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[INDEX]
CD Reviews: Von Otter 's Offenbach, Cluytens's Contes d'Hoffman, Thibaudet's Satie, Bjoerling on Naxos, Gilles's Messe des Morts (Archiv Blue), etc.
By Philip Anson / January 16, 2003
On the Aisle |  |
Anne Sofie von Otter Sings Offenbach
Minkowski/Les Musciens du Louvre
Deutsche Grammophon 289 471 501-2 (70.02)
4 stars $$$
Swedish mezzo Anne Sofie von Otter follows up her album of art songs by
French composer Cécile Chaminade with this generous and charming selection
of arias, duos and ensembles from eleven of Jacques Offenbach’s operas.
Here are favorites like “Ah, que j’aime les militaires” from La Grande-Duchesse
de Gérolstein, the Barcarolle from Les Contes d’Hoffman, and “Amours divins”
from La Belle Hélène, as well an oddities like the Ballade and Duo from
Fantasio (1872), the Symphonie de l’avenir from Le Carnaval des Revues
(1860), the Alphabet Sextet from Madame l’Archiduc (1874), and the hilarious,
politically incorrect Alsatian duet from Lischen et Fritzchen (1863).
Von Otter kindles her usually cool instrument until it gives off Gallic
sparks, sounding saucy, ironic, larmoyante, and even yodelling, as required.
She is well partnered by tenor Gilles Ragon in the rataplan numbers. Marc
Minkowski and the original instrument band Les Musciens du Louvre, better
known for playing Handel than Offenbach, provide crisp, idiomatic accompaniment.
Recorded live at Paris’s Théâtre du Châtelet, the program is noiseless
save for laughter during the La Périchole Drunk Song. An album sure to
leave you humming.
Offenbach: Les Contes d’Hoffman
Cluytens/ Orchestra and Chorus of Opéra-Comique, Paris
Naxos 8.110214-15 (2 CD-129.49)
5 stars $
 This
first commercial recording of Offenbach’s opera Les Contes d’Hoffman,
made by French Columbia in March 1948, remains a uniquely authentic example
of a style of French singing that one rarely if ever hears on the stage
today. The all-French / Francophone cast is stunning in its clear, plangent
singing and crystalline diction. Quebec tenor Raoul Jobin is a charming,
personable Hoffman. The vibrant mezzo Fanély Révoil is a pert Nicklausse.
Soprano Renée Doria spins stunning, flute-like coloratura and killer trills
as Olympia. Vina Bovy is a noble Giulietta. Soprano Géory-Boué is a sunny
voiced Antonia. The villains are well sung by Louis Musy, André Pernet,
Charles Soix, and Roger Bourdin. The actor Bourvil takes the semi-sung
comic roles. The orchestra is robust, spirited, but disciplined under
André Cluytens. The chorus is rollicking, superb. Remastered from 78-rpm
sides by Ward Marston, the sound is remarkably clear and noise free. Previously
available at full price on French EMI and Preiser, this is a treasurable
bargain, a must for every opera lover.
The Magic of Satie
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano
Decca 470 290 2 (78.37)
5 stars $$$
 This
is a delectable teaser for French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet’s recording
of Satie’s complete piano music, to be released next year. Contrary to
Thibaudet’s rather flashy and superficial past musical tendencies, his
Satie is serious, respectful, and thoughtful. To his credit, Thibaudet
does not flee the influence of the Italo French pianist Aldo Ciccolini
and his classic set of EMI recordings from the 1980s. In fact, Thibaudet’s
tempos and phrasings are similar enough to read as an homage to Ciccolini.
In any case, Thibaudet’s slow, deliberate left hand and his delicate,
poetic right hand work together like wave and water. Flashes of beauty
illuminate every piece on this album: the beautiful poured gold phrasing
of the second Gnossienne, the tearful melody of the fifth Gnossienne,
the musical hall gaiety of Je te veux, and the ragtime Le Piccadilly.
Rarities on this disc include world premiere recordings of several posthumously
published works: the Seventh Gnossienne (1891), the Angora Ox (1901?),
L’Enfant de Ko-Quo (1913), Cinq Grimaces (1915), and La Belle Excentrique
(1920). The recording, made in St. George’s Church, Bristol, England in
2001, sounds limpid and cosy.
Essential Debussy
Deutsche Grammophon 289 472 2 (2 CD-153.15)
3 stars $
 A
double CD compilation of orchestral and instrumental greatest hits by
French composer Claude Debussy from the back catalogues of Decca and Deutsche
Grammophon. Highlights include sparkling excerpts from Nocturnes played
by Claudio Abbado and the Boston Symphony, the Montreal Symphony’s refined
Children’s Corner, and extensive piano music such as Preludes, Images,
and Estampes played by legends like Arrau, Bolet, Thibaudet, and Richter.
This is a sampler of stars playing familiar works, hence it is enjoyable
but not “essential.”
Bjoerling: Complete Opera and Operetta Recordings Vol. 1
Jussi Bjoerling, tenor
Naxos 8.110722 (70.59)
4 stars $
 Naxos
is starting its series of complete recordings by Swedish tenor Jussi Bloerling
(1911-1960) with his early recordings, starting in 1930 when he made his
Swedish Royal Opera debut. The opera arias here - from all the popular
operas by Verdi, Puccini, Leoncavallo, et al. - are charming and impressive.
The operetta selections - from forgettable potboilers plus a few masterpieces
by Léhar and Offenbach - are skippable. Bjoerling’s sunny, clear voice
was never fresher or more delightful. The downside is that the whole disk
is sung in Swedish. The transfers from 78s made by Skandinaviska Grammophon
AB and restored by Stefan Lindström (not the usual Naxos wizards Marston
and Obert-Thorn) are bright, forward and remarkably clear with little
surface noise. This CD is worth getting for completeness sake, since you
will definitely want the rest of the series.
Beethoven: Symphony No. 6
De Sabata / Santa Cecilia Academy Orchestra
Naxos 8.110859 (71.07)
3 stars $
 This
CD contains all of the early recordings for Italian Parlophone by Italian
conductor De Sabata (1892-1967), who slipped into obscurity in the late
fifties. The recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, made in 1947, has
a stately first movement and a melodically pleasant second. The Santa
Cecilia Academy Orchestra is competent, the sound adequate for the era.
Stravinsky’s Fireworks, Op. 4, recorded in 1933 by the Turin Orchestra,
is a curiosity muffled by limited sonics. Glazunov’s folkloric Op. 79
is amusing. De Sabata’s own Juventus (1919) is turgid, Straussian movie
music. Collectors and historians will be glad to have this but the general
music buff can skip it, since the interpretations are surpassed elsewhere,
more recently, in better sound.
Jean Gilles: Messe des Morts (Requiem)
Herreweghe/Collegium Vocale
DG Archive Blue 471 722 2 (48.47)
4 stars $
 French
composer Jean Gilles’s Messe des Morts is theatrical sacred music influenced
by Lully and the aesthetic values of 17th-century Versailles. Herreweghe’s
1981 recording, made in the Church of the Carmelites in Ghent, Belgium,
was the first historically informed recording based on Gilles’s original
light intrumentation, without the oboes, horns, trumpets, and tympani
which were added for pompous memorial performances given in honour of
Rameau in 1764, and at the funeral of Louis XV in 1774. The Musica Antiqua
Köln play smoothly and precisely, the choir and soloists are clear and
dry. Corrette’s Carillon des Morts, a string/flute/organ simulacrum of
ringing church bells, fills out this short but enjoyable disc.
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