Christoph Willibald Gluck - Ezio

"Christoph Gluck's fame as an operatic reformer has overshadowed the fact that prior to the 1760s he was a highly successful composer of 'opera seria', a spectacle centred on virtuosic solo singing for which the da capo aria was considered the ideal vehicle. In the prevailing Italian operatic system the libretto typically contained dozens of aria texts (with the occasional duet), and these illuminated the characters' successive emotional states in response to the drama, which was carried forward in simple recitatives alternating with arias. When Gluck and his collaborator Ranieri de' Calzabigi abandoned this operatic model in favour of a more naturalistic presentation of the action, beginning with 'Orfeo ed Euridice' (1762), spectators had to fundamentally alter their mode of listening. The current revival of Gluck's pre-reform operas requires an equivalent adjustment, in reverse.

"Gluck's early preference for texts by the Roman Pietro Metastasio indicates not so much conservatism as the simple fact that Metastasio was the 'opera seria' librettist most adept at constructing a plot (typically based on ancient Greek or Roman history) and most admired for his elegant and musically effective aria texts: his poetic images frequently involved similes or metaphors conducive to musical illustration, which endeared him to singers and composers alike. His concentration on arias, to the near exclusion of ensembles and choruses, was a consequence of entrepreneurial opera companies' lack of choral singers, the star power of soloists, and audience preferences. In addition, the highly paid 'prime donne' and 'primi uomini' frequently dictated terms to composers, requiring that they tailor arias to their voices and talents.

"It was typical of 'opera seria' that the same libretto was often set to music several times over, even by the same composer. Gluck set 'Ezio' for Prague's Teatro Nuovo in 1750 and revised it substantially for Vienna's Burgtheater in 1763; Niccolò Jommelli set the libretto four times across three decades. Listening to opera thus involved a good deal of comparison, not only between settings of the same libretto but also between one performance and the next of the same opera, since singers embellished or otherwise varied their arias afresh each night, in part for the sake of spectators attending multiple performances. Even for a work as unfamiliar as Gluck's 'Ezio', modern listeners have ready points of comparison in Handel's 1732 setting for London and in the nine-year-old Mozart's setting of Massimo's aria 'Va' dal furor portata' (likewise written in London).

"'Ezio' is from the early part of Metastasio's career, written before his 1729 appointment as imperial court poet in Vienna. The basic elements of the plot are factual, drawn from ancient sources that the poet duly cites (the Metastasio scholar Don Neville has also pointed to Thomas Corneille's play 'Maximian' of 1662 as a probable, though unacknowledged, source). 'Ezio' is set in Rome, following the defeat of Attila the Hun; the adulation with which the victorious general Ezio (Aetius) is greeted upon his return arouses the envy of the emperor Valentiniano (Valentinian) III, formented also by the patrician Massimo (Maximus), who bears the emperor an ancient grudge. Onto this premise Metastasio grafted an amorous intrigue involved, additionally, Massimo's daughter Fulvia, the emperor's sister Onoria, and Ezio's friend Varo. Unlike the real-life Aetius, whom the emperor put to death, the fictional general is exonerated, in keeping with 'opera seria's obligatory 'lieto fine'. All the characters in 'Ezio' are flawed to some degree: Valentiniano is fundamentally virtuous, but cowardly and credulous; Ezio is courageous, but proud and incautious, Fulvia is loyal to her father even in support of his criminal conspiracy. Massimo is most obviously evil, but his complaint against the emperor, which spurs his misdeeds, is just. Metastasio himself recognised that he had depicted Valentiniano unflatteringly: writing in 1770 of a plan to dedicate a performance of 'Ezio' to the Hapsburg Emperor Joseph II, he asked 'why on earth... did they not prefer my 'Tito' to 'Ezio', in which the emperor is the third- or fourth-ranked role and of a rather uncommendable character?'.

"The libretto was commissioned by the Venetian Teatro Grimani di San Giovanni Grisostomo for its autumn 1728 season; Metastasio alluded to the venue by putting into Ezio's mouth flattering remarks about the nascent city of Venice. The music of the first setting was by the Neapolitan Nicola Porpora (later a teacher of the young Haydn), and the cast included the famed Neapolitan castratos Domenico Gizzi (Valentiniano) and Nicola Grimaldi (Ezio). The next production, with music by Pietro Auletta, was the for the 1728/9 carnival season in Rome, where by papal decree women were not permitted on the stage; the female roles were therefore taken by castratos. Conversely, in several early productions, including Handel's 1732 setting for London, the role of Valentiniano was taken by the female contralto Anna Bagnolesi. As with many Metastasian librettos, in productions of 'Ezio' subsequent to the first one the recitatives were abridged - in the 1732 London production, nearly to the point of incomprehensibility. In 1754 Metastasio himself shortened his text for the Portuguese court and was duly rewarded with a lavish silver service. Much later, Metastasio thanked the poetry Saverio Mattei for the judicious cuts he had made for a 1771 Naples production, also approving his substitution of a quartet for several arias at the end of Act Two, 'something that would have been sacrilege when I wrote [the drama]'.

