There is no doubt about it: Magda Olivero was the very best Manon Lescaut of the second half of the twentieth century. In 1970, when she was 60 (!) years old, she sang the role in Verona with the not yet 30-year-old Domingo at her side. Quite bizarre when you consider that Olivero made her professional debut eight years before Domingo was born. And yet her portrayal of the young heroine was utterly convincing. Most of her colleagues could not (and cannot) match her performance!
The role of Des Grieux was a role that could have been written for Domingo. As Renato, he was able to combine all his charm, his sehnsucht and his boyishness (something he has managed to retain to an advanced age) with a cannon-like voice. My copy was released on Foyer (2-CF 2033), but nowadays there are more releases in better sound quality and the recording can also be found on You Tube.
Two years later, Olivero sang the role in Caracas. The performance of 2 June 1972 was recorded by Legato Classics (LCD-113-2). The sound quality is reasonably good, but what makes the recording really desirable is Des Grieux by the then 60-year-old Richard Tucker. So yearning, so in love, so beautiful…. Sigh. Yes, folks: once upon a time, opera was made by voices, not by beautiful bodies!
Duet from the fourth act:
Fedora
How many opera lovers know Umberto Giordano and his operas? Many know Andrea Chénier (for me one of the best and most beautiful operas ever), but that’s it. Unless you are a fan of verism, in which case there is a good chance that you have heard of Fedora. And if you do go to opera houses in countries other than the Netherlands, you may even have seen the opera. Otherwise, you are left with nothing but the CD and DVD recordings.
Admittedly, Fedora does not reach the level of Andrea Chénier, which is mainly due to the libretto. The first act has a hard time getting started and the third is a bit drab. But the music! It is so incredibly beautiful!
The play on which Arturo Colautti’s libretto is based comes from the pen of Victorien Sardou and, just like Tosca, it was written for the greatest tragédienne of the time, Sarah Bernardt. The opera therefore offers an amazing opportunity for the best singing actresses. Magda Olivero, for instance, is without doubt one of the greatest performers of the role.
Below Magda Olivero, Doro Antonioli and Aldo Protti in the third act of Fedora, recorded in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam 1967:
For most Dutch opera lovers is Menotti no more than a vaguely familiar name. His operas have never been very popular here and performances can be counted on one hand. Why? I don’t know. O yes, there are performances here and there, mostly made by students. But at the DNO? Matinee?
A pity, really, because not only is his music exceptionally beautiful (think of a combination of Mascagni and Britten), but the subjects he deals with in his (self-written) libretti are socially engaged and they address current topics.
A newspaper article of February 12, 1947 on the suicide of a Polish emigrant whose visa for the USA had been rejected, was seen by Menotti, who sadly remembered the fate of his Jewish friends in Austria and Germany (his own partner, the composer Samuel Barber, was also Jewish).
He took this sorry tale and used it as a basis for his first full-length opera. The subject has – unfortunately – lost none of its actuality and The Consul is and remains an opera that cuts right through your soul.
In 1960, it was produced for television, and that registration has been released on DVD by VAI (4266 ). In black and white, without subtitles (don’t be alarmed, there is very clear singing) and extremely dramatically portrayed by Jean Dalrymple.
How many operas can claim to have shot the world order hell by sparking a revolution and thereby creating an entirely new country?
The honour falls to La Muette de Portici, an opera almost forgotten today by an almost equally forgotten French composer Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (1782 – 1971).
The situation ignited during a performance at Brussels’ La Monnaie in 1830, a performance in honour of the birthday of King William I. The moment suprème came during an aria, in which one of the protagonists sang the text: “Holy patriotism, give us back our courage and pride. My life I owe to my country, it will owe its freedom to me.” The audience left the hall, took to the streets and voilà: the Kingdom of Belgium was born.
That La Muette is different from all other operas also has to do with the protagonist. The latter may be present but has no note to sing – poor fisherman’s girl Fenella is mute.
Anna Pavlova as Finella
She is seduced by the young Neapolitan count Alphonse, who then exchanges her for a better match: a Spanish princess Elvire. Fenella is imprisoned, escapes and – using only sign language – manages to attract Elvire’s attention and pity, turning her brother Masaniello into the destroying angel.
