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Reflet – Sandrine Piau sings French orchestral songs

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I know Sandrine Piau principally as a singer of Baroque and Classical music, but she has recently been venturing into the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and this is the second disc in a series, which began with a disc of orchestral songs by Strauss, Berg and Zemlinsky entitled Clair-Obscur. The notes accompanying the disc tell us that that earlier disc sought to explore “the confrontation between shadow and light,” whilst this one “evokes the nuances and transparencies of the French mélodie.”

Essentially what we have here is a nicely put together programme of French orchestral song, starting with Berlioz and taking us through to Britten’s early Ravelian Quatre chansons Françaises via Duparc, Koechlin, Debussy and Ravel himself. The programme is not long (under an hour) and is fleshed out with André Caplet’s orchestration of Debussy’s Clair de lune and Ernest Ansermet’s of the sixth of his 6 Epigraphes antiques. Admirably as the orchestra plays throughout under Verdier, these add very little to the programme and I would have welcomed more songs, maybe something by Chausson, Delage or Canteloube, or more by Koechlin, who is not so well represented in the catalogue. If I’m honest, I prefer the Debussy items in their original piano guise. Unlike Ravel’s orchestrations of his own piano pieces, the arrangements don’t really improve on the originals.

The Koechlin songs were new to me, and I rather wish Piau had explored more than the three we have here. If they pique your curiosity, as they did mind, then they are available sung by Juliane Banse, along with a lot more of Koechlin’s vocal works with orchestra, in a two disc set in Hänssler’s Koechlin edition. What we have here is two songs from his early 4 poèmes d’Edmond Haraucourt. Op.7, and one from the slightly later 3 mélodies, Op. 17. If they lack some of Duparc’s natural melodic gift, they are nonetheless lushly orchestrated and rather beautiful  and make an excellent partner for the two Duparc songs.

If the Koechlin songs afforded me the most pleasure, that could be because I didn’t know them before and therefore had no point of comparison, whereas I know all the other material rather well. I’ve loved the Britten songs since they were first recorded in the 1980s. Admittedly one can hear the influence of Ravel, particularly of Shéhérazade, but they are remarkably assured from a boy of fourteen and they do not feel out of place here, whilst the sparer textures of Ravel’s Mallarmé settings, written for two clarinets, two flutes, piano and string quartet, provide a nice contrast to the lush orchestrations of the rest.

Piau is now in her fifties and the voice has lost a little of its bloom on high. She also uses what the late John Steane once referred to as a squeeze-box method of vocal production, a tendency to move note by note rather than in a long line, which, once noticed, is hard to ignore. I also hear a slight sense of strain in the Britten songs, particularly at the close of the final song, which is not as radiant as it should be, and as it is in the performances of Jill Gomez, who made the first recording of them for EMI under Simon Rattle, and Felicity Lott, who recorded them for Chandos under Bryden Thomson.

The opening Berlioz Le spectre de la rose is taken a mite too fast for my taste and is a little on the cool side, but it does rather set the general tone of the recital. If you like it, then you will no doubt like the whole disc, but I found Piau a little lacking in involvement, a little detached.

I don’t want to belabour the point too much, because this is a very enjoyable programme, well considered and well put together and, for the most part, Piau’s singing is quite lovely, but, in the Berlioz, Duparc, Ravel and Britten, I found myself inwardly hearing the voices of some of those who have preceded her. Still, if you’re looking for a mixed programme of nineteenth and early twentieth century French orchestral song, then this disc will provide a lot of enjoyment.

 

Sandrine Piau (soprano) Reflet (Alpha Classics)
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A Most Marvellous Party

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This highly entertaining programme is the sort of thing that would go down well at a country house or in a small hall, and indeed I see that these artists performed it at the Leeds Conservatoire in March this year, shortly before making this recording. Mary Bevan should not be confused with her sister, Sophie, also a soprano with quite a career herself, nor Nicky Spence with tenor Toby Spence, to whom he is not related. Both singers are active on the operatic stage as well as on the concert platform and here let their hair down in some lighter music.

