Faramondo - Opera in three acts, HWV39 (1738) [176:00]
Faramondo – Emily Fons (mezzo)
Adolfo - Maarten Engeltjies (counter-tenor)
Clotilde – Anna Devin (soprano)
Rosimonda – Anna Starushkevych (mezzo)
Gustavo – Njĺl Sparbo (bass)
Gernando - Christopher Lowrey (counter-tenor)
Teobaldo – Edward Grint (baritone)
Childerico – Iryna Dziashko (soprano)
FestspielOrchester Göttingen/Lawrence Cummings
rec. live, Göttingen International Festival, 2 June 2014. DDD
Booklet with notes, Italian text and English and German translations included.
ACCENT ACC26402 [3 CDs: 66:44 + 51:40 + 57:13]
This is the last in the series of Handel’s “heroic”
operas. It ran for only eight performances after its premiere in January
1738. Since then it has been largely neglected before a relatively recent
revival of interest, resulting in two studio recordings from 1996 and
2007. This is only the third recording available and is of a live radio
broadcast from the Göttingen International Handel Festival earlier this
year.
My heart sank when I beheld the cover photograph of this CD set featuring
the ultimate tired cliché in Regietheater productions of Handel: a modern,
militaristic production, all guns, dark glasses and black leather. Fortunately,
on CD such worn-out tropes may be ignored.
Further heart-sinking occurred when I realised that there going to be
obstacles to the ability of the listener to appreciate an opera afflicted
with an already bafflingly complicated plot and a stilted libretto. The
English version of the plot résumé is obviously not for “Faramondo”
at all. It has been lifted wholesale from the booklet accompanying last
year’s issue by Accent of their recording of Handel’s “Siroe”.
You’re saved if you read German; otherwise, help is at hand from
Wikipedia and happily a full libretto in three languages is supplied.
Even so, one marvels that such a gross proofing/production error could
occur in an otherwise attractive and lavishly produced booklet.
However, I suspect that many will join me in committing the heresy of
remaining indifferent to or even despairing of mastering the intricacies
of the plot. We can simply be satisfied to have a general grasp of the
singer’s emotional circumstances and just enjoy Handel’s music.
That might not ideally be what the composer intended or indeed how one
should approach opera. That said, the conventions of Baroque opera can
now make it seem so remote from what we can regard as realistic that this
is the only viable approach for some listeners.
No doubt there is much great music here although I would not say that
it consistently rivals the more popular and frequently recorded of Handel’s
operas. One sparkling aria follows another, giving ample opportunity to
the singer to demonstrate his or her range of expression and solid coloratura
technique. The quality of singing and Italian diction is generally high,
especially given the relative youth and inexperience of the singers. To
be fair, all are technically more than adequate to the demands of the
music and some are splendid. The palm, however, must go to the trio of
female singers in the lead roles of Faramondo, Clotilde and Rosimonda.
All have warm, flexible agile voices and generate considerable excitement
and dramatic tension in their arias. Anna Devin’s smoky soprano
is especially alluring and she gains the first “Bravo” from
an audience that at first seems oddly unresponsive but gradually warms
up. She is matched by Emily Fons’ mezzo-soprano which has the power
and depth of colour to suggest that she would be just as comfortable in
roles of a lower tessitura. Her voice at times reminds me of Jennifer
Larmore and Joyce DiDonato – she’s that good.
The two counter-tenors are undoubtedly competent but both evince the besetting
counter-tenor problem with finding resonance and body in the lower reaches
of their falsetto. There is too often a certain cloudiness which prevents
their voices carrying. Maarten Engeltjies’s voice is rather thin
but he sings sweetly and I especially like his piano high notes. In truth,
it is the singer who takes the subordinate counter-tenor role, Christopher
Lowrey, who is the more complete artist with a fuller, more agreeable
tone. The presence of both singers only serves to confirm what truly rare
beasts singers like James Bowman, Andreas Scholl and David Daniels are.
I find the sole bass something of a growler, without the solid low notes
and centred tone ideally required for his arias. He does too much grunting
and shouting in his recitatives. To me, he sounds more like a baritone
attempting to carry it off. The sole baritone as Teobaldo is similarly
pedestrian with ugly, forced high notes.
Lawrence Cummings’ conducting is first class, with plenty of rhythmic
spring and inner vitality. Nothing drags although in truth this opera
is simply too long at just under three hours. His orchestra is light and
fleet, without too much of the squeezing or whining which can vitiate
the sound of a period band.
The usual stage noises occasionally obtrude without being of any consequence.
The recording quality is excellent and singers are on-microphone most
of the time, with a good balance between them and the small pit orchestra.
Ralph Moore
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