This also becomes the signal to spark an uprising against the hated rulers; after which everything that can go wrong does. Masaniello is poisoned, the revolt fails and Fenella finds self-death in the lava flow from Vesuvius. I can’t make it more logical for you, but that doesn’t matter, because the opera itself is more than delightful and provides you with more than two hours of pure listening pleasure.
La Muette is considered the first true ‘grand opéra’. That may also be why it was so rarely staged, given our long-standing condescending view of the phenomenon of ‘grand opéra’.
But the tide is turning. A few years ago, La Monnaie dared to include the opera in its repertoire. Unfortunately, their courage did not go so far as to include performances in Brussels.
Peter de Caluwe, the director of La Monnaie, said with that, “That was done deliberately. Staging the opera in Brussels now would not only be an artistic act, but also a political statement; it would be interpreted as a plea for Belgian unity at a politically precarious moment.”
In 2011, a German opera house, the progressive Anhaltisches Theater in Dessau, where the young Dutch conductor Antony Hermus, then Generalmusikdirektor, also staged the opera. The performances were recorded live by CPO. It was about time!
I knew of only one recording of the opera, with Alfredo Kraus, June Anderson, John Aler and Jean-Philipe Lafont conducted by Thomas Fulton (EMI not available anymore)). No one can match Alfredo Kraus’ elegant phrasing, but I still prefer Diego Torres’ more heroic sound. As Masaniello, he manages to convince much better. With him, you can practically hear the hormones coursing through his veins.
In his madness scene (yes, why not? Men are allowed to go mad too!), he sounds a lot like John Osborn.His high notes are not only spectacular but he also sings them at the top of his voice. Occasionally he sounds a little tired, but that doesn’t matter, especially in the context of the whole thing.
In “Mieux vaut mourir que rester misérable!”, from which the incendiary text thus comes, he is joined by Wiard Withold as Pietro. I also find him more interesting than Jean-Philipe Lafont on the Fulton (EMI) recording. It has now been recorded by CPO. It was about time
The young Dutch singer is at his best in the fifth act. His barcarolle “Voyez du haut de ces rivages” is particularly impressive. His lyrical baritone, meanwhile, has darkened a little without compromising on suppleness and lyricism, which goes without a hitch.
Angelina Ruzzafante is a wonderful Elvire. Her voice is light, supple and agile, her pitch beautiful and pure, and her vocal acting is perfect.Sometimes she reminds me of Cristina Deutekom, but without her oh-so-typical “staccato” (no offence!). It is about time the we get to hear the Dutch soprano on our stages too!
Oscar de la Torre (Alphonse) starts out weak – his tenor sounds a bit pinched – but in the fourth act he more than recovers. He is still young and – from the looks of it – inexperienced, but he will get there!
The chorus is formidable and I find Hermus’ tempi definitely better than Fulton’s.
Set design by Alfred Roller for ‘Der Traumgörge’. Vienna Court Opera 1907
“The fairy tales must become reality,” sings Görge, after his dream has been laughed at by the farmers and his fiancée Grete. And so it happens: Görge finds his dreamed princess in the form of Gertraud, cast out by the farmers, and his dream comes true.
Zemlinski has provided the story of Görge the dreamer and his search for the unattainable ideal with music of touching beauty. Sehnsucht, shimmering eroticism, symbolism …. You name it and you’ll find it. The work reminds me strongly of Szymanowski’s Król Roger, the same long, spun-out lines in the soprano aria, the same overwhelming choral parts, swelling orchestra. I love it.
Josef Protschka as Geörge:
Der Traumgörge (Leo Feld’s libretto after Richard von Volkmann-Leander’s fairytale ‘Vom unsichtbaren Königreich’ and Heine’s poem ‘Der arme Peter’) was meant by Zemlinsky as a tribute to his then beloved Alma. Due to circumstances, the opera was never performed during his lifetime; the first – considerably shortened – performance only took place in 1980.
The first complete recording from 1999 proves that the music is not to blame. The Cologne orchestra conducted by James Conlon alone deserves an A-plus and the soloists are absolutely sublime.
David Kuebler plays a beautiful Görge with a radiant height. His voice mixes the right amount of metal with sottovoce, which is necessary for this role.
