Christoph Willibald GLUCK (1714-1787)
Blessed Spirit: A Gluck Retrospective: Aria ‘Il Ciel
mi vuol oppresso’ from La Semiramide riconosciuta [4.42]; Aria ‘Se povero
il ruscello’ from Ezio [8.07]; Aria ‘Se mai senti spirarti sul volto’ from
La clemenza di Tito [10.24]; 'Berenice, che fai?’ – Aria ‘Perché, se tanti
siete’ from Antigono [8.21]; ‘Ombre tacite e chete’ – Aria ‘Dall’ orrido soggiorno’
from Telemaco [5.28]; ‘Elisa? Aminta? È sogno?’ – Duet ‘Vanne a regnar, ben
mio’ from Il re pastore [6.47]; Aria ‘Non jamais un tel époux’ from L'ivrogne
corrigé [2.46]; Scene from Act Three of Orfeo ed Euridice [11.06]; ‘Figli,
diletti figli!’ – Aria ‘Ah, per questo già stanco’ from Alceste [7.15]; Aria
‘O del mio dolce ardor’ from Paride ed Elena [2.53]; ‘Dieux puissants’ – Aria
‘Jupiter, lance la foudre’ from Iphigénie en Aulide [4.39]; Aria ‘On s’étonnerait
moins que la saison nouvelle’ from Armide [3.36]; Introduction to encore [0.25];
Trio ‘Ah, lo veggo’ from Paride ed Elena [2.18]
Sophie Bevan (soprano); Ailish Tynan (soprano); Anna Stéphany (mezzo)
The Classical Opera Company/Ian Page
rec. Wigmore Hall, 20 January 2010, Stereo. DDD
WIGMORE HALL LIVE WHLIVE0037 [79:44]
Given his pivotal role in the history of opera, it is curious how little we
hear of Gluck's music in UK opera houses. The reason may be the imbalance
in the popularity of his individual works: Orfeo and Alceste have
been done to death - although I've never had the chance to see either - while
the rest of the composer's voluminous output remains effectively unknown.
On the strength of this selection of arias, there is much in Gluck's lesser-known
works that deserves to see the light of day. Extracting the numbers from the
operas themselves has the fortunate result of liberating the music from the
classical subjects of Gluck's operas, eliminating the first of the possible
turn-offs. Another potential turn-off is the prospect of amateur performance.
With the exception of a few high notes in the soprano lines, and perhaps some
balance issues between soloist and woodwind obbligato, there are few technical
challenges. But this highly proficient and highly professional performance
demonstrates just how much is lost if these works are consigned to amateurs.
The three singers, Sophie Bevan, Ailish Tynan and Anna Stéphany, each bring
a distinctive tone to the proceedings. Bevan has a clear, well defined sound,
with a narrow and impeccably controlled vibrato. Tynan's voice is richer,
warm and sophisticated with some elegant colours in the lower register. But
for my money, Anna Stéphany is the star of the line-up. There is a real immediacy
about her singing, and a level of drama that seems wholly unaffected by the
concert setting or the ‘bleeding chunks’ programme. She too has a narrow vibrato,
which gives her voice the required penetration when her mezzo line runs below
the violins. You wouldn't mistake her for a man, but there is a manliness
to her tone, which helps make the trouser roles more credible. And in the
guise of Orfeo, her impassioned 'Che faro senza Euridice?' is the highlight
of the programme.
The orchestra of the Classical Opera Company is the Orchestra of the Age of
Enlightenment in all but name. No surprise, then, that they are able to combine
sensitivity to historical performance issues with real immediacy and expression.
There is nothing dry or academic about this historically informed performance,
and the Enlightenment values of beauty of tone and clarity of line are evident
throughout. To my ear, the major benefit of period instruments in the late
18th century repertoire is the distinctiveness of the woodwind
timbres. Anthony Robson demonstrates here just how much the classical oboe
can bring to Gluck. The way he matches the timbre and emotion, not to mention
phrase shaping, of the singers in his obbligato lines is wonderful. He ensures
that the singers are never overpowered or upstaged.
The choice of three female singers may seem like overkill, but the distinctiveness
of each of the voices, and the variety of the material (which apart from anything
else combines Italian and French) means that monotony is never a concern.
I like the way that the programme has been devised not to imitate an operatic
context. By presenting soprano and mezzo arias, it is as if Ian Page is focusing
on one aspect of Gluck's art, a survey of his writing for a particular voice-type.
Gluck's writing certainly has the variety to stand such an approach.
As with all the Wigmore Hall Live releases to date, the sound here is excellent.
On previous recordings, I have had the impression that the sound has been
engineered to include the hall's famously bright acoustic, as if it were an
issue of corporate identity. Not here though; the sound is bright, but the
recording does not emphasise the resonance.
All in all, this is a tantalising taster of Gluck's art. In fairness, I could
imagine productions of these operas getting bogged down in the classical conventions
of their plots and subjects. But as concert material these arias, recitatives
and ensembles have much to offer, and are performed with enough dramatic insight
that the absence of staging or narrative context is never felt. The Wigmore
Live label has yet again achieved its aim: it has produced a document of a
performance to make you wish you'd been there.
Gavin Dixon
A document of a performance to make you wish you'd been there