"At the time Gluck wrote 'Ezio' he was still an itinerant composer, not yet settled in Vienna. His career had begun in Hapsburg-controlled Milan, where he had trained un Giovanni Battista Sammartini, and had included a stint in London. By 1747 he had joined the traveling opera troupe of Pietro Mingotti, composing an opera for a Saxon royal wedding at Pillnitz outside Dresden. Recommendations from there and from the Lombard court resulted in a prestigious commission in 1748 to set Metastasio's 'Semiramide riconosciuta' for Vienna's Burgtheater. By November of that year Gluck had rejoined Mingotti's company (now as musical director) in Copenhagen, where he wrote the celebratory opera 'La contesa dei numi', performed in April 1749. The next we hear of him is at the start of 1750 in Prague, the city where he had attended university and worked as an organist nearly two decades earlier, and where Giovanni Battista Locatelli was in his second season as head of the resident Italian opera company in the city's Kotzentheater, or Teatro Nuovo. Of the singers in the cast of 'Ezio', the tenors Settimio Canini (Massimo) and Franz Werner (Varo) had both sung in Mingotti's troupe, the former taking roles in three of Gluck's operas. Elisabetta Ronchetti, a singer of both Metastasian and comic roles, would reprise her performance as Fulvia in a 1751 Leipzig production of the opera. The Valentiniano, Antonio Francia, ended his career in Siena in 1775 with the same roles (in Gugliemi's setting); for Nicola Reginelli (Ezio) this was already his final season.

"The success of Gluck's opera is suggested by his many later borrowings from its music, and by the presence of more than a dozen Latin parodies (retextings) of its arias in the archives of Prague churches (a notated cadenza from a parody of Valentiniano's first aria is used in this recording, with slight modifications). The cuts in the libretto of the Prague 'Ezio' were sensible ones and included remarks denigrating to women, most likely removed on account of the libretto's dedication to the women of the Prague audience. Possibly inspired by the still novel phenomenon of ensemble finales in 'opera buffa', Gluck replaced three arias at the end of Act Two with a terzetto. Some further cuts have been made to make the present performance more attractive to a modern audience.

"In composing 'Ezio' Gluck was guided above all by the sense of the arias' texts, though not always in ways Metastasio would have approved. In 1751, after Gluck's move to Vienna, Metastasio declared the composer had 'un fuoco meraviglioso, ma pazza' ('has surprising fire, but is mad', in Charles Burney's 1796 translation). Throughout his career Gluck showed a willingness to trespass against the rules of part-writing and harmony in the interest of vivid characterisations and drama.

"After an italianate 'Sinfonia' in three movements (with attractive chromaticism in the minor-mode slow movement) Ezio enters to a triumphal march. Valentiniano's ensuing 'Se tu la reggi al volo' is everything one might with for in an opera's initial aria: energetic, virtuosic, and well calculated to the text - as with several 'messe di voce' (elegantly modulated sustained tones) on 'sempre' ('always'). In its shape the vocal line suggests first the eagle of the text being launched into flight, then its return (with a rising-and-falling figure, echoed in the accompaniment). The march having established his heroism, Ezio uses his initial aria, 'Pensa serbarmi, o cara', to assure his beloved of his affection, with sighing figures in the accompaniment and a caressing vocal melisma on 'amami' ('love me'). Fulvia, for whome Metastasio and Gluck had reserved an act-ending showpiece, first sings a submissive-sounding, minor-mode 'aria parlante', 'Caro padre, a me non dei', in which a typically Gluckian slowing to Adagio highlights her key phrase 'io lo so' ('I know it').

"Incongruously, the villain Massimo has the most ravishing number in the opera, 'Se povero il ruscello', the many-layered texture of which depicts, alternately, lazily and rapidly flowing waters and their respective ability to overcome obstacles. As adapted by Gluck in 'Orfeo', this same music would depict Orfeo's impressions of the Elysian Fields; its unexpected excursions into the minor mode would remain a favourite tool in Gluck's expressive arsenal. The following number, Valentiniano's 'So chi t'accese', is a declamatory air in the service of the drama, in which Gluck abandons both opening ritornello and da capo form. In the subsequent 'Se fedele mi brama il regnate', Ezio's indignation is manifest in the tightly wound energy of its accompaniment, coloratura displays and the harmony's turns toward the minor. Particularly effective is the menacing rhetorical pause in the music during his reproach 'If my sovereign would have my loyalty, [-] let him not wound my loving soul', midway through the aria's main section.

"The aria 'Ancor non premi il soglio' eschews vocal display, but is virtuosic in its manipulations of emotional tone as Onoria mocks her rival Fulvia's supposed pretensions through constant tempo changes, text repetition and a cleverly recomposed reprise of the opening section. But Fulvia prevails, musically, with her spacious and vocally ambitious 'Finché un zefiro soave', which illustrates her confidence that she will be able to navigate whatever storms come her way.