Patricia Racette, then still a great unknown, is unearthly beautiful as Gertraud (her velvet tones in ‘Oh! Ich wil zu dir in die Welt’ are of a Korgoldian beauty) and Andreas Schmidt has enough of a peasant to be a convincing Hans. The live recording sounds excellent.
Just imagine: The world premiere of Der Traumgörge took place in Nuremberg in 1980 – almost 80 years after it was written. Find out more in this documentary by Staatsoper Hannover:
For me an absolute ‘numero uno’ is the 1966 recording by EMI (now Warner 0190295735913) under Sir John Barbirolli. One might imagine a more lyrical or alternatively a more dramatic Cio Cio San; one with less metal in her voice or maybe one with a more childlike voice. But no other singer was able to grasp the complex nature of the girl so well and to characterise her change from a naive child into an adult woman, broken by immense grief, so impressively
CLARA PETRELLA
At number two on my list is a 1953 Italian Rai recording (Urania URN22.311) starring Clara Petrella. This terribly underrated soprano is a very dramatic Butterfly, with an intensity that just makes you ache on listening. Feruccio Tagliavini’s sweet, lyrica
l voice evokes an atmosphere of songs by Tosti: this is a Pinkerton to fall in love with.
VICTORIA DE LOS ANGELES
At number three, another oldie: a recording recorded by EMI in 1954 and now reissued on Regis (RRC 2070) featuring Victoria de los Angeles and Giuseppe di Stefano. De los Angeles is a Butterfly with a childlike warmth, brittle, fragile. Hurting her feels like hurting the Madonna herself. This is where Giuseppe di Stefano with his very macho tenor fits wonderfully.
“The” sound. That is what Schreker was obsessed and fascinated by. A sound that died off on its own, but not really, because it had to keep resounding – if only in your mind. It had to be a pure sound, but one containing orgasmic desire and it should be intertwined with visions.
Sight & Sound Experience of Gustav Klimt – Atelier des lumières Paris
Of course, it also had to do with the spirit of that time; other artists too were experimenting with it, though perhaps not so fanatically. “The” sound, Schreker never let go of it, even when, at the end of his short life, he seemed to be going in a different direction.
This sound, which according to our chief conductor Marc Albrecht is “narcotic”, is abundant in Der Schatzgräber. It was Albrecht’s deepest wish to conduct the opera one day, a dream that came true in September 2012.
The making of Der Schatzgräber in Amsterdam:
And Albrecht is good at it, at creating the perfect sound. It still needs to be perfected, though, as the sound at the premiere was, especially at the beginning, far too loud. Fortunately, after the intermission it became more lyrical and softer, gently guiding you through the music, just like in Els’s stunning lullaby at the beginning of the third act.
About the staging, I can be brief: it sucks. In the first two acts I was still able to somewhat relate to the neglected, aggressive cult members (?). The beautiful Els resembled Catherine Deneuve in Belle de Jour, with her blonde wig and the very high heels under her short, sexy dresses. Something that was also a bit true for the Queen (good silent role by Basja Chanowski).
But the geriatric hospital/nursing home, with stumbling old people with walkers? Sorry, that didn’t even make me reflect; I found it ugly and unnecessary. And speaking of films, I was reminded a bit of Lars von Trier’s Breaking the Waves. The ultimate sacrifice.
The video projections were too much of a good thing for me. A lot of them also didn’t add anything at all or were just too obvious (white horse, children being born or a twinkling starry sky during the love night – Kubrick’s ‘2001 Odyssey’?). It made me restless. Schreker’s music has to be experienced, then the images will come naturally.
I do have to admit that van Hove kept reasonably to the libretto, there were very few discrepancies between what you saw and what you read. What he did do is translate the medieval fairy tale into our contemporary (hyper)realism, and that is alright. In his introduction, he said he did not want to start from a concept, what he wanted was to create a universal drama.
It was a first for everyone. For the director, for the conductor and for the orchestra. And for all the, more than outstanding singers. Hats off!
First of all, the interpreter of the title role, Raymond Very. His tenor is lyrical and agile, he just throws his high notes into the air as if they are very easy to sing, and he manages not to overpower himself with the, at times, very intense music. What a relief to enjoy the long Schrekerian arcs so completely in style. You may notice that he is struggling towards the end, but try to walk in his shoes! Three times BRAVO!