The “party” seeks to place Noel Coward among other contemporary composers, all of whom have a connection with Coward, however slight. Thus, the other guests turn out to be Ned Rorem, who claimed to have once had a one-night stand with Coward, Poulenc for whom Coward once did the narration on a recording of his Babar, the elephant and Stravinsky, who apparently once asked Coward to collaborate with him. Gershwin’s music Coward had known for some time and even played snatches of it on stage in the first production of his play, The Vortex. The connections with Satie, Messager, Britten and Walton would seem to be a little more tenuous, but I’m nonetheless delighted that they came along. It’s also good to encounter some songs by Roger Quilter and Liza Lehmann, especially given Bevan’s rapturous account of Lehmann’s gorgeous Love, If You Knew The Light, and Spence’s lovely singing of Quilter’s famous setting of Tennyson’s Now Sleeps The Crimson Petal, which is nicely contrasted to Ned Rorem’s sparer, but equally valid setting of the same poem sung by Bevan, a song that was new to me. It slightly reminded me of Britten’s version, which he eventually cut from the Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings.

Both Bevan and Spence are rather better in the more lyrical songs by Coward than they are at the patter songs, and there are a couple of misses in the sequence. Spence can’t resist the temptation to overplay the comedy in Don’t Put Your Daughter on The Stage, Mrs Worthington and I have a feeling this rendition would become rather triresome on repeated listening. One only has to compare the Master, with his brilliantly understated and clipped delivery to hear how it should be done. Nor can Bevan quite cast off the slightly jolly-hockey-sticks quality she has adopted in the opening Coward medley when she turns to Kurt Weill’s Complainte de la Seine, a song which is absolutely harrowing when sung by Teresa Stratas. I also rather wish that Spence, rather than Bevan, had been allowed to sing Mad About The Boy, given that we now know the song was written by Coward about a man he had fallen in love with. However, Spence does get to sing If Love Were All, a song that was originally written for the character of Manon in Coward’s operetta Bitter Sweet, but which Coward himself later made very much his own.

Britten is represented by two early W, H, Auden settings, one of which, As it is, plenty, sounded strangely like something by Stephen Sondheim, though it was written only a few years after Sondheim was born. I wonder if he knew it. I rather wish room had been found for Bevan to sing Coward’s Zigeuner from Bitter Sweet and that perhaps it would have been better to close the recital with the gently wistful The party’s over now rather than the slightly over-rumbustious I went to a marvellous party, but apart from these and a few other minor reservations expressed above, the two singers acquit themselves very well and the pianist, Joseph Middleton is a wonderful collaborator, both as accompanist and when playing solo in pieces by Poulenc, Satie, Stravinsky and Gershwin.

All in all, this is a highly enjoyable disc and one which I will definitely be returning to from time to time.

Full programme

  1. Coward Medley (all three artists)
  2. Coward: Mad about the boy (Bevan)
  3. Rorem: Early in the morning (Spence)
  4. Rorem: For Poulenc (Spence)
  5. Poulenc: Pastorale calme et mystérieux (Middleton)
  6. Poulenc: Hotel (Bevan)
  7. Coward: Parisian Pierrot (Spence)
  8. Weill: Complainte de la Seine (Bevan)
  9. Messager: De ci, de là (Bevan and Spence)
  10. Satie: Gnossiene No. 1 (Middleton)
  11. Coward: Any little fish ((spence and Bevan)
  12. Stravinsky: Valse pour les enfants (Middleton)
  13. Coward: Something to do with Spring (Spence and Bevan)
  14. Quilter: Love calls through the summer night (Bevan and Spence)
  15. Quilter: Now sleeps the crimson petal (Spence)
  16. Rorem: Now sleeps the crimson petal (Bevan)
  17. Coward: World weary/Twentieth century blues (Bevan and Spence)
  18. Gershwin: The man I love (Middleton)
  19. Coward: If love were all (Spence)
  20. Gershwin: By Strauss (Bevan)
  21. Coward: Don’t put your daughter on the stage, Mrs Worthington (Spence)
  22. Britten: When you’re feeling like expressing your affection (Bevan)
  23. Walton: Popular Song (Spence)
  24. Britten: As it is, plenty (Bevan)
  25. Lehmann: Love, if you knew the light (Bevan)
  26. Coward: The party’s over now (Bevan and Spence)
  27. I went to a marvellous party (Bevan and Spence)
Noel Coward and Friends: A Most Marvellous Party (Signum Classics)
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A list of my preferred opera recordings