"Act Two opens with news of a failed attempt on Valentiniano's life, prompting his aria 'Dubbioso amante' (addressed alternately to Massimo and Fulvia) which cleverly reworks the content of Metastasio's original text so as to fit music borrowed from 'La contesa dei numi'. The emperor's doubtful words are a good match for the piece's off-balance main rhythmic motif and minor-mode colouration. They also provoke recriminations between his onstage auditors, which culminate in Massimo's aria 'Va' dal furor portata' ('Go, transported by your fury'), whose opening melody and fiery accompaniment vividly depict Fulvia's rage. Gluck repeatedly halts the musical discourse at Massimo's admonishments 'ti sovvenga' ('remember') and 'pensa' ('reflect').

"Ezio's reaction to his arrest, 'Recagli quell'acciaro', is realistically direct and a testimony to his fortitude. Particularly striking, in Gluck's setting, are the sinking chromatic lines that suggest Valentiniano's shame when reminded of his general's past services. Varo's subsequent aria, 'Nasce al bosco in rozza cuna' (another retexting of a piece from 'La contesa dei numi'), is of slight importance to the drama, but delightful nontheless, with lilting rhythms and sustained trills that highlight its pastoral theme. Ezio's next appearance, by contrast, is dramatically crucial. Fulvia finds that she can no longer sustain her pretence of loving Valentiniano (a ruse to deflect suspicion from Ezio) and admits that Ezio is her only love; in an exultant, accompanied recitative Ezio now claims a moral victory over Valentiniano, even as he is returned to prison. In the following aria, 'Ecco alle mie catene', chains of suspensions represent Ezio's physical chains; thereafter he addresses himself alternately to Fulvia (with a melody of heartfelt simplicity) and to the emperor (in a quicker tempo and with taunting horn calls). During the aria's ample middle section Gluck introduces a rising triplet motif that suggests Ezio's beseeching gestures toward his beloved. As he is led off, Fulvia is left to face the disdain of both the emperor and her father in the terzetto 'Passami il cor, tiranno', during which the violins play a relentless flagellating figure. The singers can only unite on the thought that this is a terrible day for all of them; during these passages 'a 3' Valentiniano's and Fulvia's vocal lines are several times left completely exposed, to powerful effect.

"In 'Peni tu per un'ingrata' near the start of Act Three, Onoria consoles herself and Valentiniano with the thought that neither is alone in disappointing love. Characters quickly accumulate on stage and Valentiniano makes a show of pardoning Ezio, though secretly planning to have him killed. Ezio's grateful reply, in the aria 'Per la memoria', uses existing music from 'La contesa dei numi' but still strikes a properly noble tone, even evoking 'memory' with its conspicuous echoing between instruments. Ezio's six-bar 'messa di voce' on 'dono' ('gift') suggests that long tones were a particular skill of the original Ezio, Nicola Reginelli.

"Valentiniano's 'Per tutto il timore' corroborates Metastasio's admission that the emperor cuts no fine figure in this opera. In this 'aria parlante' Valentiniano's unmanly fear is portrayed both in a persistent tremulous figure in the melody and in repeated harmonic twinges as he declares 'I would rather die than live like this'. Conversely, the conniving Massimo sounds convincingly sympathetic in the aria he addresses to Fulvia, 'Tergi le ingiuste lagrime', holding out as compensation for her sacrifice the promise that she will reign as Valentiniano's consort. Evocations of teardrops alternate with regal dotted rhythms in the orchestral accompaniment, as called for in the text.

"Left alone, Fulvia indulges her despair in a scene of uncommon expressive force. Tremolo strings underline her invocation of furies and of Greek tragedy in an accompanied recitative; in the aria proper, 'Ah, non son io che parlo', her breathless declamation and the fragmentary accompaniment look forward to Dorabella's 'Smanie implacabili' in Mozart's 'Così fan tutte' (where the tone is openly parodistic). Other features, too, contribute to the impression that Fulvia is unhinged: above all, her irregular phrase lengths and slowed-down declamation during repetitions of her phrase 'che delirar mi fa' ('that maddens me'), and the horns' obsessive, oracular-sounding intonations on the fifth scale degree. Following the presumed-dead Ezio's almost miraculous reappearance (thanks to Varo's deception), Valentiniano pardons even Massimo, and all unite to sing a final chorus, 'Della vita nel dubbio cammino'. Far from being perfunctory, Gluck's ensemble exhibits an impressively complex construction, with solo lines emerging from the texture to illustrate the motto that 'Innocence is that star of Heaven that guides us on our shadowy path'. (Bruce Alan Brown, 2011. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Il Complesso Barocco, Alan Curtis, Sonia Prina, Max Emanuel Cencic, Ann Hallenburg, Topi Lehtipuu, Mayuko Karasawa, Julian Prégardien