Manuela Uhl (Els) was also a bit spent towards the end. But her performance before that borders on the impossible. Beautiful woman with above-average acting skills and with a voice that went from whispery-soft to bellows and from very low to very high, chapeau.
Kay Stieferman made a particularly strong impression. His baritone is of an immense size and blessed with thousands of colour nuances. He certainly needed all those for Der Vogt, because there were so many emotions in this character. He managed to convey them all clearly, even allowing you to have some sympathy for his actions. Very impressive.
About Graham Clark (the Jester), I can be short. He was exactly what was expected of him – nothing but really wonderful!
Max Vredenburg (1904 -1976) werd geboren in Brussel en groeide op in een Nederlands-Joods gezin. Door de dreigende oorlog vluchtten ze naar Den Haag.
1922, na de middelbare school, ging hij werken voor een importbedrijf in gedroogd fruit, maar hij nam al snel ontslag. Zijn hart lag bij de muziek. Hij studeerde theorie en compositie aan het Haags Conservatorium bij Henri Geraedts, die hem adviseerde naar de École Normale de Musique in Parijs te gaan.
In 1926 en 1927 studeerde hij bij Paul Dukas en Albert Roussel, componisten die hem zeer hebben beïnvloed en die hem bij een van de belangrijkste uitgeverijen van die tijd, Editions Maurice Senart hetbben geïntroduceerd
In 1941 vluchtte hij naar Batavia en in 1942 belandde hij in de Jappenkamp. Hij heeft de oorlog overleefd maar een groot deel van zijn familie werd vermoord in Sobibor en Auschwitz.
Als componist liet hij een gevarieerd oeuvre na. Het Lamento componeerde hij in 1953 ter nagedachtenis van zijn zus Elsa.
Marcel Worms houdt zich een beetje schuil, zijn IJslandse collega alle eer gunnend om te brilleren. Maar ga maar goed luisteren en ervaar hoe ontzettend meevoelend zijn bijdrage is. Zoiets heet ‘partners in crime’, denk ik. Beter kan ik het niet omschrijven.
Vredenburg heeft ook muziek gecomponeerd voor de films van Bert Haanstra Spiegel van Holland:
En Panta Rhei:
Na de oorlog werkte Vredenburg als muziekrecensent voor bijna alle Nederlandse maar tegenwoordig is hij voornamelijk bekend als medeoprichter van het Nationale Jeugd Orkest.
My dear readers: you should know how important you all are. We music reviewers, we too are ego-trippers, just as much as novelists or psychologists. We do what we do because it helps us get rid of our problems. Or not.
Because you are all so faithful and take the trouble to read me (I hope), I am going to tell you a bit about myself. Also because I received ‘death threats’ following an interview (am I a BN now?) and got a bit ‘unheimlich’ about it.
Music is not a science, certainly not in the strict sense. There are no mathematical rules for it, although there were (and still are) plenty of ‘pioneers’ who claimed so. The result of their mathematical calculations was cacophony or just the opposite: the endlessly repeating sequence of three notes. I know there are plenty of enthusiasts for it and I grant them their pleasure. But now I want to talk to you about something that is still a taboo subject: sentiment.
When I was a 4-year-old girl, my parents ‘separated’. My violin-playing father took me to see Sviatoslav Richter, which naturally resulted in piano lessons. My mother loved operetta and since there was no one else to accompany her, I was taken along. I went along and I enjoyed myself. Still, more than 60 years later, I know most operettas by heart. In Polish, that is, because everything was translated back then.
Jan Kiepura and Martha Eggerth in the duet from Lehár’s Lustige Witwe. In Polish:.
Why am I telling you about it? Because I want to share with you what I call ‘my little sentimental journey’. On New Year’s Eve – sitting on the sofa in my heated home, with my cat beside me and glass of bubbles in hand – I listened and watched the operetta night from Dresden and I was overcome with melancholy and, well, longing for the old days. I felt like the four-year-old girl again and all I wished was that my mother could sit next to me and experience it too. Too bad there is no phone connection to the afterlife, otherwise I could call her: ‘Mom, you have to hear this!’