I hesitate to call this a list of recommended opera recordings, because people’s tastes are so different, but it is a list of my preferred recordings and, as such, it is obviously influenced by my liking for certain artists. It is also derived from over 50 years of listening to and collecting opera recordings and includes recordings that are or were once available on LP and CD, because, despite the current trend for everything to be downloaded onto a computer, I still prefer to listen to CDs. In some cases I have included more than one recording of a piece, usually because I can’t decide which one I like best. I’m also pretty sure that, with a couple of exceptions. all my chosen recordings date from the LP era onwards.

A word about Wagner. I am not really a Wagnerite. I enjoy Wagner from time to time, but I find that, more than with other composers, the sound of the orchestra takes precedence for me, which is why all the recordings I have chosen are studio recordings in decent stereo sound, which thererore excludes the names of many great Wagnerians of the past, such as Flagstad, Leider, Melchior, Furtwängler etc.

No doubt many of my readers will disagree with some of my choices, but I think it’s a pretty sound list. Peruse at your leisure.

Barber: Vanessa – Steber, Elias, Resnik, Gedda, Tozzi; Mitropoulos

Bartók: Bluebeard’s Castle – Ludwig, Berry; Kertesz

Beethoven: Fidelio – Dernesch, Donath, Vickers, Kéléman, Ridderbusch; Karajan

Bellini: I Capuleti e I Montecchi – Sills, Baker, Gedda, Herincx, Lloyd; Patané

Bellini: Norma – Callas, Simionato, Del Monaco, Zaccaria; Votto La Scala 1955 (live) or Callas. Ludwig, Corelli, Zaccaria; Serafin (studio)

Bellini: Il Pirata – Callas, Ferraro, Ego; Rescigno New York 1959 (live) -or- Caballé, Martí, Cappuccili; Gavazzeni (studio)

Bellini: I Puritani – Callas, Di Stefano, Panerai, Rossi-Lemeni; Serafin

Bellini: La Sonnambula –Callas, Valletti, Modesti; Bernstein la Scala 1955 (live) or Callas, Monti, Zaccaria; Votto/Cologne 1957 (live) or Callas, Monti, Zaccaria; Votto (studio)

Berlioz: Béatrice et Bénedict – Eda-Pierre, Baker, Watts, Tear, Allen, Lloyd, Bastin; Davis

Berlioz: Benvenuto Cellini – Eda-Pierre, Berbié, Gedda, Massard, Bastin, Soyer; Davis

Berlioz: La damnation de Faust – Veasey, Gedda, Bastin, Van Allan; Davis

Berlioz: Les Troyens – Lindholm, Veasey, Vickers, Glossop; Davis

Bizet: Carmen – Callas, Guiot, Gedda, Massard; Prêtre

Bizet: Les pêcheurs de perles – Cotrubas, Vanzo, Sarabia; Prêtre

Britten: Billy Budd – Langridge, Keenlyside, Tomlinson; Hickox

Britten: Gloriana – Barstow, Kenny, Jones, Langridge, Opie, Summers; Mackerras

Britten: A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Watson, Gomez, Jones, Bowman, Hall, Herford, Maxwell; Hickox

Britten: Peter Grimes – Watson, Pears, Pease; Britten and Harper, Vickers, Summers; Davis

Britten: The Rape of Lucretia – Harper, Baker, Pears, Drake, Luxon, Shirley-Quirk; Britten

