José Carreras - Live - The Comeback Concerts
see end of review for track listing
José Carreras (tenor)
Vincenzo Scalera, Ronald Schneider*(piano)
rec. Barcelona. July, November 1988; Peralda, August 1988; Vienna, September
1988. DDD
ACANTA 233552 [75:40]
The date and circumstances of this recital may provoke some trepidation on
the part of prospective buyers but the result is actually a gratifying experience.
These 'comeback concerts' are from the period immediately after Jose Carreras
recovered from leukaemia and the terrible difficulties of treating that cancer.
The effects of his treatment actually bore remarkably little effect on his
singing on the evidence of these recordings: the sound is warm, his phrasing
is distinguished by its stylishness. We can enjoy his clear diction and the
sound itself is an unusually emotive one. His singing is an improvement on
that in evidence at different times during 1985-1987. The voice is a little
better integrated: much of Nessun Dorma is very accomplished. The song
and Romantic (Bellini, Rossini) repertoire here is better suited to his skills;
just compare his strained records of Manon Lescaut for Decca or La
Forza del Destino for DG. He is not fighting to be heard over a huge orchestra
as he must for The Three Tenors concerts. The most striking quality
here is the enthusiasm of his singing.
There is some shading in his singing although this is a little lacking in
the Barcelona Arc de Triomfe celebration which was his return to public performance.
Given the huge crowds this is still a surprisingly tasteful and stylish performance
and the recorded sound is satisfying: clear and neither bass shy nor too fierce
a treble. Carreras's performance in Nessun Dorma is, with the exception
of the last phrases which strain him, an improvement on his live version in
the complete recording of Turandot with Lorin Maazel from 1983. His
use of the words, as if telling a story, is vivid and his phrasing makes use
of many dynamic shades. His smooth, joined-up legato phrasing in 'L' emigrant'
is notably solid and although his delivery in this recital can sound a little
curt the results are often pleasing.
His audience was in a jubilant mood at the return of their hero and Carreras
himself appears to be in high spirits: the nature of the concerts was far
more favourable for this singer than his Three Tenors' performances only two
years later. There he sounded as if he was trying to make the voice sound
more powerful and loud than it was by nature: this had the negative effect
of robbing his singing of the charm which is one of his main assets. Even
in the Barcelona Arc de Triomfe concert he is not forcing the tone too much
for volume.
For years critics had raised concerns about the repertoire that Carreras was
singing and even had qualms about the manner in which he sang them. Technical
issues which had been presenting themselves from about the late seventies
were, however, actually little altered from the period before the leukaemia.
He is inclined to be a little too emphatic and loud at times, the high notes
can be a struggle, the timbre can be a little dry and the soft singing can
sound a bit detached and threadbare. For all that, he delivers a rich sound
used with a sort of genius at times. All caution is thrown to the wind in
'Jo et presentia com la mar' which gives a good indication of his strengths.
The extra energy of the happy occasion means that Carreras’s 'No puede
ser', although emphatic and quite hard-driven at the end, does not sound quite
as strained as he might in the future. The middle section of the song is surprisingly
intimate given the scale of the event. His singing of Spanish is, as ever,
a particular joy. He savours the distinct sounds of that language and generates
a good deal of excitement. He is perhaps not as 'neat' as notable singers
such as Giacomo (Jaume) Aragall or Alfredo Kraus but his vibrant voice carries
its own charisma. 'Canticel' by the Catalan composer Eduard Toldrà
receives a suitably emotive performance before a home crowd.
The next recital from Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona is a more traditional
affair with Carreras in exceptionally fine form for this period in his career.
He makes a remarkably vivid Romeo in Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi.
This reminds you that his voice is a dark but lyric instrument rather than
the sort of spinto, 'pushed', sound really needed for Andrea Chenier, Alvaro
(Forza del Destino) or Calaf (Turandot). His plaintive sound
is effective here and he obvious considers this Romeo a cousin of the Romantic
Edgardo in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. Capuleti with a
tenor Romeo is quite scarce on records: Giacomo Aragall made a wonderful recording
with the young Renata Scotto and Luciano Pavarotti in the 1960s. However,
it is unlikely we shall see many other modern tenor versions of this aria
or the role complete since it is not historically authentic: it was originally
written for a mezzo-soprano. Personally I enjoyed the tenor version very much
with the vigour of the adolescent protagonist well caught in this extract.
There are live recordings of Carreras singing this aria in 1972 and the contrasts
are interesting: here the performance is slower, more thoughtful, rather more
effortful, but more individual and focused that the earlier version which
is, all the same, vocally resplendent and beguiling. In 1972 he was singing
with a confident bravura not quite matched, I think, in these 1988 concerts.
However, the 1988 Liceu recital is among the best of Carreras’s late
recordings - they balance passion and vocal consistency to an extent unfortunately
not very common in Carreras' records thereafter: The Three Tenors included.
Perhaps the high notes of I Puritani and La Sonnambula would
have never really been within his compass. One might dream, all the same,
of what a singer with Carreras's particular skills might have made of that
music.