1.1. Sinfonia: Allegro

1.2. Sinfonia: Andante

1.3. Sinfonia: Allegro Di Molto

1.4. Marcia

1.5. Atto I, Scena I: 'Signor, Vincemmo. Il Primo Io Sono'

1.6. Atto I, Scena I: 'Se Tu La Reggi Al Volo'

1.7. Atto I, Scena II: 'Ezio, Lascia Ch'io Stringa'

1.8. Atto I, Scena II: 'Pensa A Serbarmi, O Cara'

1.9. Atto I, Scena III: 'E Soffrirai Che Sposa Abbia La Figlia'

1.10. Atto I, Scena III: 'Caro Padre, A Me Non Dei'

1.11. Atto I, Scena IV: 'Pria Che Sorga L'aurora'

1.12. Atto I, Scena V: 'Ezio Sappia Ch'io Bramo Seco Parlar'

1.13. Atto I, Scena V: 'Se Povero Il Ruscello'

1.14. Atto I, Scena VI: 'Del Ciel Felice Dono'

1.15. Atto I, Scena VI: 'So Chi T'accese'

1.16. Atto I, Scena VII: 'Vedrem Se Ardisce Ancora'/Scena VIII: 'Fulvia, Ti Vuol Sua Sposa'

1.17. Atto I, Scena VIII: 'Se Fedele Mi Brama Il Regnante'

1.18. Atto I, Scena IX: 'A Cesare Nascondi'

1.19. Atto I, Scena IX: 'Ancor Non Premi Il Soglio'

1.20. Atto I, Scena X: 'Via, Per Mio Danno Aduna, O Barbara Fortuna'

1.21. Atto I, Scena X: 'Finché Un Zefiro Soave'

2.1. Atto II, Scena I: 'Qual Silenzio È Mai Questo!'/Scena II: 'Ogni Via Custodite, Ed Ogni Ingresso'/Scena III: 'Cesare, Invano Il Traditor Cercai'

2.2. Atto II, Scena III: 'Dubbioso Amante Cercando Aita'

2.3. Atto II, Scena IV: 'E Puoi D'un Tuo Delitto'

2.4. Atto II, Scena IV: 'Va' Dal Furor Portata'

2.5. Atto II, Scena V: 'Che Fo? Dove Mi Volgo?'/Scena VI: 'Varo, Che Rechi?'

2.6. Atto II, Scena VI: 'Recagli Quell'acciaro'

2.7. Atto II, Scena VII: 'Folle È Colui Che Al Tuo Favor Si Fida'

2.8. Atto II, Scena VII: 'Nasce Al Bosco In Rozza Cuna'

2.9. Atto II, Scena VIII: 'Olà, Qui Si Conduca Il Prigionier'/Scena IX: 'Stelle, Che Miro! Donna Infedel!'

2.10. Atto II, Scena IX: 'Ecco Ale Mie Catene'

2.11. Atto II, Scena X: 'Ingratissima Donna!'

2.12. Atto II, Scena X: 'Passami Il Cor, Tiranno!'

2.13. Atto III, Scena I: 'E Ben, Da Quel Superbo Che Ottenesti, O Germana?'

2.14. Atto III, Scena I: 'Peni Tu Per Un'ingrata'

2.15. Atto III, Scena II: 'Olà, Varo Si Chiami'/Scena III: 'Signor, Tutto Sedai'/Scena IV: 'Vedi Qual Dono'

2.16. Atto III, Scena IV: 'Per La Memoria Del Tuo Perdono'

2.17. Atto III, Scena V: 'Generoso Monarca, Il Ciel Ti Renda'/Scena VI: 'Varo, Eseguisti Il Cenno?'/Scena VII: 'Liete Novelle, Augusto'/Scena VIII: 'Massimo, Se Innocente Sei, Pensa A Provarlo'

