The listener's gallery. - Free Online Library (2024)

Domingo at The Met: Anniversary

Edition. Placido Domingo, tenor/baritone. Anna Tomowa-Sintow, EvaMarton, Violeta Urmana, Mirella Freni, Renata Scotto, MontserratCaballe, Sharon Sweet, Roberta Peters, Adrianne Pieczonka, Fiamma IzzoD'Amico, soprano; Jean Kraft, Geraldine Decker, mezzo soprano;Marcello Giordani, Paul Groves, Allan Glassman, Phillip Booth, CharlesAnthony, John Horton Murray, tenor; Sherrill Milnes, Vladimir Chernov,Richard Bernstein, Allan Monk, Kim Josephson, Paolo Coni, Vern Shinall,baritone; Paul Plishka, John Macurdy, David Hamilton, James Morris,bass; James Levine, Yannick Nezet Seguin, Fausto Cleva, Carlo FeliceCillario, Kurt Adler, Leonard Slatkin, Giuseppe Patane, Nello Santi,Marco Armiliato, Roberto Abbado, George Schick, Giuseppe Sinopoli,Martin Rich, Louis Langree, Jean Morel, Vladimir Jurowski, Tan Dun,conductor; Metropolitan Opera Chorus, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.(Sony 88843031602; 77:44, 77:00, 77:54)

Verdi: "O inferno!... Sento avvampar nell'anima,""Plebe! Patrizi! Popolo dalla feroce storia" (SimonBoccanegra). "La donna e mobile," "Questa o quella"(Rigoletto). "Niun mi tema" (Otello).

"Fountainbleau! Foresta immensa e solitaria! ... Io lavidi" (Don Carlo). "Lunge da lei... De' miei bollentispiriti... O mio rimorso, infamia!" "Di Provenza il mar, ilsuol" (La traviata ). "Di' tu se fedele,""Forse la soglia attinse... Ma se m'e forza perditi" (Unballo in maschera. "Vidi dovunque gemere... Ah, v'appare infronte scritto" (Stiffelio ). "Se quel guerrier io fossi!...Celeste Aida" (Aida ). "La vita e inferno all'infelice...O tu che in seno agli angeli" (La forza del destino ). "Ah!si, ben mio, coll' essere ..." L'onda de' suonimistici... Di quella pira" (Il trovatore ). Puccini: "Nessundorma" (Turandot ). "Risparmiate lo scherno...Ch'ella micreda" (La fanciulla del West )."Marcello, Finalmente!"(La boheme ). "Cortese damigella...Donna non vidi mai" (ManonLescaut ). "Hai ben ragione! Meglio non pensare" (Il tabarro). "Dammi i colori!... Recondita armonia," "E lucevan lestelle" (Tosca ). Giordano: "Cittadino, men duol ...Come unbel di di maggio" (Andrea Chenier ). "La fante mi svelal'immondo ritrovo...Vedi, io piango" (Fedora ). Leoncavallo:"Recitar!...Vesti la giubba" (I pagliacci). Ponchielli:"Cielo e mar" (La gioconda ). Mascagni: "Compar Alfio...Mamma, quel vino e generoso" (Cavalleria rusticana ). Bellini:"Svanir le voci...Meco all'altar di Venere...Me protesse, medifende" (Norma ). Wolf-Ferrari: "Un orso in musoliera"(Sly ). Zandonai: "Inghirlandata di violette m'apparisteieri" (Francesca da Rimini ). Offenbach: "Va pourKleinzach!....Il etait une fois a la cour d'Eisenach" (Lescontes d'Hoffmann ). Gounod: "Quel trouble inconnu mepenetre?...Salut, demeure chaste et pure" (Faust ). Gluck:"Quel silence effrayant!...Dieux, qui me poursuirvez"(Iphigenie en Tauride ). Saint-Saens: "Vois ma misere, helas!"(Samson et Dalila ). Bizet: "La fleur que tu m'avaisjete" (Carmen ). Massenet: "Pourquoi me reveiller"(Werther ). Berlioz: "Inutiles regrets!... Ah! Quand viendral'instant" (Les Troyens ). Tchaikovsky: "Prosti,prelestnoe sozdanye" (The Queen of Spades ). Dun: "The shadowthat haunts me wherever I go" (The First Emperor ). Wagner:"Amfortas! Die Wunde!" (Parsifal ). "Ein Schwertverhie[beta] mir der Vater" (Die Walkure ). "In fernemLand....Mir schwanke der Boden!" (Lohengrin ).