Britten: The Turn of the Screw – Vyvyan, Cross, Pears, Mardikian; Britten

Charpentier: Louise – Cotrubas, Berbié, Domingo, Bacquier; Prêtre and Vallin, Lecouvreur, Thill, Pernet; Bigot (abridged)

Chausson: Le roi Arthus – Zylis-Gara, Winbergh, Quilico; Jordan

Cherubini: Medea – Callas, Carron, Berganza, Vickers, Zaccaria; Rescigno, Dallas 1958 (live) or- Callas, Nache, Barbieri, Penno, Modesti; Bernstein, La Scala 1953 (live). If studio/stereo is a must then Callas, Scotto, Pirazzini, Picchi, Modesti; Serafin

Cilea: Adriana Lecouvreur – Scotto, Obrasztsova, Domingo, Milnes; Levine

Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande – Joachim, Cernay, Jansen, Etchverry, Cabanet; Désormiére (mono) and Von Stade, Denize, Stilwell, Van Dam, Raimondi; Karajan (stereo)

Délibes: Lakmé – Mesplé, Burles, Soyer; Lombard

Delius: A Village Romeo and Juliet – Field, Davies, Hampson; Mackerras

Donizetti: Anna Bolena – Callas. Simionato, Raimondi, Rossi-Lemeni; Gavazzeni, La Scala 1957 (live) (Divina transfer, avoid Warner and EMI) It’s cut of course, but no other performance satisfies me.

Donizetti: Don Pasquale – Saraceni, Schipa, Poli, Badini; Sabajno (mono). If stereo is a must then Freni, Winbergh, Nucci; Bruscantini; Muti

Donizetti: L’Elisir d’amore – Cotrubas, Domingo, Wixell, Evans; Pritchard

Donizetti: La fille du régiment – Sutherland, Sinclair, Pavarotti, Malas; Bonynge

Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor – Callas. Di Stefano, Panerai, Zaccaria; Karajan, Berlin 1955 (live) and Callas, Tagliavini, Cappuccilli, Ladysz; Serafin (studio stereo/Pristine remaster).

Donizetti: Lucrezia Borgia – Caballé, Berbié, Vanzo, Paskalis; Perlea, New York 1965 (live) No studio recording.

Donizetti: Maria Stuarda – Tinsley, Baker, Erwen, Garrard, Du Plessis; Mackerras, ENO 1973 (live in English) or Caballé, Verrett, Garaventa, Arié, Fioravanti; Cillario, La Scala 1971 (live). No studio recording.

Donizetti: Roberto Devereux – Caballé, Marsee, Carreras, Sardinero, Furlanetto; Rudel, Aix-en-Provence, 1977 (live)

Dvořák: Rusalka – Fleming, Zajick, Heppner, Havlata; Mackerras

Enescu: Oedipe – Hendricks, Lipovšek, Gedda, Van Dam; Foster

Fauré: Pénélope – Norman, Taillon, Vanzo, Huttenlocher, Van Dam; Dutoit

Giordano: Andrea Chenier – Scotto, Domingo, Milnes; Levine

Gluck: Orfeo – Baker, Speiser, Gale; Leppard

Gounod: Faust – De Los Angeles, Gorr, Gedda, Blanc, Christoff; Cluytens 1958 (stereo)

Gounod: Roméo et Juliette – Gheorghiu, Alagna, Keenlyside, Van Dam, Fondary; Plasson

Handel: Hercules – Dawson, Otter, Daniels, Croft, Saks: Minkowski

Handel: Giulio Cesare – Masterson, Baker, Jones, Walker, Bowman, Tomlinson: Mackerras (in English)

Handel: Rinaldo – Organasova, Bartoli, Fink, Daniels, Taylor, Finley; Hogwood

Handel: Theodora – Upshaw, Hunt Lieberson, Daniels, Croft: Christie

Humperdinck: Hänsel und Gretel – Schwarzkopf. Grümmer, Von Islovay, Schürhoff, Metternich: Karajan