2.18. Atto III, Scena VIII: 'Per Tutto Il Timore Perigli M'addita'

2.19. Atto III, Scena IX: 'Partì Una Volta. Ah Lascia, Mia Speme, Mio Sostegno'

2.20. Atto III, Scena IX: 'Tergi L'inguiste Lagrime'

2.21. Atto III, Scena X: 'Misera Dove Son! L'aure Del Tebro Son Queste Ch'io Respiro?'

2.22. Atto III, Scena X: 'Ah, Non Son Io Che Parlo'

2.23. Atto III, Scena XI: 'Inorridisci, O Roma'/Scena XII: 'Ah Traditori!'/Scena XIII: 'Cesare Viva. Ezio!'

2.24. Atto III, Scena XIII: 'Della Vita Nel Dubbio Cammino'

mp3,320kbps

Leonardo Vinci - Ataserse

"The opera libretto 'Artaserse' (Artaxerxes) by Pietro Metastasio was the hit of the 18th century opera seria. It was set more than 40 times, including once in English (by Thomas Arne), and its popularity lasted into the 19th century. The opera by Leonardo Vinci recorded here, however, was the very first one, dating from 1730. It's easy to see even at this late date why Metastasio's libretto appealed to opera composers and operagoers so much. The story, concerning the Persian king Xerxes' son Artaxerxes I (based very loosely on actual events), features royal pomp, young love, betrayal, tragic self-sacrifice, and, to top it all off, a happy ending. Musically the opera is odd by present-day standards; it called for an all-male cast, women being banned from Roman theaters at the time. The cast consisted of five castrati, sung here by countertenors, and one tenor, the villain Artabano. It's a big work, with sober processionals and spectacular arias for almost all the characters. French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky has never been in better voice, but the performance is equally notable for introducing some lesser-known countertenors, such as the creamy-voiced Valer Barna-Sabadus as Semira, Artaserse's frustrated lover. It's not until now, as a matter of fact, that a critical mass of countertenors has been available to perform music of this difficulty, and the results are worth hearing on several levels. Slowly but surely, the history of opera in the 18th century is being rewritten." (Review by James Manheim for AllMusic. See here.)

Performers: Concerto Köln, Coro Della Radiotelevisione Svizzera, Diego Fasolis, Philippe Jaroussky, Max Emanuel Cencic, Daniel Behle, Franco Fagioli, Valer Barna-Sabadus, Yuriy Mynenko

