionate tenderness.
All three singers have engagingly
light, flexible voices. They freely
add ornaments. as does the busy
keyboard continuo, but the effect
is natural. Under Jacob's direction
the recitatives come alive as integral
to the drama unfolding.
The energetic period instrument
ensemble Freiburger Barockorchester,
with its wonderful natural
horns and terrific winds. enables
Jacobs 10 capture the frozen
stillness of the dense fog in the Introd11ctio11
to Winter. a masterpiece
of atmospheric writing. The fleeting pleasures from Samson.
fresh-sounding choir. the RIAS­ and heart-breaking in lascia from
Kammerchor. colours the words Rinaldo.
with irrepressible gusto.
Handel
Pamela Margles
Renee Fleming
Orchestra of the Age of Enlight-.
enment; Harry Bicket
DECCA 4755472
Handel Arias
Lorraine Hunt" Lieberson
Orchestra Age of Enlightenment;
Harry Bicket
Avie AV 0030
On these two collections of Handel
arias, both soprano Renee
Fleming and mezzo Lorraine Hunt
Lieberson reveal how Handel. as
Fleming says in her booklet note,
"expresses every possible nuance
of the human condition". They
share the same orchestra, the remarkable
Orchestra of the Age of
Enlightenment, and the same stylish
conducwr, Harry Bicket. But
their approaches to this music
couldn't be more different.
Fleming is not a spontaneous singer.
and her voice, heavy for chis
repertoire, lacks natural agility. Her
much-criticized mannerisms - overworking
each syllable, gulping,
sliding and swooping into notes -
can be intrusive. But there is no
more gorgeous voice to be heard
today, and Fleming uses every facet
of it to produce phrases chat are
not just irresistibly beautiful, but
deeply moving. Technically peerless,
she pulls off exquisite trills
and beguilingly soft high notes.
And her mannerisms actually work
in her favour in this repertoire.
In the familiar Ombrn mai fil
from Serse, unfortunately sung
here without the recitative. she
spins oul breathless long lines.
Scoglio. from the unfamiliar opera
Scipione. shows her magnificent
transitions of mood between
sections. In Ritoma from Rodeli11-
da, which she is singing at the Met
throughout December. she shapes
each phrase with exquisite delicacy.
She is tauntingly cruel in To
Loraine Hum Lieberson does not
have the most naturally beautiful
voice. What makes her one of most
thrilling singers around is her direclly
personal engagement with the
music. With searing intensity she
creates a whole character. She does
have exciting natural agility and
huge range of colours that give a
dynamic edge to Handel's coloratura
passages.
The five sublime arias from
Handel's late oratorio Theodora revisit
a staging at Glyndebourne,
where Lieberson performed under
Bicket with this orchestra. In As
with rosy steps, one of Handel's
most harmonically inspired arias.
she subtly but urgently suggests the
agitation underlying an apparently
serene melody.
The rarely heard chamber cantata
lucrezia is a highlight, with
its lovely continua accompaniment.
Lieberson is at her most
poignantly dramatic in moments
like che cragic final phrase, "la mia
vendetta.
Like Fleming. she sings the
ever-popular Ombra mai fi'.t, but
she includes the recitative to provide
context. Se bramante, also
from Semele, shows her ability to
pull off the most elaborate da capo
arias with a minimum of ornamentation.
Pamela Margles
74° _ _
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DECEMBER 1 2004 - FESRUARY 7 2005