Below, Beczala sings ‘Freunde, das Leben ist lebenswert’ from Giuditta. Live recording from 2007:
Anyway. Now we’ll leave the sentiments and confine ourselves to the ‘product’. The annual ‘Christmas Operette Galas’ in Dresden are now famous and achieve high viewing figures. The Staatskapelle Dresden is conducted by none other than Christian Thielemann, and apart from Piotr Beczała, a soprano (or two) also take part.
In 2011, Angela Denoke and Ana Maria Labin were featured; in 2012, the scheduled Diana Damrau had to cancel at the last minute due to illness and was replaced by Ingeborg Schlöpff. Both Galas were released by DG in 2013: Kalmán (2012) on CD with a bonus Lehár from 2011 on DVD.
Angela Denoke & Piotr Beczala – Warum hat jeder Fruhling, ach, nur einen Mai (Franz Lehar):
That I rate the CD (why not on DVD?) slightly higher than the DVD has everything to do with my own preferences: I love Lehár insanely, but Kalmán has long since more than stolen my heart. ‘Weisst du es noch’ from the Csárdásfürstin did not leave my CD player (and my head) for days (and nights!).
Do you think it’s a weird review? So do I. But if you like operetta, no, if you like music and don’t shy away from sentiment, then go buy the box set. I assure you it will warm your heart.
De Maxim Shalygin concerten in Splendor en het Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ.
De heropgeleefde oorlog in Oekraïne was nog relatief ‘vers’, en het concert met muziek van de in Nederland gevestigde Oekraïense componist Shalygin door Ekaterina Levental en Antonii Baryshevskyi dreunde dan ook hoofd en lichaam in, met onder meer virtuoos door Ekaterina Levental liederen de tekst ‘Koterhuil teer gekreun vrouwenroep liedgelui wondepijn galmgegil klanken’ uit The Songs of Holy Fools uit 2009/2010 en beukend spel door Antonii Baryshevskyi in enkele van Shalygins solo-pianowerken.
Twee maanden later was er in het Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ een herneming van zijn Severade ofwel S I M I L A R uit 2021 en de première van Delirium ofwel S I M I L A R 4 voor 4 pianos. Ook al zo imponerend.
Beeldschoon was ook de uitvoering van de Missa Ecce Terrae Motus (de ‘aardbevingsmis’) van Antoine Brumel in een spectaculaire theatrale versie inclusief elektrische basgitaar door Graindelavoix in het Festival Oude Muziek, met plastische beelden, inclusief de verbeelding van het uiteenscheuren van de voorhang in het Heilige der Heiligen van de Jeruzalemse Tempel op het moment dat de steen voor het graf van Jezus spontaan wegrolt.
Recensie volgt.
Ook fraai was de reconstructie van het door hemzelf vlak voor zijn dood geprogrammeerde begrafenisritueel van ‘onze’ Karel V, uitgevoerd door het Franse ensemble La Tempête, ‘artists in residence’ van het festival.
Tannhäuser, regie Tobias Kratzer, gedirigeerd door Nathalie Stutzmann in de Bayreuther Festspiele, een ‘inclusieve’, hilarische en ontroerende opvoering. Stutzmann is een aanwinst als dirigent, misschien de geslaagdste transformatie van zanger(es) naar orkestleiding. Intussen een liefdevolle blik op de protagonist en Venus als ‘misfits’ tussen een rondreizende groep gelijkgezinde circusartiesten, waarbij uiteindelijk ook Elisabeth zich het meest thuisvoelt, temidden van een maatschappij vol beklemmende normen.
Parsifal derde acte, Heilige Landstichting Nijmegen, regie Marc Pantus en Merlijn Runial, muzikale leiding Andrea Friggi, bewerking: Hugo Bouma. Atmosferische opvoering van helaas alleen de derde acte in één van de meest Wagneriaanse kerken van Nederland, de art-deco en neo-orientalistische kerk van de Heilige Landstichting, met niet alleen Marc Pantus als een mooie Gurnemanz en Amfortas, maar ook een gloedvolle Frank van Aken in de titelrol. Hopelijk mag dit team zich ooit ergens aan het geheel wagen.
