AVAILABILITY
www.mitridate.nl
A company new to me,
Ponto (under licence from Mitridate),
is dedicating a swathe of releases to
the art of Janet Baker. A similarly
recent issue is the 1973 ENO Donizetti
Mary Stuart which, like this earlier
Handel offering, is sing in English.
I’m not aware that Admetus has been
issued before and presumably derives
from a BBC radio performance, though
the tapes sound in good estate, albeit
with some noticeable residual hiss and
even if the recording acoustic is somewhat
of its time and cramped and cold.
The singers are a disparate
group – variously stellar, distinguished
and now little known. Baker stands at
the head but one should listen out for
Maureen Lehane who takes the eponymous
title role. Born in 1943, a contemporary
of the better known Sheila Armstrong,
Lehane was a decade younger than Baker
and sounds not unlike her in matters
of timbre, tone and depth across the
range. She has the full command of sonorous
inflections and it’s not surprising,
to one for whom she is "just a
name," to appreciate that she was
so admired for her roles in baroque
opera. Her aria My fortune changes
to reconciling is a particularly
striking example of a Baker influence,
and she copes well with some tough divisions
and the occasionally ungrateful English
translation. She is especially vibrant
in her Act III aria How long the
tigress waits and she forms a winning
blend with Armstrong in the duet My
beloved! Sweet reconciling! So it’s
with admiration that one listens to
Lehane – what is she doing now one wonders?
Sheila Armstrong’s
bright and fresh soprano also makes
a good impression. True there’s something
of a hoot about parts of the climactic
aria of the first act, The falcon
keeps the skies, but she really
impresses with some creamy legato in
Act II’s My hopes uncertainly waver
like some elusive star (probably
it sounds better in Italian). Janet
Baker is Alcestis and shows what a characterful
and nobly expressive Handel singer she
was. There’s great depth in her No
cause for tears and sighing (Act
I), whilst she demonstrates control
over the nuances and timing of recitatives
(a model in this respect is Act II’s
For what purpose, Alcestis, have
you disguised yourself – momentum
and release are perfectly calibrated,
for which the sizeable contribution
of Anthony Lewis should also be noted).
Amongst the high points is her final
act aria Wherever my eyes discover
sweet grasses with its accompanying
solo violin line; veiled in tone, introspective
in spirit, generous and powerful in
feeling, commanding in technique and
breath control.
The rest of the cast
are less exalted but never less than
serviceable. The men are inclined to
be bluff and, maybe because of the deadening
effect of the studio, somewhat unrelieved.
I was however taken by Margaret Lenski’s
singing of Act II’s Your wishes bind
me. The orchestral playing is characterful;
not always spotless it’s true (one or
two dodgy horn moments in the first
act et al) which sits very well in the
middle of her voice. Lewis, who of course
made a famous recording of Purcell’s
Dido and Aeneas with Baker is a musician
whose stock has sunk to near invisible
and inaudible depths - which is a pity
as his influence has been considerable.
His Sosarme is available (Opera
d’oro), his Purcell, not just the Dido,
on Decca Rosette, but little else. None
of the orchestral musicians are noted
but it would be intriguing to know who
sat in the Baroque Opera Orchesta –
who the harpsichordist, first violin
and wind principals were, for instance.
This is an intriguing reclamation though
clearly given the provenance, the fact
that it’s rather bleakly recorded and
sung in English - and cut – it’s more
of a specialist purchase. To tempt one
further there is a lengthy souvenir
of Baker’s association with Britten;
Bach from Blythburgh in June 1969. The
Cantata Geist und seele embodies elements
of keyboard concerti but Baker brings
great gravity to her long aria Geist
und seele wird verwirret and manages
– taking her breath just in time! –
the difficult runs of the concluding
Ich wünsche.
There’s no libretto
and biographical notes only about the
three principal soloists. Additionally
the exact circumstances of the performances
are shrouded in silence. But for Baker’s
admirers this is welcome example of
her art, albeit not in the main role;
there may be less of her than you’d
ideally like. The advantage of that
is reacquaintace with Armstrong and
a maybe first opportunity to hear Lehane.
Jonathan Woolf
The Baroque Opera Orchestra/Sir Anthony Lewis
