Clari broadcast

This monday evening at 10:35 pm (Paris time), Arte will broadcast Halévy's forgotten Clari, performed last may in Zurich, with Cecilia Bartoli.

JDF & Bartoli's Sonnambula

La Sonnambula

Vincenzo Bellini

The line of Amina was initially written by Bellini for Giuditta Pasta, a mezzo-soprano, before being turned into a soprano role by Maria Malibran in 1833. Therefore, this combination was the perfect excuse for Cecilia Bartoli to push for this project. Furthermore, the marketing campaign is rather easy to set: first recording with a mezzo as Amina, and "world premiere recording on period instruments".

The thing is, I never liked period instruments and I still don't after listening to this new release.

And - how should I put that as gently as possible? - Cecilia Bartoli does not make for a good Amina. Despite all my sympathy for the woman, her Amina will not be remembered as a defining moment for the role. Of course one could argue that nobody is used to listening to Amina as a mezzo and that's why her performance is not appreciated at its true merits. That assumption is obviously relevant, yet my dislike of Bartoli's Amina has little to do with it - but rather speaks to the essence of bel canto. This style demands a perfect breath control to live up to the expectations of the score, yet Cecilia Bartoli fails to provide it in this studio recording.

I'm rather embarrassed for her, truth be told, because if what's burnt is the best she could do with the score (and why wouldn't it be? it's a studio recording after all), it's definitely not flattering.



On the other hand, both Juan Diego Flórez and Ildebrando d'Arcangelo are insanely brilliant here, and that alone requires to buy the CD (JDF's highlight must be in Act II, "perché non posso odiarti"). The chorus and Liliana Nikiteanu deserve praise as well (I'm much more skeptical about Gemma Bertagnolli's Lisa).

The conduction of Alessandro di Marchi starts off as messy and strangely dissonant (especially in "In Elvezia non v'ha rosa", and the period instruments don't help) but, by the second scene of Act I, is showing interesting colors and nuances that keep developing throughout the entire piece.

This CD is presented in a book-like packaging, which is OK I guess, until you realize how hazardous this may turn out to be for the protection and conservation of the CDs. The iconography chosen is highly reminiscent of Madama Butterfly's (awkwardly anachronic and off topic).

Long awaited release

The new studio recording of Bellini's La sonnambula with Cecilia Bartoli and Juan Diego Flórez will be released on October 17th.
Via Cecilia Bartoli's website.

Opera rara

Because I love "almost beyond-obscure operas", especially XIXth century French rarities, I am one of the only few eagerly waiting for the Summer release of the recording (video extracts there, click on Videotrailer at the bottom of the page) of Gounod's La Nonne Sanglante recreated last January in Osnabrück (Germany), by CPO (who else knows that, seriously?).

In that line of unseen/unheard/unknown operas, Intermezzo just came back from Zürich where Halévy's Clari was recreated in May (mainly due to the obstination of Cecilia Bartoli), with some clues about the score, the libretto and of course the performance.
Other reviews: ResMusica (in French), Diapason (also in French), International Herald Tribune.

Now, who would be kind enough to schedule my all-time favorite in that category, Donizetti's L'assedio di Calais?
Anyone?

Salle Pleyel, 2008-09

The new season of the Salle Pleyel in Paris has been released. Of course the symphonic concerts are plethoric, but a few operas in concert version are scheduled, as well as some interesting recitals. Opéras en concert - oratorio

• Richard Wagner, La Walkyrie (act I), Aug.25 2008 Daniel Barenboim conducting the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra Waltraud Meier : Sieglinde René Pape : Hunding Simon O'Neill : Siegmund
• Giuseppe Verdi, Aïda, Oct.7 2008
• Olivier Messiaen, Saint-François d'Assise, Oct.31 2008
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Idomeneo, Nov.29 2008 René Jacobs conducting the Freiburger Barockorchester
• Arthur Honegger, Le roi Arthur, Feb.12 2009
• Claudio Monteverdi, Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria, May 4 2009
• Claudio Monteverdi, Vespro della Beata Vergine, June 12 2009 Jordi Savall conducting Le concert des Nations
• Georg Friedrich Haendel, Jephtah ,June 16 2009

Recitals

• June Anderson, Paolo Olmi conducting l'Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, Oct.1 2008 Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi, Bellini
• Joyce DiDonato, Christophe Rousset conducting Les Talens Lyriques, Dec.9 2008 Haendel
• Cecilia Bartoli, Sergio Ciomei at the piano, Dec.20 2008 Rossini
• Rolando Villazón, Paul McCreesh conducting the Gabrieli Consort & Players, May 5 2009 Haendel
• Deborah Voigt, Ingo Metzmacher conducting the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, June 24 2009 Debussy, Wagner, Malher, Strauss

Maria, Cecilia Bartoli

A video (English and Italian) about the new CD:

Via GTL Torn T.

Isn't she just great?

Critiques du CD (en français): ForumOpera, Jean-Louis Validire pour Le figaro, Ernst Van Bek pour Classique News, La libre Belgique.

Photos / gravures de Maria Malibran sur Gallica.

Another Sonnambula

That's settled then. The next CD version of Bellini's La Sonnambula I will buy will not be the live Dessay's performance in Lyon I talked about two days ago...
It will be the Decca studio version recorded this July in Zurich, featuring Cecilia Bartoli, Ildebrando d’Arcangelo and... my dearest Juan Diego Florez. What a promising news...