Janáček: The Cunning Little Vixen – Popp, Randova, Jedlicka; Mackerras

Janáček: Jenůfa, – Söderström, Popp, Randova, Ochmann, Dvorsky; Mackerras

Janáček: Kat’a Kabanova – Söderström, Kniplova, Dvorsky; Mackerras

Janáček: Vĕc Makropulos – Söderström, Dvorsky, Blachut; Mackerras

Korngold; Die tote Stadt – Neblett, Kollo, Prey, Luxon; Leinsdorf

Lehár: Das Land des Lächelns – Schwarzkopf, Loose, Gedda, Kunz: Ackermann

Lehár: Die lustige Witwe – Schwarzkopf, Steffek, Gedda, Wächter, Knapp; von Matačić

Leoncavallo: Pagliacci – Callas, Di Stefano, Monti, Gobbi, Panerai; Serafin

Mascagni: L’Amico Fritz – Freni, Pavarotti, Sardinero; Gavazzeni

Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana – Callas, Di Stefano, Panerai; Serafin

Massenet: Cendrillon – Welting, Von Stade, Berbié,  Gedda, Bastin; Rudel

Massenet: Manon – De Los Angeles, Legay, Dens; Monteux

Massenet: Thaîs – Fleming, Sabbatini, Hampson; Abel

Massenet: Werther – Gheorghiu, Pétibon, Alagna, Hampson; Pappano or Von Stade, Buchanan, Carreras, Allen; Davis and Vallin, Féraldy, Thill, Rogue; Cohen

Motemezzi: L’Amore Dei Tre Re – Moffo, Domingo, Elvira. Siepi; Santi

Monteverdi: L’incoronazione di Poppea – Galli, Meijer, Marmeli; Cavina

Monteverdi: L’Orfeo – Cioffi, Gens, Dessay, Bostridge; Haîm

Mozart: La Clemenza di Tito – Baker, Popp, Minton, Von Stade, Burrows; Davis

Mozart: Cosi fan Tutte – Schwarzkopf, Steffek, Ludwig, Kraus, Taddei, Berry; Böhm

Mozart; Don Giovanni – Sutherland, Schwarzkopf, Sciutti, Alva, Wächter, Taddei, Cappuccilli, Frick; Giulini

Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail – Köth. Schädle, Wunderlich, Lenz, Böhme; Jochum

Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro – Schwarzkopf, Moffo, Cossotto, Taddei, Wächter, Cappucilli; Giulini

Mozart: Die Zauberflote – Lear, Peters, Wunderlich, Fischer-Dieskau, Crass; Böhm or for HIP – Mannion, Dessay, Blochwitz, Scharinger, Hagen; Christie

Mussorgsky: Boris Godunov – Borodina, Vaneev, Galouzine; Gergiev

Offenbach: Les Contes D’Hoffman – Sutherland, Tourangeau, Domingo, Bacquier; Bonynge (studio) or Malfitano, Murray, Domingo, Van Dam; Levine (live)

Offenbach: Orphée aux Enfers – Mesplé, Rhodes, Sénéchal, Burles, Trempont; Plasson

Offenbach: La vie Parisienne – Mesplé, Crespin, Sénéchal, Bénoit, Trempont; Plasson

Ponchielli: La Gioconda – Callas, Barbieri, Amadini, Poggi, Silveri, Neri: Votto (mono) or Callas, Cossotto, Companeez, Ferraro, Cappuccilli, Vinco: Votto (stereo)

Poulenc: Dialogues des Carmélites – Duval, Crespin, Berton. Scharley, Gorr, Depraz, Finel; Dervaux

Puccini: La Boheme – De Los Angeles, Amara, Björling, Merrill, Tozzi: Beecham or Callas, Moffo, Di Stefano, Panerai, Zaccaria: Votto

Puccini: La Fanciulla del West – Neblett, Domngo, Milnes; Mehta

Puccini: Gianni Schicchi – De Los Angeles, Del Monte, Gobbi: Santini

Puccini: Madama Butterfly – Callas, Danieli, Gedda, Borriello; Karajan or De Los Angeles, Canali, Di Stefano, Gobbi: Gavazzeni or Scotto, Di Stasio, Bergonzi, Panerai: Barbirolli

