Notes and Editorial Reviews
THE OPERA GALA
•
Marco Armiliato, cond; Anna Netrebko (sop);
1
El?na Garan?a (mez);
2
Ramón Vargas (ten);
3
Ludovic Tézier (bar);
4
Southwest German RSO
•
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 1038209 (DVD: 138:00) Live: Baden-Baden 7/2007
BELLINI
Norma:
Read more
Sinfonia;
Mira, O Norma;
1,2
Casta diva.
1
I puritani:
Or dove fuggo . . . Ah! per sempre . . . Bel sogno beato.
4
BIZET
Les pêcheurs de perles:
Au fond du temple saint.
3,4
Carmen:
Toreador Song.
4
CHAPÍ
Las hijas del Zebedeo:
Al pensar en el dueño de mis amores.
2
DELIBES
Lakmé:
Flower Duet.
1,2
DONIZETTI
L’elisir d’amore:
Una furtive lagrima.
3
LEHÁR
Giuditta:
Meine Lippen, sie küssen so heiss.
1
PUCCINI
La bohème:
O soave fanciulla.
1,3
ROSSINI
La cenerentola:
Nacqui all’afanno e al pianto;
2
La danza.
3
SAINT-SAËNS
Samson et Dalila:
Bacchanale. Mon coeur s’ouvre à ta voix.
2
VERDI
Don Carlo:
E lui! . . . Dio, che nell’alma infondere;
3,4
Morte di Rodrigo.
4
Luisa Miller:
Oh! Fede negar potessi . . . Quando le sere.
3
Rigoletto:
Bella figlia dell’ amore.
1,2,3,4
La traviata:
Brindisi
1,2,3,4
Well, it was a star-studded night last July in old Baden-Baden. Or perhaps a couple of nights. With one or possibly two exceptions, all the big arias, duets, and quartets are here. You name it, loud and fast, here they all are. This is the sort of chestnuts concert I usually try to avoid, which suggests that there is a “but” coming up. The “but” is that it is all wonderfully done.
These are the younger generation, in early- or mid-career, who have begun appearing everywhere, and, to judge by this showing, with good reason. To be sure, there is still interpretational work to be done, but it is hard to judge that accurately from an excerpt in a concert as opposed to hearing it in the proper dramatic context. Indeed, it is really only in the five end-of-the-evening numbers that the singers loosen up and start using the whole stage. For instance, the opening number, the duet “Mira, O Norma,” did not generate much excitement and Netrebko’s later “Casta diva” didn’t quite take off, but this may have been due in part to Armiliato’s somewhat rigid conducting. It is quite a voice, however, and in her extra number, “Meine Lippen,” she quite brought down the house, kicking off her shoes, bouncing all over the stage and tossing flowers to men in the front rows. True, one is supposed to like such antics, but it showed that she has real flesh and blood in her.
El?na Garan?a is definitely the mezzo to watch. She is elegant, has an insouciant smile, and a voice as smooth as silk. Her lowest register is not as big as, say, Marilyn Horne’s, but it is a unified sound from top to bottom; she uses it intelligently, and it is a great pleasure to listen to. Her “Mon coeur” suggested that Dalila almost believed what she was telling Samson, and Chapí’s
carceleras
, “Al pensar,” was a great hit.
Ramón Vargas’s career is already in full swing as a
bel canto
tenor. Coming early on the program, his tear was perhaps not quite as furtive as one would like, but he warmed up during the show and the
scena
from
Luisa Miller
, “Quando le sere al placido,” was most satisfying.
I had not heard baritone Ludovic Tézier before. He is a straightforward, no frills singer; though his voice is not large, it is pleasing to hear. Where he really came alive was in the
Don Carlo
duet with Vargas, which had real fire, largely because he had someone to interact with.
If you are going to have an opera-chestnuts evening on your DVD shelf, this is the one.
FANFARE: Alan Swanson
DVD-VIDEO NTSC
STEREO: PCM / SURROUND: DTS 5.1
Picture Format: 16:9
Filmed in High Definition
Subtitles: Italian/English/German/French/Spanish/Chinese Read less
Works on This Recording
1.
Lakmé: Viens, Mallikŕ...Sous le dôme épais "Flower Duet" by Léo Delibes
Performer:
Elina Garanca (Mezzo Soprano),
Anna Netrebko (Soprano)
Conductor:
Marco Armiliato
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1883; France
2.
L'Elisir d'Amore: Una furtiva lagrima by Gaetano Donizetti
Performer:
Ramón Vargas (Tenor)
Conductor:
Marco Armiliato
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1832; Italy
3.
Les pęcheurs de perles: Au fond du temple saint by Georges Bizet
Performer:
Ramón Vargas (Tenor),
Ludovic Tézier (Baritone)
Conductor:
Marco Armiliato
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1863; France
4.
Norma: Casta diva by Vincenzo Bellini
Performer:
Anna Netrebko (Soprano)
Conductor:
Marco Armiliato
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1831; Italy
5.
Don Carlos: Io morrň, ma lieto in core by Giuseppe Verdi
Performer:
Ramón Vargas (Tenor),
Ludovic Tézier (Baritone)
Conductor:
Marco Armiliato
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1867/1884; Italy
6.
Samson et Dalila, Op. 47: Mon coeur s'ouvre ŕ ta voix by Camille Saint-Saëns
Performer:
Elina Garanca (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Marco Armiliato
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1877; France
7.
Rigoletto: Bella figlia dell' amore [Quartet] by Giuseppe Verdi
Performer:
Anna Netrebko (Soprano),
Ramón Vargas (Tenor),
Elina Garanca (Mezzo Soprano),
Ludovic Tézier (Baritone)
Conductor:
Marco Armiliato
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1851; Italy
8.
Luisa Miller: Oh! Fede negar potessi by Giuseppe Verdi
Performer:
Ramón Vargas (Tenor)
Conductor:
Marco Armiliato
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1849; Italy
9.
La Bohčme: O soave fanciulla by Giacomo Puccini
Performer:
Ramón Vargas (Tenor),
Anna Netrebko (Soprano)
Conductor:
Marco Armiliato
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1896; Italy
10.
Las Hijas del Zebedeo: Carceleras by Ruperto Chapí (y Lorente)
Performer:
Elina Garanca (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:
Marco Armiliato
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra
11.
Carmen: Votre toast je peu vous le rendre "Toreador Song" by Georges Bizet
Performer:
Ludovic Tézier (Baritone)
Conductor:
Marco Armiliato
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1873-1874; France
12.
La traviata: Libiamo ne' lieti calici "Brindisi" by Giuseppe Verdi
Performer:
Anna Netrebko (Soprano),
Ramón Vargas (Tenor),
Elina Garanca (Mezzo Soprano),
Ludovic Tézier (Baritone)
Conductor:
Marco Armiliato
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1853; Italy
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