The partnership of the Metropolitan Opera and Sony Classical hasallowed opera lovers everywhere to add classic Metropolitan Operabroadcasts to their personal collections that once upon a time wereavailable only in pirate editions of questionable technical quality orin authorized versions from the Met that one could secure only inexchange for a substantial financial contribution to the company. Underthis new agreement between the Met and Sony, at least twenty classic Metbroadcasts are now being sold to the public at perfectly reasonableprices, along with several different box sets that showcase some of thecompany's great performances of operas by Verdi and Wagner. Therewas also a three-disk set released to commemorate the Met's 125thanniversary, although it was almost inevitable that such a relativelymodest collection of broadcast highlights could not begin to encompassthe Met's rich history and probably caused far more consternationthan joy among opera's notoriously prickly fans. Consternationaplenty was also stirred up--especially among older opera fans--with therelease of the first Met/Sony recording devoted to a specific singer.Such an honor probably should have been given to a truly legendaryfigure in the company's history, or to a current singer who hadbeen with the Met for a significant amount of time. Instead, that firstsolo tribute was released to honor superstar soprano Anna Netrebko forher tenth anniversary with the company. That release received anenthusiastic review in this column (March 2012), which ended with a callfor the Met to extend such an honor to a more deserving artist in theevent that it released other collections of broadcast excerpts in thefuture.

As if by magic, that request has been answered in spectacularfashion. Domingo at the Met is a lavish, three-disk collection ofbroadcast excerpts that commemorates the 45th anniversary of the Metdebut of the legendary Placido Domingo. It was in September of 1968 thatthe handsome Spaniard made his Met debut by substituting on short noticefor Franco Corelli in Cilea's Adrianna Lecouvreur, opposite thebeloved soprano Renata Tebaldi. Everyone in the house that night had tosuspect that this was only the first of many performances this brightyoung tenor would give on that stage, but no one could have possiblyimagined the length and scope of the career that would follow. For morethan 40 years, Domingo would sing leading tenor roles at the Met rangingfrom bel canto to Wagner. No other tenor in the history of the company,nor any other singer for that matter, could claim that kind oflongevity. What is just as astonishing is how Domingo is now extendinghis enormous legacy as an artist by ably performing several leadingbaritone roles, with more to come. It is a feat that almost certainly isunprecedented in modern operatic history, and one can scarcely imaginehow singers in the future will come even remotely close to matching it.

The collection at hand is a sensibly assembled selection ofbroadcast highlights that chronicle most of the 48 different roles thatDomingo has sung at the Met. The first disk is devoted entirely to theoperas of Verdi, whose music has been central to Domingo's careeralmost from the beginning. In addition to sampling such staples asOtello, Luisa Miller, Rigoletto, and La forza del destino, we are alsoable to hear Domingo assume both tenor and baritone roles in SimonBoccanegra and La traviata. The second disk features operas by GiacomoPuccini such as Turandot, Manon Lescaut, Tosca, and La fanciulla delWest, along with other Italian operas of the 19th century, such as Lagioconda, I pagliacci, Cavalleria rusticana, and Andrea Chenier. Thethird disk begins with such French fare as Les contes d'Hoffmann,Faust, Carmen, and Samson et Dalila. After that come single excursionsof Russian with Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades and English withTan Dun's The First Emperor, before the disk ends withWagner's Parsifal, Die Walkure, and Lohengrin. All one has to do isglance over that list of operas to get a sense of Domingo's amazingversatility.