Puccini: Manon Lescaut – Callas, Di Stefano, Fioravanti: Serafin

Puccini: La Rondine – Gheorghiu, Mula, Alagna, Mateuzzi, Rinaldi: Pappano

Puccini: Suor Angelica – De Los Angeles, Marimpietri, Barbieri: Serafin or Scotto, Cotrubas, Horne; Maazel

Puccini: Il Tabarro – Mas, Prevedi, Gobbi: Bellezza

Puccini: Tosca – Callas, Di Stefano, Gobbi: De Sabata

Puccini: Turandot – Callas, Schwarzkopf, Fernandi, Zaccaria: Serafin (mono) or Sutherland, Caballé, Pavarotti, Ghiaurov: Mehta (stereo)

Purcell: Dido and Aeneas – Clark, Baker, Sinclair, Herincx; Lewis

Ravel: L’enfant et les sortileges –  Ogéas, Gilma, Collard, Berbié, Sénéchal, Rehfuss, Maurane; Maazel

Ravel: L’heure espahnole – Berbié, Sénéchal, Gireaudeau, Bacquier, Van Dam; Maazel

Rossini: Armida – Callas, Filippeschi, Albanese, Raimondi; Serafin (in atrocious sound, but essential for some of the most incredible dramatic coloratura singing you will ever hear)

Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia – Callas, Alva, Gobbi, Ollendorff, Zaccaria: Galliera

Rossini: La Cenerentola – Baltsa, Araiza, Alaimo, Raimondi; Marriner

Rossini: Le comte Ory – Barabas, Sinclair, Oncina, Wallace: Gui

Rossini: Elisabetta, Regina, d’Inghilterra – Caballé, Masterson, Carreras, Benelli: Masini

Rossini: Guillaume Tell – Caballé, Mesplé, Taillon, Gedda, Cassinelli, Bacquier, Howell, Kovats; Gardelli

Rossini: L’Italiana in Algeri – Pace, Baltsa, Lopardo, Corbelli, Dara, Raimondi; Abbado

Rossini: Semiramide – Penda, Pizzolato, Osborne, Regazzo: Fogliani (complete) or Sutherland, Horne, Serge, Malas; Bonynge (abridged)

Rossini: Il Turco in Italia – Callas, Gardino, Gedda, Stabile, Calabrese, Rossi-Lemeni; Gavazzeni

Saint-Saens: Samson et Dalila – Baltsa, Carreras, Summers, Estes, Burchaladze; Davis

Shostakovich: Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk – Vishnevskaya, Gedda, Petkov; Rostropovich

J Strauss: Die Fledermaus – Schwarzkopf, Streich, Gedda, Krebs, Christ, Kunz; Dönch; Karajan

J Strauss: Eine Nacht in Venedig – Schwarzkopf, Loose, Gedda, Kunz; Ackermann

J Strauss: Wiener Blut – Schwarzkopf, Köth, Loose, Gedda, Kunz; Ackermann

J Strauss: Der Zigeunerbaron – Schwarzkopf, Köth, Burgsthaler-Schuster, Gedda, Prey, Kunz: Ackermann

R Strauss: Arabella – Varady, Donath, Dallapozza, Fischer-Dieskau; Sawallisch and Schwarzkopf, Felbermeyer, Gedda, Metternich; von Matacic (highlights)

R Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos – Schwarzkopf, Streich, Seefried, Schock; Karajan

R Strauss: Capriccio – Schwarzkopf, Ludwig, Gedda, Wächter, Fischer-Dieskau, Hotter; Sawallisch

R Strauss: Elektra – Marton, Studer, Lipovsek, Winkler, Weikl; Sawallisch

R. Strauss: Die Frau ohne Schatten – Studer, Vintzing, Schwarz, Kollo, Muff: Sawallisch

R Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier – Schwarzkopf, Stich-Randall, Ludwig Wächter, Edelmann; Karajan