This recording of the scene from I Capuleti e I Montecchi and Carreras'
recording of L'Elisir d'amore with Scimone on Philips back in 1985
makes one regret that he did not record more of this repertoire: Bellini,
Donizetti, Rossini and perhaps rarities like Cherubini. Having said that,
Carreras's voice sounds weighty so his contemporaneous excursions as Eleazar
(La Juive), Samson (Saint-Saens' Samson et Dalila) and Donizetti's
Poliuto are not so surprising. The colour of his voice is so much darker
than when he made his debut in the early 1970s. Unfortunately these roles
demanded more secure high notes than Carreras could consistently muster.
The trio of Vaga lunaga, che inargenti, Gia il sole dal gange
and Per la gloria d'adorarvi as well as Malia in the Arc de
Triomfe concert bring him into direct comparison with Luciano Pavarotti (1935-2007).
Pavarotti also recorded a DVD of these songs in Barcelona in 1988. He then
went on to record them again around ten years later for Decca. Pavarotti is
the much more consistent vocalist with an even steadier high register. His
legato singing is very proficient if a little less imaginative than that of
Carreras. Pavarotti's clean and bright sound is unique but Carreras, despite
some issues, is able to colour his phrases with a little more delicacy. Pavarotti
was not helped in his later recording of Gia il sole dal gange by a
rather fast tempo and this lends his performance a slightly hectoring quality
missing from the Carreras which is a little slower. That said, the older singer
provides a tighter flourish at the end. Pavarotti's Per la gloria d'adorarvi
by contrast benefits from a slightly more sprightly tempo. Carreras's version
loses momentum a little much for my taste. Also the soft singing of Carreras
requires some gear changes.
The concert at Peralda is less consistently successful. For instance in L’heure
exquise the song does not gel, instead we have a lot of effects which
don’t quite mesh including soft singing that sounds rather white and
threadbare. Although Carreras was a fine Werther and Don José (Carmen)
he does not make the French language come alive as he can with Italian or
especially Catalan. For this repertoire one would ideally want a singer with
a better joined-up voice with access to easy high notes. Le manoir de Rosamonde
is much more extrovert than it is with Gérard Souzay or Paul Groves.
Carerras captures some of the anger and sadness of the song although recorded
in close-up but his voice sounds overly strident. Damunt de tu, només
les flors suffers from the lack of an orchestra. Carreras is in better
form but this cannot compare with Giacomo Aragall’s version with Orquesta
Simfónica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya conducted by Salvador
Brotons.
There is some clapping and audience noise at times but generally we can hear
the songs without interruption. The sound is very vivid in Barcelona and Vienna
and is quite good at capturing the emotion of the different evenings. I find
the Peralda concert less appealing: the sound has too much echo for my taste.
Cutting out a great deal of applause means that the records can be enjoyed
without it all getting too grating on repeated listening. The sound of the
Vienna recording of Granada is lovely: it is probably the best version
by Carreras with this one happily bringing together the tenor in fine form,
good recorded sound and a terrific sense of atmosphere. The arrangement is
far from the worst around.
The booklet is straightforward and most of the details are correct but there
are unfortunately no texts.
Fans of Carreras will not need any persuasion that this CD is for them. Other
listeners might enjoy this disc as it shows the singer in decent form in a
generally enjoyable programme. It’s much better than one might expect
under the circumstances and on the evidence of his subsequent records. I would
not necessarily suggest this as an introduction to José Carreras. Come
to this after you have heard some of his excellent 1970s recordings especially
Tosca with Montserrat Caballé and Colin Davis (Philips), his
Rossini Otello (Philips), his part in Verdi’s Macbeth
with Riccardo Muti (EMI) or his Verdi Simon Boccanegra with Claudio
Abbado (DG).
David Bennett
Fans of Carreras will not need any persuasion that this CD is for them.
Track listing
Edvard GRIEG (1843-1907)
Ich liebe dich [3:26]
Francesco P. TOSTI (1846-1916)
Malia [3:29]
Eduardo TOLDRÁ (1895-1962)
Canticel [2:07]
Traditional El cant dels ocells [2:40]
Federico MOMPOU (1893-1987)
Jo et pressentia com la mar from “El combat del somni” [1:58];
Damunt de tu, només les flors [4:38]
Pablo SOROZABAL (1897-1988)
No puede ser from “La taberna del Puerto” [3:15]
Amadeo VIVES (1871-1932)
[erroneously given as ‘Jaume Vives’ in CD cover and booklet] L’emigrant
[3:33]
Giacomo PUCCINI (1858-1924)
Nessun dorma from “Turandot” [3:20]
Vincenzo BELLINI (1801-1835)
Ecco la tomba…Deh’tu bell’anima* from “I Capuleti
e I Montecchi” [6:13]; Vaga luna, che inargenti* [3:11]
Alessandro SCARLATTI (1660-1725)
Già il sole dal gange* [2:24]
Giovanni BONONCINI (1670-1747)
Per la gloria d’adorarvi* [3:59]
Gioachino ROSSINI (1792-1868)
Oh come il fosco…Quell’alme pupille* from “Lapietra del
paragone” [7:25]
Reynaldo HAHN (1875-1947)
L’heure exquise [3:07]
Henri DUPARC (1848-1933)
Le memoir de Rosamonde [2:59]
Joaqúin TURINA (1882-1949)
Nunca olvida [2:27]
Fernando OBRADORS (1897-1945)
Del Cabello más sutil [2:05]
Agustín LARA (1897-1970)
Granada [4:24]
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