What is most intriguing about this collection is to hear how thecharacter of Domingo's voice changes with these various languagesand styles. His approach to his German roles is profoundly distinct fromhis approach to Verdi, for instance, and the shift of timbre is quitestriking even as the essential sound remains unmistakable. It is also abit surprising when one compares the earliest recordings in thiscollection with those from later years. Domingo's voice in the 1969broadcast of Tosca is a honey-hued, smoothly-produced sound that isundeniably lovely, if occasionally a bit bland and generic. Within adecade, however, one detects a more interesting and complex combinationof colors, if also a loss of ease at the top. Perhaps even moresignificant is Domingo's deepening skills as a communicator. It isnot that his earlier performances are devoid of expressiveness, but withthe passage of time comes a more vivid sense of connection to eachcharacter and his unique emotional life.

One must appreciate how this collection is more than just apredictable cavalcade of greatest hits. Yes, there are plenty offamiliar bon-bons to enjoy, but one also appreciates the inclusion ofexcerpts from Wolf-Ferrari's Sly, Zandonai's Francesca daRimini, and Giordano's Fedora, all of which show Domingo in topform. It's also a commendable choice someone made not to limit thisto arias that would showcase Domingo only; what a disservice that wouldhave been to an artist who has long prided himself and has been almostuniversally regarded as an exceptionally generous colleague. We aretreated to several different samples of Domingo's many memorablecollaborations with soprano Renata Scotto, as well as briefer encounterswith Mirella Freni, Roberta Peters, and--in a spectacular Il trovatorebroadcast from 1973--Montserrat Caballe. Sadly, there is almost nothinghere to commemorate the many occasions when Domingo joined forces withbaritone Sherrill Milnes or mezzo soprano Tatiana Troyanos. But thecollection ends in splendid fashion with a sixteen-minute excerpt from a1985 Lohengrin broadcast in which we are treated to the enchanting Elsaof Anna Tomowa-Sintow and the searing Ortrud of Eva Marton. It is afeast of powerful and expressive singing that reminds us of how thegreatest artists make everyone around them sound even better. Domingohas long been such an artist, and this spectacular collection is aworthy tribute to his unmatched career.

There are no texts, but the booklet does contain a brief essay byMet general manager Peter Gelb, as well as a list of the 48 rolesDomingo had sung at the Met at the time this recording was released. Bythe time this review appears in print, Domingo will have added another:Don Carlo in Verdi's Ernani. This amazing odyssey continues.

It's always artistically invigorating to encounter littleknown yet noteworthy repertoire, but it's a special treat whenthose rarities come from an obscure composer with a not-so-obscure name.The music of Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel charms us in its own right, but italso brings us into close artistic proximity to her more famous brotherFelix. Clara Schumann's music brings honor to her own musicalstature while also broadening the considerable legacy of her husbandRobert. Any devotee of Richard Wagner is likely to be fascinated by theoperas of his son Siegfried, however variable their merit might be. Fromthe father of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to the daughter of RichardRodgers, music history is peppered with examples of composers strivingto create their own unique artistic contribution while tethered to theconsiderable legacy of whoever is their more illustrious namesake.Needless to say, such name recognition tends to be both a blessing and acurse, but one hopes it ends up being more the former than the latter.

This recording presents songs by one such composer who bears afamous name, yet whose own music is almost completely unknown to us.Elsa Respighi (born Elsa Olivieri-Sangiacomo) was a gifted and promisingsinger when she enrolled in the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia, butsomeone who had only dabbled in composition. The most famous member ofthe conservatory's faculty, Ottorino Respighi, was convinced thatthe young singer had a significant gift for composing and convinced herto devote herself to it in a way she never had before. Eventually, theirmutual admiration evolved from afFection to love and the two were wed in1919. They were happily married until Ottorino's death in 1936 atthe age of 56. Elsa outlived her husband by sixty years before dying atthe age of 101, but the vast majority of her time and energy was spentchampioning her husband's music rather than writing her own. One isreminded of Clara Schumann, who outlived Robert by forty years, but whoscarcely wrote a single note of music in those four decades, for fear(one assumes) of stealing focus from the music of the man to whom shewas so relentlessly devoted. Elsa Respighi was not quite so silent, butthe promise demonstrated in the eleven songs on this new recording makesus wish that she had found the time and will to craft far more musicthan she did.