R Strauss: Salome – Welitsch, Thorborg, Jagel, Janssen; Reiner (live mono) and Behrens, Baltsa, Schmitt-Walter, Van Dam; Karajan (studio stereo)

Szymanowski: Król Roger – Szmytka, Langridge, Hampson; Rattle

Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin – Vishnevskaya, Avdeyeva, Lemeshev, Belov, Petrov; Khaikin

Tchaikovsky: Mazeppa – Gorchakova, Dyadkova, Larin, Leiferkus, Kotcherga; Järvi

Tchaikovsky: Queen of Spades – Guleghina, Borodina, Arkhipova, Grigorian, Chernov, Putilin; Gergiev

Verdi: Aida – Callas, Dominguez, Del Monaco, Taddei; de Fabritiis (live) and Callas, Barbieri, Tucker, Gobbi; Serafin (studio mono) or Caballé, Cossotto, Domingo, Cappuccilli; Muti (studio stereo) or Freni, Baltsa, Carreras, Cappuccilli; Karajan (studio stereo)

Verdi: Alzira – Cotrubas, Araiza, Bruson; Gardelli

Verdi: Aroldo – Caballé, Cecchele, Pons, Lebherz; Queler

Verdi: Attila – Deutekom, Bergonzi, Milnes, Raimondi; Gardelli

Verdi: Un Ballo in Maschera – Callas, Barbieri, Di Stefano, Gobbi; Votto (studio) and Callas, Simionato, Di Stefano, Bastianini; Gavazzeni (live)

Verdi: La Battaglia di Legnano – Ricciarelli, Carreras, Manuguerra, Ghiuselev; Gardelli

Verdi: Il Corsaro – Caballé, Norman, Carreras, Mastremei; Gardelli

Verdi: Don Carlo – Freni, Baltsa, Carreras, Cappuciolli, Ghiaurov, Raimondi; Karajan (4 acts in Italian), Caballé, Verrett, Domingo, Milnes, Raimondi, Giaotti; Giulini (5 acts in Italian) and Ricciarelli, Valentini-Terrani, Domingo, Nucci, Raimondi, Ghiaurov; Abbado (5 acts in French)

Verdi: I due Foscari – Ricciarelli, Carreras, Cappuccilli, Ramey; Gardelli

Verdi: Ernani – Price, Bergonzi, Sereni, Flagello; Schipeers

Verdi: Falstaff – Schwarzkopf, Moffo, Merriman, Barbieri, Alva, Panerai, Gobbi; Zaccaria; Karajan

Verdi: La Forza del Destino – Callas, Nicolai, Tucker, Tagliabue, Rossi-Lemeni; Serafin

Verdi: Un Giorno di Regno – Pagliughi, Cozzi, Oncina, Bruscantini, Capecchi, Dalmangas; Simonetto

Verdi: Giovanna d’Arco – Caballé, Domingo, Milnes; Levine

Verdi: I Lombardi – Sass, Lamberti, Di Cesare, Kovats; Gardelli

Verdi: Luisa Miller – Moffo, Verrett, Bergonzi, MacNeil, Tozzi, Flagello; Cleva or Caballé, Reynolds, Pavarotti, Milnes, Giaotti, Van Allan; Maag or Ricciarelli, Obraztsova, Domingo, Bruson, Howell, Ganzarolli; Maazel

Verdi; Macbeth – Callas, Penno, Mascherini, Tajo; De Sabata (live) and Verrett, Domingo, Cappuccilli, Ghiurov; Abbado (studio)

Verdi: I Masnadiert – Caballé, Bergonzi, Cappucilli, Raimondi; Gardelli

Verdi; Nabucco – Souliotis, Carral, Prevedi, Gobbi, Cava; Gardelli and (essential supplement, but awful sound) Callas, Pini, Sinimbergi, Bechi, Neroni; Gui

