Claudio MONTEVERDI (1567-1643)
Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria
Ulisse – Fernando Guimarćes
Penelope – Jennifer Rivera
Telemaco – Aaron Sheehan
Minerva – Leah Wool
Nettuno – Joćo Fernandes
Giove – Owen McIntosh
Giunone - Sonja Dutoit Tengblad
Ericlea – Krista River
Melanto – Abigail Nims
Eurimaco – Daniel Shirley
Eumete – Daniel Auchincloss
Iro – Marc Molomot
Anfinomo - Jonas Budris
Boston Baroque/Martin Pearlman
rec. Mechanics Hall, Worcester, Massachusetts, 27-30 April 2014
LINN CKD451 [3 CDs: 71:18 + 66:54 + 38:15]
This is a lovely recording. It is always good to be
reminded of Monteverdi’s third extant opera and the least well known
of the three. It’s also a sad reminder of how much of his work has
been lost. However, this recording gave me a lot of pleasure. There
aren’t as many recordings out there of Ulisse as there are of
Orfeo or Poppea. It has structural flaws which probably
place it below its two companions, but what is represented here is excellent.
This recording’s USP is that Martin Pearlman has made his own performing
version of the score, working from the only surviving manuscript copy.
He explains his editing decisions in the booklet note, and you can also
hear him talk about it at length here,
if you’re interested. You’d need to be a greater expert than I am to
pick out any major differences from pre-existing versions. Suffice to
say that Pearlman makes his own decisions about how to fill in the gaps
that have been left in the score.
The result is a labour of love in which he has invested much of his
time, energy and passion, and that comes across in what you hear. He
has also assembled a team who have bought into his vision completely,
performing with passion and total commitment. Central to the sound-world
of the recording is the playing of Boston Baroque, Pearlman’s own band.
They sound as marvellous as their other recordings have led me to expect.
There is a slightly acidic quality to their sound but it is very energetic
and full of affection. This is a score, and an edition, that Pearlman
knows well and wants to bring to life with beauty and affection. There
were innumerable touches that brought it to fruition, such as the chattering
brightness that the winds often brought to proceedings. Pearlman's way
with the dance music is very convincing. I also loved vitality of the
score for the brief pastoral scene at the opening of Act 2, full of
tremendous verve. The orchestral accompaniment to the gods’ scene in
the third act also sounds very fine. Throughout the opera there is
a focus on beauty above all. This never undermines the drama, however,
and many little touches bring that to the fore over and over again.
The singing cast is excellent, too. Fernando Guimarćes is magnificent
as Ulisse himself. His voice is passionate, ardent and fully committed,
a delight in this role which he makes sound totally human. His mannerisms
are technically very impressive too. He knows and loves the style of
the period, which makes him a first-rate travelling companion for Pearlman's
vision. Jennifer Rivera’s Penelope is, if anything, even better. Hers
is a low, slightly husky voice but I fell for it completely. Her portrayal
of the queen is sensual and dignified but deeply felt, and her opening
lament is something that not just welcomes you into the opera but gets
you hooked. She is equally fine during the climactic scene of Act 2
when she presents Ulysses' bow to the suitors for the contest, full
of possibility but also ample regret. The greatest moment in the opera
comes in the final recognition duet, where the voices of Guimarćes and
Rivera blend beautifully while the orchestra spins a beatific web of
sound around them. It’s a magnificent ending to the disc.
Aaron Sheehan is a dashing, youthful-sounding Telemaco, who sings with
ardour and passion, linking him with but setting him apart from the
sound of his father. As Melanto, Abigail Nims is energetic and skittish,
a strong contrast to Penelope. Their duet towards the end of Act 1 is
beautiful, not least due to the contributions of the Boston Baroque
strings. Daniel Shirley's Eurimaco manages to convey much of the character's
duplicity, and his voice blends beautifully with Nims’. Daniel Auchincloss
is a surprisingly virile, affectionate Eumete, while Marc Molomot cuts
a slightly ironic, rather unpleasant figure as Iro, but at least he
knows that the part is little more than a comic caricature. The trio
of suitors are surprisingly sympathetic, and their Act 2 trio with
Penelope (Ama dunque, sģ, sģ) is very beguiling. Antinous has
an eerie resonance, however, and Ulysses Thomas' resonant bass brings
him to life very compellingly.
The gang of gods are also very convincing. Joćo Fernandes is a rich,
boomy Neptune — beautifully accompanied, first by the buzzing organ
then by endearingly chattering cornetts — while Owen McIntosh's tenor
makes a surprisingly young-sounding, vigorous Jupiter. Leah Wool is
at first slightly warbly as Minerva, but she sounds more comfortable
as the opera progresses. Sonja DuToit Tengblad is a bright, sparkly
Juno. The Prologue, too, sets the tone for the rest of the opera to
come: bouncy and full of life; not at all a mere forethought. The chorus
don't have much to do, but what they have is done very well with lots
of energy and bounce.
Even aside from its unique qualities, this Ulisse sits pretty
close to the top of the available recordings that I’ve heard. Its studio
perfection is more welcoming than Alan Curtis’ live version, for all
its merits, and, while I acknowledge his importance, I’ve never been
able to love Harnoncourt’s version which sounds paradoxically wilful
and underdone in places. René Jacobs typically has his own quirks and,
for once, I thought they worked rather well, but I now rate Pearlman’s
version very highly too. Definitely worth a look for Monteverdians old
and new.
Simon Thompson