The liner notes to this release do not clearly spell out whether ornot these eleven songs are all that she composed. We are told that allof her published songs were written during her student days except fortwo that she composed just after her husband's death. She composedcantatas and several operas (one of which was left incomplete) andhelped finish one of her husband's operas after his death. Herlegacy also includes a handful of recordings in which she sang some ofher husband's songs, including the popular "Nebbie." Thevoice was not exceptionally rich and it could turn tremulous, but shesang with commendable legato and generous emotionality. One senses thatsame openhearted expressiveness in the songs she herself composed, aswell as her assured understanding of how the voice works.

This recording opens with Tre canzoni su testi spagnoli, which soimpressed Professor Respighi that he personally submitted them to thegreatest music publisher of the time, Ricordi; these became Elsa'sfirst published songs. The first text is from Argentine poet RafaelObligado's epic poem "Santos Vega," which recounts thegrief and bewilderment of a woman whose lover, a troubadour, has died.Elsa Respighi's music captures that grief in the throbbing pulse ofthe accompaniment and the spare, wandering melodic line. The second songis quite zesty and lively, even though its text speaks of lostopportunity when love comes knocking on one's door and no oneanswers. Elsa Respighi taps into the volatility of the text with greateffectiveness. The third song is based on a traditional Flamenco poem inwhich a woman, while singing her child to sleep, reveals that thechild's father has been unfaithful. The song is full of achingdissonance and has a languorous pace that befits someone caught in thevortex of bitter resignation. Upon hearing this song, one would scarcelyimagine that it was written by a young woman who had presumably tastedvery little if any such black despair in her own life. It suggests thatElsa Respighi was an uncommonly imaginative and sensitive composer. Nowonder her teacher was so taken with her and so appreciative of hertalents.

In addition to these songs in Spanish, there are two settings ofFrench texts that are astonishingly assured and provide some of the mostdramatic climaxes on the disk. The second of the two songs,"Berceuse Bretonne," is especially moving. It features yetanother lullaby, but this one is sung by a mother whose husband has goneto sea; she fears for his safe return and already dreads the day whenher little boy might grow up to follow his father to the perils of thesea. The searing pain of uncertainty is poignantly conveyed in theplaintive shaping of the melodic line and in the surging urgency withwhich it moves. As for the earliest songs here in Italian, they actuallytransport us far from the composer's native land, as so manymusical works of this era did. Elsa Respighi's attempts to evokethe atmosphere and musical flavor of the Far East are not especiallysophisticated or authentic, but they're every bit as effective asthe work of Richard Rodgers several decades later in his colorful scoreto The King and I. Finally, we hear two rather melancholy songs thatElsa Respighi composed sometime after her husband's death. They areas lovely as they are touching, and one cannot help regretting that shedidn't write many more songs than these.

Rounding out this disk is music from two other female composers whoseem to have relatively little in common with Elsa Respighi aside fromgender, except perhaps for a certain emotional generosity andopenheartedness, qualities that suit soprano Tanya Kruse Ruck very wellindeed. Modesta Bor (1926-1998) was a Venezuelan musician of many gifts,and her two songs included here are every bit as tantalizing as those byRespighi that precede them. They reveal a distinctive musical voice thatwe want to know more. (It's a shame that the liner notes tell us solittle about her or about these songs.)