1.1. Sinfonia: I. Allegro

1.2. Sinfonia: II. Grave

1.3. Sinfonia: III. Minuetto

1.4. Atto I, Scena I: 'Addio. Sentimi Arbace'

1.5. Atto I, Scena I: 'Conservati Fedele'

1.6. Atto I, Scena II: 'Figlio, Arbace. Signor'

1.7. Atto I, Scena II: 'Fra Cento Affani'

1.8. Atto I, Scena III: 'Coraggio O Miei Pensieri'

1.9. Atto I, Scena III: 'Su Le Sponde Del Torbido Lete'

1.10. Atto I, Scena IV/V: 'Qual Vittima Si Svena!'/'Dove, Principe, Dove?'

1.11. Atto I, Scena IV/V: 'Per Pietà, Bell'idol Mio'

1.12. Atto I, Scena VI: 'Gran Cose Io Temo'

1.13. Atto I, Scena VI: 'Sogna Il Guerrier Le Schiere'

1.14. Atto I, Scena VII: 'Voi Della Persia'

1.15. Atto I, Scena VII: 'Bramar Di Perdere Troppo Affetto'

1.16. Atto I, Scena VIII/IX: 'Ah Mandane... Artserse'/'Signore. Amico. Lo Di Te Cerco'

1.17. Atto I, Scena X: 'Artaserse, Respira'

1.18. Atto I, Scena XI: 'Arbace È Il Reo'

1.19. Atto I, Scena XI: 'Deh Respirar Lasciatemi'

1.20. Atto I, Scena XII: 'E Innocente Dovrai Tanti Oltraggi Soffrir'

1.21. Atto I, Scena XII: 'Non Ti Son Padre'

1.22. Atto I, Scena XIII: 'Ma Per Qual Fallo Mai'

1.23. Atto I, Scena XIII: 'Torna Innocente E Poi'

1.24. Atto I, Scena XIV: 'Mio Ben Mia Vita...'

1.25. Atto I, Scena XIV: 'Dimmi Che Un Empio Sei'

1.26. Atto I, Scena XIV: 'No Che Non Ha La Sorte'

1.27. Atto I, Scena XIV: 'Vo Solcando Un Mar Crudel'

2.1. Atto II, Scena I: 'Dal Carcere O Custodi'

2.2. Atto II, Scena I: 'Rendimi Il Caro Amico'

2.3. Atto II, Scena II: 'Son Quasi In Porto'

2.4. Atto II, Scena II: 'Mi Scacci Sdegnato!'

2.5. Atto II, Scena III/IV: 'I Tuoi Deboli Affetti'/'Figlia, E Questi Il Tuo Sposo'

2.6. Atto II, Scena III/IV: 'Amalo E Se Al Tuo Aguardo'

2.7. Atto II, Scena V: 'Ascolta O Megabise'

2.8. Atto II, Scena V: 'Non Temer Ch'lo Mai Ti Dica'

2.9. Atto II, Scena VI: 'Qual Serie Di Sventure'

2.10. Atto II, Scena VI: 'Se D'un Amor Tiranno'

2.11. Atto II, Scena VII: 'A Qual Di Tanti Mali'

2.12. Atto II, Scena VII: 'Se Del Fiume Altera L'onda'

2.13. Atto II, Scena VIII/IX/X: 'Mio Re, Chiedono A Gara'/'Artaserse Pieta'

2.14. Atto II, Scena XI: 'Tanto Odio Alla Persia'

2.15. Atto II, Scena XI: 'Per Quel Paterno Amplesso'

2.16. Atto II, Scena XII: 'A Prezzo Del Mio Sangue'

2.17. Atto II, Scena XII: 'Va Tra Le Selve Ircane'

2.18. Atto II, Scena XIII: 'Quanto, Amata Semira'

2.19. Atto II, Scena XIII: 'Per Quell'Affetto'

2.20. Atto II, Scena XIV: 'Dell'ingrata Semira'

2.21. Atto II, Scena XIV: 'Non Conosco In Tal Momento'

2.22. Atto II, Scena XV: 'Son Pur Solo Una Volta'

2.23. Atto II, Scena XV: 'Così Stupisce E Cade'

3.1. Atto III, Scena I: 'Perché Tarda È Mai La Morte'

3.2. Atto III, Scena I: 'Arbace. Oh Dei, Che Miro!'

3.3. Atto III, Scena I: 'L'onda Dal Mar Divisa'

3.4. Atto III, Scena II: 'Quella Fronte Sicura E Quel Sembiante'

3.5. Atto III, Scena II: 'Nuvoletta Opposta Al Sole'

3.6. Atto III, Scena III: 'Figlio, Arbace, Ove Sei?'

3.7. Atto III, Scena III: 'Ardito Ti Renda'

3.8. Atto III, Scena IV: 'Trovaste, Avversi Dei'

3.9. Atto III, Scena IV: 'Figlio Se Più Non Vivi'

3.10. Atto III, Scena V: 'Alfin Portai Consolarti Mandane'

3.11. Atto III, Scena V: 'Mi Credi Spietata?'

3.12. Atto III, Scena VI: 'Forsennata, Che Feci!'

3.13. Atto III, Scena VI: 'Non È Ver Che Sia Contento'

3.14. Atto III, Scena VII: 'Né Pur Qui La Ritrovo'

3.15. Atto III, Scena VII: 'Tu Vuoi Ch'io Viva O Cara'

3.16. Atto III, Scena VIII: 'A Voi Popoli Io M'Offro'

3.17. Atto III, Scena VIII: 'Lucido Dio Per Cui L'April Fiorisce'

3.18. Atto III, Scena IX/X: 'Al Riparo Signor'/'Ferma O Germano'

3.19. Atto III, Scena XI: 'Ecco Arbace, O Monarca, A' Piedi Tuoi'

3.20. Atto III, Scena XI: 'Lucido Dio Per Cui L'april Fiorisce'

3.21. Atto III, Scena XII: 'Ferma; È Veleno'

3.22. Atto III, Scena XII: 'Giusto Re, La Persia Adora'

flac/16-bit

Johan Svendsen - Zorahayda; Karneval i Paris; Norsk Kunstnerkarneval; Romeo og Julie

"For most music lovers Norwegian music begins and ends with Grieg, yet in a sense he was complemented by the figure of Johan Svendsen, who was all the things that Grieg was not. Grieg wrote with great individuality for the piano and the voice, while Svendsen wrote for neither, apart from his two sets of songs, Opp. 23 and 24, from 1879. As befits a conductor, Svendsen was a master of the orchestra, for which Grieg had no real flair. Indeed, on hearing Svendsen's First Symphony in 1867, Grieg was the first to sing its priases, recognising that its excellence contrasted with the inadequacies of his own youthful Symphony in C minor, written two years earlier. Even though he and Grieg were close friends, Svendsen never involved himself in the folksongs movement to anywhere near the same extent. The nearest he ever came to it were the four 'Norwegian Rhapsodies'.

"Svendsen grew up in Christiana (now Oslo) with music around him, for his father was a bandmaster. He was already an accomplished violinist by the age of fifteen, and also played the flute and clarinet. His musical schooling, like Grieg's, was in Leipzig, where he studied the violin under Ferdinand David and composition with Carl Reinecke. His Leipzig years were both happier and more fruitful than Grieg's, and it was during this period that he wrote his first works, the Quartet in A minor op. 1, some choral pieces, and the Octet for strings op. 3. Even such early compositions speak with an individual voice and the Octet, the First Symphony op. 4 and the String Quintet op. 5, are all works of astonishing individuality, assurance and, above all, freshness. After finishing his studies in Leipzig and returning to Norway, Svendsen undertook a long tour of Scotland, Iceland and the Faeroes in 1867, return to Christiana to conduct his First Symphony later that year. For the remainder of the 1860s Svendsen lived in Paris, earning his living as an orchestral player and working on a Violin Concerto. In 1870 at the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war, he moved to Leipzig acting for a time as leader and conductor of the Euterpe Concert Society. He spent the following summer in Bayreuth where he was much in the company of Wagner, and it was here, of all places that he finished his virtuoso orchestral piece, 'Karneval i Paris' ('Carnival in Paris') in 1872. By this time Svendsen had been drawn into the Liszt-Wagner circle. (Later on, he was to introduce 'Walküre' and 'Siegfried', among other works, to the Copenhagen Opera.) He returned briefly to Norway but in 1877 gave up the direction of the Christiana Orchestra (which he shared with Grieg) to seek greater fame as a conductor in London, Paris, Leipzig and other great musical centres.