In Kaapstad zag ik Life & Times of Michael K door het Handspring Puppet Theatre, gebaseerd op de gelijknamige roman van J M Coetzee uit 1983. Deze voorstelling heeft ook al succesvol in de Ruhr-Triennale gestaan. Fraaie, subtiel gespeelde, half-nostalgische mengvorm van theater met levensgrote poppen en fysiek-menselijke acteurs, het handelsmerk van het Handspring Puppet Theatre.
Ik was ook onder de indruk van Dr Atomic door het studentenorkest uit Utrecht, de derde in hun serie grootschalige operavoorstellingen op een bijzondere locatie. Een enorme prestatie met een geweldig spelend orkest, passende solisten en een ‘gratis’ decor in een voormalige treinenfabriek, die toevallig net uitkwam vlak vóór de bioscoopfilm Oppenheimer, en die zich gemakkelijk staande hield tegen het Hollywood-vertoon en het budgetgeweld van de film.
Er was dit jaar een welkome explosie van uitvoeringen van de ‘black queer activist’ componist Julius Eastman, eerst in het Minimal Music Festival, en daarna in het Re:ply to all festival onder meer in een voormalige machinebouwloods in Amsterdam Noord. Onder meer indrukwekkend was de uitvoering van Gay Guerilla uit 1980 door Helena Basilova en Vivianne Cheng met een lichtontwerp van Boris Acket gecombineerd met elektronisch geluidsdecor van Danny van der Lugt in combinatie met een mime-act geïnspireerd door thema’s uit Eastmans werk, gevolgd door een hallucinante versie in het publiek tussen het lichtontwerp kon doorlopen, naast een versie van Femenine uit 1974 voor kamerensemble door het Doelen Ensemble.
Ik was erg onder de indruk van Das Rheingold, door het Royal Opera House Londen, in de streaming-versie voor bioscopen, regie Barrie Kosky, dirigent Antonio Pappano.
Ook al had hij de verfilming en streaming van opera-uitvoeringen artistiek in de ban gedaan, zijn enscenering van Das Rheingold bleek aan het aan Wagner toegeschreven (maar nooit door hem als zodanig benoemde) idee van het Gesammtkunstwerk een nieuwe dimensie toe te voegen, bijna als de ontdekking van de superpositie in de atomaire fysica. We zaten de treurige zwoegers van een Wotan, Erda, Freya, Fafner en Fasolt, Alberich, Mime en het gehele Nibelungenvolkje, prachtig om de tuin geleid door Loge Sean Panikkar, per close-up op millimeterafstand direct op de huid.
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead was de prachtige openingsvoorstelling van het Holland Festival, regie Simon McBurney, naar de roman van Olga Tokarczuk.
Een transcendente ervaring was er ook bij Euphoria, Julian Rosenfeldt, installatie in het Holland Festival. Video-documentaire annex spraak en muziektheater op 10 schermen.
Er zaten trouwens ook slechte voorstellingen in het Holland Festival, maar je weet het niet altijd van tevoren, maar van Bachae en Toshi Okada zou ik achteraf spijt hebben gehad als programmeur en bij Exotica waren de gekozen personages, ‘vergeten’ grootheden van niet-Westerse komaf uit de danswereld, interessanter dan de uitwerking. Maar dat werd goed gemaakt.
In de voorstelling Asinamali, te zien in het Grahamstown theater festival, Zuid-Afrik, spelen zes jonge vrouwen een oorspronkelijk door mannen uitgevoerde tekst uit de tijd van de Apartheid, over de wederwaardigheden van mannen en jongens in de townships en gesegregeerd Johannesburg, op zoek naar werk en, ja, bestaanszekerheid.
Het stuk uit 1988 is gebaseerd op gebeurtenissen rond een huurdersstaking in 1983 in de zwarte wijken van de gemeente Lamontville, waar geen werk was maar waar de door het regime vastgestelde huren exorbitant waren. Asinamali was de strijdkreet van het landelijk protest dat daarop volgde, Zulu voor “We hebben geen geld!”.
Er was nog veel meer moois in dat festival, zoals de prachtige drie-vrouwenshow, Text me when you arrive, Seventeen ways to prevent getting raped and killed as a woman in South Africa. Drie ongelooflijk energieke comédiennes die ook weer perfect messcherp meerstemmig zingen.