Last but certainly not least is a song cycle by Lori Latiman, oneof the finest song composers before the public today. Days and Nights isher second song cycle and was written to texts by several differentpoets, including Robert Browning, Christina Rosetti, and EmilyDickinson. The cycle was not composed with any narrative thread bindingthe songs together, but simply as a way to provide, in thecomposer's words, "glimpses of life." The first song, asetting of the famous words "Grow old along with me, the best isyet to be," by Robert Browning, is vintage Laitman, with lush, warmlines that elevate this already beautiful poetry to even more powerfulexpressiveness. On the other hand, the saucy fun of "Over theFence," "They Might Not Need Me," and "WildNights" is also vintage Laitman, thanks especially to her trademarkmastery of playful rhythmic interplay and her fearless flair forflamboyant melodic gestures and climaxes.

Fortunately, the formidable challenges of all of these songs areentrusted to as amply gifTed and skilled a singer as soprano Tanya KruseRuck. Her instrument is sizable enough for her to have triumphed inoperatic roles like Cio-Cio San and Suor Angelica, but her singingconsists of far more than streams of gleaming, glorious tone. She alsohas the kind of formidable technique that affords her exceptionaldynamic range and vocal flexibility for even the most delicate andplayful songs in this collection. Occasionally one might wish for thetone to be a tad purer or for the intonation to be more pristine, butthose minor complaints are but a footnote to the main story here. Thisis stupendous singing. Pianist Elena Abend is her brilliantcollaborator, one can scarcely imagine these songs being played any moreskillfully or persuasively. One especially marvels at how well shedelivers the thunderous climaxes in the biggest Laitman songs, yet alsomanages to play the most impressionistic of the Respighi songs withcrystal clear delicacy. She is more than equal to any and all challengesthese songs present, and she and her colleague are a most impressivepair.

About the only complaint that can be made about this release isthat the liner notes are not of the same calibre as these marvelousperformances. The essay on Elsa Respighi presents its information inconfusing fashion while never spelling out whether these eleven songsare all that she wrote, all that were published, or just a modestsampling of a larger body of work. Elsa's marriage to Ottorino ismentioned so haphazardly that one might actually miss that bit ofinformation the first time around, and we're told very little abouttheir relationship. The notes mention the fact that she was also awriter of fiction and nonfiction without telling us anything more thanthat. Perhaps this frustration is borne of the fact that ElsaRespighi's songs are truly intriguing, and we are left wanting toknow more of her music and more about the elusive genius who created it.Certainly, the superlative performances on this recording are animportant first step in bringing her legacy into the spotlight where itbelongs.

Full texts and translations are included.

Lori Laitman is the main headliner in Experience, a stunning newrelease by soprano Natalie Mann and pianist Jeffrey Panko that featuresthree Laitman song cycles plus two cycles by Richard Pearson Thomas.Collections that feature nothing but contemporary art songs cansometimes be wearying affairs that leave one's head spinning withbewilderment. This collection avoids that by presenting a wiselyselected mix of songs that are fresh and wide-ranging yet somehowcohesive. Moreover, every song here seems to suit these two musiciansperfectly; the fact that there was close collaboration with bothcomposers in the preparation of this disk surely has something to dowith that.

Natalie Mann is a very talented up-and-coming singer whose resumeincludes a triumphant debut at Carnegie Hall and an Encouragement Awardfrom the Metropolitan Opera. Contemporary music appears to be theprimary focus of her artistic energies, but her lovely sound seems tohave served her well in the music of Mozart, Verdi, and Puccini, amongothers. Hers is a gleaming, shimmering sound that seems to emerge withlittle or no effort, floating on a seemingly inexhaustible stream ofbreath. One must especially appreciate the flawless legato line withwhich she sings even the most difficult of these songs, and the easywarmth with which she rides the highest climaxes. Here and there thediction leaves something to be desired, but that's not exactly anuncommon complaint when dealing with modern art song. For the most part,however, Mann is a clear and expressive communicator who sings thesesongs with care and affection. Pianist Jeffrey Panko is her able andattentive partner.

