An Evening with Puccini
Jonas Kaufmann (tenor)
Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala/Jochen Rieder
rec. La Scala, Milan, 14 June 2015
Director: Brian Large
Picture: 16:9
Sound: PCM 2.0 / DTS Surround
Format: NTSC
Region code: All regions
Subtitles: EN/FR/GER/IT
SONY 88875130249 DVD [116:00]
Although I am a great fan of Kaufmann, I approached this
DVD with a certain trepidation. Having watched him do little more than
bawl his way through some standard arias at the 2015 Last Night of the
Proms, I wondered if this concert, recorded exactly three months previously
in Milan, would be equally disappointing.
The whole enterprise did not begin well. After an introductory sequence
showing our hero wandering about Milan and gazing at the interior of
La Scala with a look of wonder on his face, he gives an introductory
narration about Puccini which can be listened to in English, German,
Italian or French. This really is “Puccini for Dummies”,
though there are some interesting pieces of archive film shown under
it. What, however, is simply incredible in this day and age is that
this narration is delivered over the first item of the programme, the
Preludio Sinfonico, written when Puccini was still a student.
I had thought that it was just the result of my geriatric technological
incompetence that I could not get rid of the narration, but I tried
everything I could think of and eventually roped in a younger, tech-savvy
friend to help, but to no avail – you cannot listen to the Preludio
Sinfonico without the narration over the top of it. That Sony clearly
think it is perfectly acceptable to use an orchestral piece as background
music to a narration which ends as soon as Kaufmann comes on stage,
speaks volumes about how they regard this concert. It may be true that
no-one will buy this DVD for the orchestral “fillers”, but
to use it like this is insulting to the orchestra, the conductor and
to Puccini.
Fortunately, all is well from then on. Kaufmann is in excellent voice
and performs with far greater artistry that he did at the Proms. Although
the majority of the programme consists of the usual blockbusters, it
is a definite plus point to Kaufmann that he begins with arias from
Le Villi and Edgar which will probably be unknown
to even experienced opera-goers. He performs them with as much care
and thought as the standards and makes a very convincing case for “Orgia,
chimera dall’occhio vitreo” from Edgar. In the
two contrasting arias from Manon Lescaut which follow, his
legato is exemplary and his use of dynamic light and shade is an object
lesson in “Donna non vidi mai”. In “Guardate, pazzo
son” he shows that he can tear a passion with the best of them
without ever compromising the music’s line; none of this will
surprise anyone who saw him in this opera at Covent Garden last season.
In “Recondita armonia” and “E lucevan le stelle”
from Tosca, we have no difficulty in believing that this Cavaradossi
is an artist; both are treated as the interior monologues which they
are and contain some ravishing pianissimo singing. In every way Kaufmann
is perfect for Dick Johnson in Fanciulla de West. His dark
good looks are exactly what are needed and his similarly dark-hued voice
is exactly the sort of sound that Puccini must have had in mind as he
wrote the role for Caruso. “Or son sei mesi” doesn’t
have quite the emotional desperation that it would have had as part
of a complete stage performance, but “Ch’ella mi creda”
has a wonderful inwardness and tenderness quite unlike the “can
belto” approach to which this aria is often subjected.
Personally, I prefer a brighter, more “tenorial” tenor for
Turandot, but his “Nessun dorma” is beautifully
modulated. It says something for Kaufmann’s lack of self-regard
that he allowed the DVD to contain the encore of this aria where he
forgets the words, much to the delight of the audience. Among the encores
are, strangely, two songs not by Puccini. I was particularly pleased
to have the exquisite “Ombra di nube” by Refice which Claudia
Muzio recorded so memorably in 1935. He cannot quite convey the morbidezza
of Muzio, but it is still a lovely performance. De Curtis’s “Non
ti scordar di me” was the song with which Bergonzi always ended
his recitals. Again, Kaufmann has not quite the absolute “to the
manner born” rightness of the older singer, but still sings it
most convincingly.
The orchestral items are very well played and conducted by Jochen Rieder,
a name new to me. The filming is exactly what I want from an event such
as this – a straightforward, clear reproduction of the concert
with no sudden close-ups of the third horn’s left earlobe, bizarre
camera angles or constant jump-cutting. Some will perhaps find it old-fashioned,
but then so is a concert of operatic arias. The quality of both sound
and vision are excellent and despite my initial grumbles I found this
DVD hugely enjoyable.
Paul Steinson
Disc contents
Giacomo PUCCINI (1858-1924)
Preludio Sinfonico
Le Villi – Ecco la casa… Torna ai felici dì
Le Villi – Preludio
Edgar – Orgia, chimera dall’occhio vitreo
Edgar – Preludio Atto 3
Manon Lescaut – Donna non vidi mai
Manon Lescaut – Intermezzo
Manon Lescaut – Guardate, pazzo son
Tosca – Preludio Atto 3… E lucevan le stelle
Madama Butterfly – Intermezzo
La Fanciulla del West – Una parola sola… Or son sei
mesi
Suor Angelica – Intermezzo
Turandot – Nessun dorma
Encores:
Tosca – Recondita armonia
La Fanciulla del West – Ch’ella mi creda
Licinio REFICE (1883-1954)
Ombra di nube
Ernesto De Curtis (1875-1937)
Non ti scordar di me
Giacomo PUCCINI
Turandot – Nessun dorma