Verdi: Otello – Rysanek, Vickers, Gobbi; Serafin and Scotto, Domingo, Milnes; Levine

Verdi: Rigoletto – Callas, Lazzarini, di Stefano, Gobbi, Zaccaria; Serafin

Verdi: Simon Boccanegra – Freni, Carreras, Cappucilli, Ghiaurov, Van Dam; Abbado and De Los Angeles, Campora, Gobbi, Christoff, Monachesi; Santini

Verdi: Stiffelio – Sass, Carreras, Manugeurra, Ganzarolli; Gardelli

Verdi; La Traviata – Callas, Valletti, Zanasi; Rescigno, Covent Garden 1958 (live) and Cotrubas, Domingo, Milnes; Kleiber (istereo studio)

Verdi: Il Trovatore – Callas, Barbieri, Di Stefano, Panerai, Zaccaria; Karajan

Verdi: I Vespri Siciliani – Callas, Kokolis-Bardi, Mascherini, Christoff; Kleiber (live) and Arroyo, Domingo, Milnes, Raimondi; Levine

Wagner: Der Fliegende Holländer – Silja, Kozub, Unger, Adam, Talvela; Klemperer or Schech, Schock, Wunderlich, Fischer-Dieskau; Konwitschny

Wagner: Lohengrin – Grümmer, Ludwig, Thomas, Fischer-Dieskau, Frick; Kempe

Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg – Janowitz, Fassbänder, Konya, Unger, Stewart, Hemsley, Crass; Kubelik

Wagner: Parsifal – Vejzovic, Hoffmann, Nimsgern, Van Dam, Moll; Karajan

Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen – Crespin, Dernesch, Janowitz, Veasey, Ludwig, Dominguez, Stolze, Vickers, Stewart, Brilioth, Fischer-Dieskau, Stewart, Kéeléman, Ridderbusch, Talvela; Karajan

Wagner: Tannhäuser – Dernesch, Ludwig, Kollo, Braun, Sotin; Solti

Wagner: Tristan und Isolde – Dernesch, Ludwig, Vickers, Berry, Ridderbusch; Karajan and Gray, Wilkens, Mitchinson, Joll, Howell; Goodall

Weber: Der Freischutz – Grümmer, Otto, Schock, Prey, Kohn, Frick; Keilberth

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Renée Fleming – Great Opera Scenes

 

If we are to say goodbye to Renée Fleming the opera singer, then now might be a good time to be reminded of this, one of her most successful recital discs, recorded in 1996, when Fleming was at the height of her powers, and before the tendency to indulge in jazzy slides and swoops had become too pronounced.

All but one of the roles represented here were part of her stage repertoire at the time, and she would in fact go on to sing Strauss’s Daphne in 2005.

The programme is both varied and interesting. We start with both of Countess Almavivas arias from Le Nozze di Figaro, sung with ideal poise and beauty of tone, before plunging into the romantic imaginings of Tchaikovsky’s lovelorn Tatyana. Fleming plays the ardently impulsive young girl to the life. She yearns indwardly In Rusalka’s Song to the Moon, and I doubt I have ever heard Ellen’s Embroidery Aria from Peter Grimes sung with such superb control and feeling. Desdemona’s Willow Song and Ave Maria crops up on many recitals, but Fleming does not suffer at all by comparison with such well known interpreters as Rethberg, Ponselle or Tebaldi.

I suppose the two cornerstones of Fleming’s repertoire have been Mozart and Strauss, so it is fitting that, having started with Mozart, we should finish with Struass, a suitably ecsatic version of the closing scene from Daphne.

The recital is beautifully presented with Larissa Diadkova contributing as Filipyevna and Emilia and Jonathan Summers as Balstrode. The London Symphony Orchestra under Solti provide excellent support.

The voice itself is stunningly beautiful, but Fleming doesn’t rely solely on beauty of voice. Her interpretations are intelligent and musical, and she presents us with five very different characters. The only criticism I would have is that her diction is not always as good as it might be, but in all other respects this is a classic recital disc.