The disk opens with Lori Laitman's very first song cycle,Metropolitan Tower & Other Songs, which she wrote in 1992 at therequest of soprano Lauren Wagner, a good friend and former Interlochenroommate. Laitman had done a fair amount of composing by that point, buthad written almost no art songs at all and was understandablyintimidated at the prospect of failing in her first attempt in thegenre. What seems to have sustained her through her initial fears wasthe beauty of Sara Teasdale's exquisite poetry, and thecycle's opening song, "The Metropolitan Tower," cametogether with amazing rapidity and ease. This gentle gem belongs on anylist of the finest art songs of the last thirty years. "A WinterNight," which follows it, paints a haunting picture of howone's own sadness is akin to being out in the cold, both in thestark phrases of the singer's melody and the pungent accompanimentagainst which it is laid. "Old Tunes" is a poignant reflectionon how our sweetest memories are ultimately elusive, and that past joysreally cannot be fully tasted again. "I know the laughter and thepain," writes Teasdale, "of times that will not comeagain." Laitman, even as an inexperienced song composer, knewenough to let this text sing its own melody. Her music here, as in somany of her other songs, is not an intruder, but rather a welcomepartner that helps an already beautiful text take wing. "The StrongHouse" and "The Hour" are similarly haunting songs, butLaitman's chooses to end the cycle with the saucy fun of "To aLoose Woman," a brilliant choice. This is the first recording ofthe complete cycle, and it is a stunning performance by singer andpianist alike.

Sunflowers was commissioned by Dr. Adelaide Whitaker as a gift forher former teacher, Thomas Hause. Laitman calls this "one of mymost complex song cycles," and says that it took her nine months tocomplete it, even though it consists of only three songs. Surely thatcomplexity sprang from the intriguing, multi-hued, nature-inspired textsof Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver, and Laitman responds with anexceptionally wide palette of colors and textures. This cycle poses someof the steepest challenges for the soprano, but her technique serves herwell. In This Short Life also consists of three songs, but their totallength is about a third as long as Sunflowers, and their emotional andpoetic range is a bit more modest in scope. But there is a staggeringamount of beauty and profundity in these sublime miniatures, each ofwhich features the incomparable poetry of Emily Dickinson. Two of thesongs were birthday presents for the composer's mother, while thethird was a birthday present for her father, which might help explainthe highly personal nature of these songs. As is so often the case,Laitman has an unfailing ability to grasp the central essence of each ofthese poems and to express that essence in musical terms that seem fullyauthentic and perfectly true to Dickinson's unique voice andvision. Art song composition does not get much better than this, andMann and Panko are inspired to some of their most sensitive music-makingin the entire release.

The other composer featured in this recital, Richard PearsonThomas, may not be quite as well known to NATS members, but this Montananative is rapidly making a name for himself, not only as a composer, butalso as an innovative force for drawing young people into music. Hismusic has a rhapsodic vitality to it, even in his quietest songs, and adisarming sense of spontaneity that draws us into each piece. He writesvery effectively for the voice and also knows how to set lyrics withclarity and sensitivity. His cycle Twilight features three texts byChristina Rosetti, whose colorful and evocative poetry seems a perfectfit for Thomas's warm hearted and impassioned music. Similarly,these songs seem to bring out the best in Natalie Mann's singing;she seems to know exactly how to caress these beautifully sculptedphrases, and Jeffrey Panko provides the lush, flowing foundation overwhich she can soar. In the cycle At Last, to be Identified!, Thomas setsthe slightly more austere texts of Emily Dickinson, but his musicsomehow works just as well as it does with Rosetti's more lavishpoetry. By the way, it is in songs like "What if I say I shall notwait!" that Panko must deliver some of the most astonishingpianistic fireworks heard in the entire disk. He is a fearless pianistand his partner responds in kind with singing that is downrightthrilling.

Biographies are included for the performers as well as the twocomposers, but almost no information is given about any of the worksthemselves. Full texts are included.