"If Grieg had been one of the influences on the early music of Sibelius, then Svendsen played a comparable role in Carl Nielsen's development. In 1883 Svendsen became conductor of the Orchestra of the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, where Nielsen played under him during the 1890s. Indeed, Svendsen conducted the first performance of Nielsen's First Symphony in 1894, and is at the root of much of Nielsen's style. Svenden cannot, however, be regarded as anything other than Norwegian, despite being far more cosmopolitan than many other Scandinavian composers of the day. He remained in Copenhagen until ill-health forced his retirement in 1908, though alas, his creative firest burnt themselves out long before that. After the famous Romance in G major for violin and orchestra op. 26 (1881) he more or less gave up composing.

"Svendsen's music invention blends a liveliness and exuberance with a vein of poetic fantasy not unworthy of the best Grieg. Together with the four symphonies of Berwald, Svendsen's two are the finest to appear in Scandinavia before Sibelius - and certainly more original than those of Niels Gade. Between the two symphonies come the concertos for violin and cello opp. 6 and 7 and the 'Karneval i Paris' op. 9. Begun in New York, continued in Leipzig and finished in Bayreuth, 'Karneval' was an evocation of the festive processions that he recalled from his time in Paris ('the most glorious city on earth' he called it). One its publication in 1877, it was subtitled 'Episode fü großes Orchester' and its brilliant and masterly scoring have earned it a place in the repertory.

"The tone poem 'Zorahayda' op. 11, was composed in Christiana in 1874 and revised in Paris five years later. 'Zorahayda' derives its inspiration from a collection of Moorish legends called 'Alhambra', published by the American writer Washington Irving in 1832. The story tells how one summer evening the beautiful Jacinta is sitting alone in the Alhambra, lamenting the lover who has forsaken her. Suddenly there appears before her a Moorish princess, Zorahayda, who relates how she lost her heart to Christian knight. She promised to adopt his faith and go with him to his native land, but courage failed her and her soul has remained imprisoned in the Alhambra. Zorahayda begs Jacinta to fulfil the prophecy that she will remain the prisoner of evil spirits until released by a virtuous Christian maid. Jacinta baptises her and Zorahayda's face becomes radiant with joy.

"A year earlier, in the summer of 1873, Svendsen had been commissioned to write a 'Festpolonese' (Grand Polonaise) for a society ball in Christiana. The festive spirit and good humour for the resulting work have ensured it a place in the repertory ever since, along with the 'Norsk kunstnerkarneval' ('Norwegian Artists' Carnvial') op. 14, composed a few months later. Svendsen had been elected to membership of the Society of Norwegian Artists whose carnival in 1874 had as its theme the spirit of the cold North and the warm blooded south and its zest for life. Svendsen uses three melodies, a Neapolitan melody from the mid-1830s, 'Te voglio bene assai' by Raffaele Sacco, and a Norwegian bridal dance from Sogn - No. 676 in Lindeman's 'Ældre og nyare norske Fjeldmelodier' ('Older and Newer Norwegian Mountain Melodies'). This was the first occasion on which Svendzsen had ever quoted a Norwegian folk melody. The very opening idea was designed to depict the 'Dovregubbens datter' ('The Troll-king's daughter'), and although the theme sounds as if it is a folk melody, it is in fact Svendsen's own.

"Svendsen's major work of this period was the Second Symphony, completed in 1876 towards the end of his five-year spell in the Norwegian capital (1872-77), and the last large-scale work to survive from his pen. It was first performed on 14 October 1876 when he also introduced another novelty, 'Romeo og Julie' op. 18, a fantasy for orchestra. (Tchaikovsky's fantasy overture had been performed in its original form in 1870 but it is unlikely that Svendsen would have encountered it. It is not known whether he knew Berlioz's dramatic symphony or even Gounod's opera of 1867.) At its premiere in Christian, 'Romeo og Julie' was compared unfavourably with the Second Symphony, and though the 'Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung' reviewed it favourably after its publication in 1879, it remains - along with his other tone poem 'Sigurd Semble' op. 8 - one of his least performed works.

"Although he had little time left for composition after moving to Copenhagen, Svendsen did write a number of smaller occasional pieces, and planned his Third Symphony. Among the shorter pieces without opus number is the 'Andante funèbre', composed in 1894 for the funeral of the twenty-three year-old son of his friend, Theodor Hindenburg. In fact Svendsen's own creative career was shorter than this young man's life, but while it lasted, it promise was hardly less formidable than that of the young Grieg." (Robert Layton. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Trondheim Symfoniorkester, Ole Kristian Ruud

1. Norsk Kunstnerkarneval, Op. 14

2. Zorahayda (Legend), Op. 11

3. Karneval I Paris (Episode), Op. 9

4. Romeo Og Julie (Fantasy), Op. 18

5. Festpolonese, Op. 12

6. Andante Funèbre, Op. 60 Nr. 2

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Benjamin Britten - A Midsummer Night's Dream

"Benjamin Britten's own recordings of his operas must be considered authoritative, but any great art can yield insights from a variety of interpretations, and an objective performer may find felicities in a score of which the composer was hardly aware. Additionally, new recording technology can create a truer realization of the sound, and in vocal music, the quality of voices in subsequent productions can surpass the originals, so new recordings are always welcome.

