Riches don't often come in threes! This recording of
French opera arias follows distinguished recent issues, from the same
genre, by the young lyric tenors Marcello Alvarez and Roberto Alagna,
the latter winning a Gramophone 'Award'.
Thus far we have tended to know Heppner
as a 'heldentenor' because of his achieved recordings of Wagner operas
(and those lost by the abortion of Dohnanyi's Ring and the death
of Solti). He is not, nor ever was, a heldentenor with a baritonal hue
to the voice, rather his timbre is more of the true lyric-dramatic tenor
with heroic ring and sufficient heft to take on
some Wagnerian roles.
Whilst Alvarez chose some arias composed by Italians,
albeit in French, Heppner, like Alagna, presents a pure French collection.
Most pleasingly there is little overlap of repertoire (four items with
Alagna) and the selection takes us sufficiently off the beaten track
to be really interesting. Heppner's French may not be as good as Alagna's,
but it is idiomatic and far better than, for example, Domingo's with
whom we can compare renditions of the famous aria 'O paradis'
(tr 10). Heppner comes very well out of the comparison - praise indeed!
Likewise, his Eleazer (Halévy's 'La Juive' tr 6) is particularly
impressive- What Heppner brings to the whole collection is open-throated,
musically intelligent, performances with a good variety of tonal colours
and elegance of phrase. These qualities are particularly evident in
the two arias from 'Le Cid' (tr 8-9). Yes there is a little sameness
about some of the characterisation, and once or twice a brief sound
of strain catches the microphone.
The recording is well balanced and clear, with Chung
a sympathetic and idiomatic conductor. The chorus make a vibrant contribution,
not least in the stirring rendition of Berlioz's arrangement of 'La
Marseillaise', (tr13). The booklet has brief essays and translations
in English and German. My only quibble is the sequencing of the contents.
By accident, or design, it seems to be alphabetical by composer rather
than by composition date or composer period (accepting that there is
some overlap). I praise, too, the generous 74 minutes playing time.
A recording well worth issuing and purchasing.
Robert J Farr
See also Marc Bridle's interview
with Ben Heppner