In het Afrovibesfestival in Amsterdam zat ook veel prachtigs zoals An Africa Bolero, maar vooral Afrikan Party, een uitermate energiek dans-theaterstuk met vier jonge mannen uit Nigeria, Ivoorkust en Zuid-Afrika, die hun ‘urban’ dansstijl gebruiken om hun verhaal te vertellen met humor, poëzie en levenskracht, en daarmee de rijkdom en diversiteit van het continent willen tonen.
Celliste Maya Fridman was weer te horen en zien in Into Eternity in de Posthoornkerk in Amsterdam, een eerbetoon aan de in Auschwitz vermoorde Vilma Grunwald, gebaseerd op de brief die zij kort voor haar dood schreef aan haar echtgenood, die Auschwitz overleefde, met componiste/pianiste Marion von Tilzer en verder onder meer alt Bella Adamova, Maya Fridman en het Belinfante Quartet. Bij het concert werd ook een CD gepresenteerd.
En in het Slot Zeist was er een bijzonder concert rond de Hongaars-Joodes Auschwitz-overlevende Éva Fahidi met bariton Benjamin Appl. Ze kon er zelf niet bij zijn. Naast liederen van componisten die in concentratiekampen verbleven en deels ook stierven was er ook muziek te horen van componisten die Éva Fahidi’s leven muzikaal hebben vormgegeven, zoals een wonderschoon ‘O du, mein holder Abendstern’ uit Tannhäuser, in een huiveringwekkend mooie bewerking door de pianist, Daan Boertien, met het Viride strijkkwartet.
Op de valreep was er in de Zaterdag Matinee de uitvoering van Mendelssohns Elias door het ‘authentieke uitvoeringspraktijk’ensemble Pygmalion, een uitvoering die over een jaar nog zal doorresoneren.
Radames was among Domingo’s favourite roles. No wonder. Here he could really ‘show it all’, because the hero is very complex. He is a ‘macho with a lot of muscles’ and a vulnerable boy at the same time, and he is torn between duty and passion. Unfortunately, the two are not compatible.
To sing Radames well you need not only a cannon of a voice but also an intellectual ability. And he has both.
He made his debut with Aida in 1968 in Hamburg and he has since sung the opera thousands of times. There are many recordings on the market, both studio and live. I would like to dwell on a recording that will not evoke an ‘aha’ moment for most of you – also because at first glance the cast is not idiomatically perfect.
The fact that Anna Tomowa-Sintow was one of Karajan’s favourite singers had its advantages and disadvantages. She was a welcome guest in Salzburg and her name appears on many recordings conducted by the maestro. But it also meant that she was primarily rated as a Mozart and Strauss singer, while she had so much more to offer. Her Desdemona and Amelia were legendary and after her Munich Aida, Leonie Rysanek praised her performance for its pure beauty.
Fassbaender is really surprising and particularly convincing as Amneris. Just listen to what she does with the single word ‘pace’ at the end of the opera. The opera was recorded by Bayeriche Rundfunk on 22 March 1979 and released on Orfeo (C583 022).
Also noteworthy is the recording from Munich 1972, with a now almost forgotten Verdi singer, Martina Arroyo. As Amneris, we hear Fiorenza Cossotto and Cappuccilli and Ghiaurov complete the excellent cast conducted by Claudio Abbado. The recording from Vienna 1973 (Bela Voce BLV 107.209), under Riccardo Muti, is also of particular interest. In the leading role we meet Gwyneth Jones and Amneris is sung by an exceptional mezzo: Viorica Cortez.
The recording from Vienna 1973 (Bela Voce BLV 107.209), under Riccardo Muti, is also of particular interest. In the leading role we meet Gwyneth Jones and Amneris is sung by an exceptional mezzo: Viorica Cortez.
Of Domingo’s studio recordings the 1970 RCA release (probably from the catalogue), is probably the best. How could it be otherwise, when you know that the conductor is Erich Leinsdorf and the other roles are sung by Leontyne Price, Sherrill Milnes, Grace Bumbry and Ruggero Raimondi. The whole thing almost pops out of your speakers.
Basia con fuoco 