"Virgin's reissue of its 1990 recording of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', conducted by Richard Hickox is notable for how closely it resembles Britten's 1966 version in many aspects. The sound quality is somewhat fuller than Britten's, and orchestral details emerge with more clarity, but the engineers have gone overboard in duplicating the spatial relationships of a stage performance, so there is a distracting variability in the soloists' miking; some are very close and some are so distant as to be nearly inaudible. It may be an accurate replication of the theater experience, but more sonic consistency would have been less annoying. (Some decisions seem random; Lysander almost always sounds distant, and Demetrius, close. The miking is, however, very effective in capturing Puck's fleet leaps from near to far.) The soloists in the two versions are similar in quality, which is very high, as well as in interpretation. Britten's conducting of the diaphanous opening and the fairies' sound world has a magic that Hickox's does not, but Hickox's handling of the comic elements is generally more deft and funnier, except for the play of Pyramus and Thisbe, which Britten handles incomparably. Britten's reading of the score unfolds more organically, while Hickox is less successful in making the sound worlds of the fairies, the mortals, and the mechanicals flow together as an integrated whole. If a choice must be made, Britten's original remains the preferred version, but not by so large a margin as to disqualify Hickox's very reputable effort, which has much to recommend it." (Review by Stephen Eddins. From AllMusic. See here.)

Performers: City of London Sinfonia, Richard Hickox, James Bowman, Della Jones, Lillian Watson, Henry Herford, John Graham-Hall, Jill Gomez, Donald Maxwell, Dexter Fletcher

1.1. Act I: Introduction. The Wood, Deepening Twilight/'Over Hill, Over Dale'

1.2. Act I: 'Oberon Is Passing Fell And Wrath'

1.3. Act I: 'Well, Go Thy Way'

1.4. Act I: 'How Now My Love?'

1.5. Act I: 'Be It On Lion, Bear, Or Wolf, Or Bull'

1.6. Act I: 'Welcome Wanderer... I Know A Bank'

1.7. Act I: 'Is All Our Company Here?'

1.8. Act I: 'Fair Love, You Faint With Wand'ring In The Wood'

1.9. Act I: 'Through The Forest Have I Gone'

1.10. Act I: 'Stay, Though Thou Kill Me, Sweet Demetrius'

1.11. Act I: 'Come, Now A Roundel And A Fairy Song'

1.12. Act I: 'You Spotted Snakes With Double Tongue'

1.13. Act I: 'What Thou Seest When Thou Dost Wake'

1.14. Act II: Introduction. The Wood

1.15. Act II: 'Are We All Met?'

1.16. Act II: 'I See Their Knavery'

1.17. Act II: 'Be Kind And Courteous To This Gentleman'

1.18. Act II: 'Hail, Mortal, Hail!'

1.19. Act II: 'I Have A Reas'nable Good Ear In Music'

1.20. Act II: 'How Now, Mad Spirit?'

2.1. Act II: 'Flower Of This Purple Dye'

2.2. Act II: 'Puppet? Why, So?'

2.3. Act II: 'This Is Thy Negligence'

2.4. Act II: 'Up And Down, Up And Down'

2.5. Act II: 'On The Ground, Sleep Sound'

2.6. Act III: Introduction. The Wood, Early Next Morning/'My Gentle Robin, Seest Thou This Sweet Sight?'

2.7. Act III: 'Helena! Hermia! Demetrius! Lysander!'

2.8. Act III: 'When My Cue Comes, Call Me'

2.9. Act III: 'Have You Sent To Bottom's House?'

2.10. Act III: 'Now, Fair Hippolyta'

2.11. Act III: 'If We Offend, It Is With Our Good Will'

2.12. Act III: 'Gentles, Perchance You Wonder At This Show'

2.13. Act III: 'In This Same Interlude It Doth Befall'

2.14. Act III: 'O Grim-look'd Night, O Night With Hue So Black'

2.15. Act III: 'O Wall, Full Often Hast Thou Heard My Moans'

2.16. Act III: 'You Ladies, You Whose Gentle Hearts Do Fear'

2.17. Act III: 'This Lanthorn Doth The Hornèd Moon Present'

2.18. Act III: 'Sweet Moon, I Thank Thee For Thy Sunny Beams'

2.19. Act III: 'Asleep, My Love?'

2.20. Act III: 'Come, Your Bergomask'

2.21. Act III: 'Now The Hungry Lion Roars'

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