Claudio MONTEVERDI (1567-1643)
L’Orfeo, favola in musica (1610)
Orfeo - Krystian Adam (tenor); La Musica/Euridice - Hana Blažiková (soprano)
Monteverdi Choir
English Baroque Soloists/Sir John Eliot Gardiner
John Eliot Gardiner and Elsa Rooke, co-directors
rec. June 2017, Teatro La Fenice, Venice,
reviewed in stereo
OPUS ARTE OABD7298D Blu-Ray [119]
Back in 1967 Denis Arnold observed ruefully of the various performing editions of Monteverdi’s Vespers that “to write about it is to alienate some of one’s best friends. Even to avoid joining in the controversy is to find oneself accused of (i) cowardice, or (ii) snobbishness, or (iii) sitting on the fence, or (iv) all three” – and never was there a truer word spoken. By the side of the difficulties presented by editions of the Vespers, it might seem that it would be easier to establish a performing text for Orfeo; and indeed it is true that there is remarkably little dissension between the multitude of recordings available about specifically what music should be performed, and in what order (if one discounts the apparent loss of the original ending of the opera as implied in some contemporary libretti).
But nevertheless there remain substantial differences in approach even when one discounts those earlier versions prepared by such composers as Respighi or Raymond Leppard, which employed modern instruments either as substitutes or in addition to original or reconstructed instruments of the period. At one extreme one finds those who espouse ‘traditional’ practice at all costs, frequently seeming to espouse regardless the more extraordinary sounds that can emerge from period instruments; no names, no pack drill, although admittedly this ‘characterful’ school of thought appears to be on the wane nowadays. At the other extreme we find those who seem concerned about all with beauty of sound, which includes a conscious abnegation of all vibrato from singing voices and a delivery that seems concerned above all with euphonious unity. This approach can manifest itself in the reduction of the instrumental forces to smaller numbers (certainly smaller than Monteverdi had available for his premičre, under the auspices of generous patronage); and this avoids the otherwise distinct possibility that smaller-scale voices can be overwhelmed in the balance with the orchestra (and Renaissance bands can involve some very loud instruments). Between these two extremes, performers can vary the approach with a greater or lesser degree of dramatic involvement by the singers; although it is perhaps useful to remember that the original purpose of opera was to heighten the emotional impact of the words, and consciously to break away from the style of presentation associated with the purity of church music.
In this veritable pantheon of approaches, that of Sir John Eliot Gardiner in his old DG Archiv set of CDs has for a long period been established as taking a reasoned and reasonable approach between the two extremes of the spectrum. While ensuring that the period players of his English Baroque Soloists produce sounds that are always consciously musical, he employs modern operatic singers to ensure an even balance between stage and pit (insofar as the distinction can be drawn at this period) and at the same time to strike the dramatic and emotional chords with the listeners that Monteverdi’s original audiences might have anticipated. To judge from the booklet listings, only three of the players from the thirty-odd English Baroque Soloists for the 1985 recording are still active in the same body today (Iona Davies replacing Roy Goodman among the violins), but this video from Venice employs an entirely new cast of singers, many of them native Italians whose involvement with the text can be more linguistically idiomatic than the overwhelmingly British cast on DG.
And that sense of immediate involvement is at once recognisable in the opening prelude where La Musica introduces the opera. Hana Blažíkova emerges from the line-up of singers at the back of the stage to walk down through the orchestra, pausing to take up a small harp (possibly intended to represent a lyre) on which to accompany her words; and at the same time she fines her voice down to a mere whisper of sound which is most effective. It is at points like this that the semi-staging is at its most dramatically engaging; but at other points it misfires. The singers are all generally costumed in a uniform manner – which one might describe as modern smart casual – and this can lead to problems when they are asked to assume different roles from one scene to the next. For example, when Gianluca Buratto has conceded defeat at the hands of Orpheus as Charon, it comes as something of a surprise a few minutes later to find him re-emerging in exactly the same costume as Pluto King of the Underworld to confront the hero all over again. At the same time the characterful voice of John Taylor Ward as the malevolent Spirit who abstracts Euridice from Orpheus’s arms seems somewhat out of place as an ordinary Shepherd in Act One. The only character who is really dramatically defined by his costume is the god Apollo, with his gesture to a more classical style; it is hardly his fault if his appearance in profile has an uncanny resemblance to the mature John Cleese, at least as caught here by the cameras. The singing in general is excellent, with Krystian Adam as the hero and Lucile Richardot as the Messenger outstanding in their command of the musical and dramatic text. Indeed, although one might harbour some lingering doubts about the actual process of ‘semi-staging’ such as an opera as Orfeo, it is difficult to imagine it being better or more tastefully done.
Those interested in Sir John’s legacy as an interpreter of Monteverdi in general and of Orfeo in particular may well find that his earlier traversal of the score issued on CD in 1987 will give more general satisfaction in terms of sound even if the greater emotional involvement of the singers on DVD pays dividends. Those looking for a video production that really encompasses all the spectacle that Monteverdi put into the score might find greater satisfaction in the spectacular 2002 Barcelona version directed by Jordi Savall – more statuesque in terms of singing and performance, but with a real sense of the excitement of new discovery that would surely have gripped seventeenth century audiences. With this new issue, one might have hoped for a more worthy presentation – out of an eight-page booklet (one page devoted to advertisements for other recordings) we are given three anonymous introductory brief paragraphs in English only, which tell us nothing about the music or this performance. Two pages are devoted to listings – no synopsis of the plot, no background to the production, indeed nothing in any language other than English. Subtitles are provided in English, French, Italian, German, Japanese and Korean. The cover illustration, a modern motor boat on the Venetian lagoon, seems thoroughly unimaginative. It has taken five years for this production to appear on video; it was originally mounted for the 450th anniversary of the composer’s birth. The review from the Guardian quoted on the back of the box in fact describes an earlier May performance by the same forces in Bristol, given as part of the same tour during the summer of 2017.
Paul Corfield Godfrey
Cast and Production Staff
Ninfa - Anna Dennis (soprano); Speranza - Kangmin Justin Kim (soprano); Messenger - Lucile Richardot (mezzo-soprano); Proserpina - Francesca Boncompagni (mezzo-soprano); Caronte/Plutone - Gianluca Buratto (bass); Apollo - Furio Zanasi (tenor); Shepherd I – Francisco Fernandez-Rueda (counter-tenor); Shepherd II/Spirit II/Echo – Gareth Treseder (tenor); Shepherd III – Michal Czerniawski (baritone); Shepherd IV/Spirit III – John Taylor Ward (bass); Spirit II – Zachary Wilder (bass)
Rick Fisher (lighting designer): Patricia Hofstede and Isabella de Sabata (costumes): Sebastian Glas (video director)
Video Details
High Definition Blu-Ray 1080i
Picture format: 16:9
Sound formats: a) LPCM Stereo 2.0, (b) DTS-HD Master Audio
All regions
Sung in Italian, with subtitles in English, French, Italian, German, Japanese and Korean
