Overall praise rather
than detailed criticism seems in order
for this bargain basement Figaro, a
totally enjoyable experience even if
Bo Skovhus is perhaps the only "international"
name (his Count is already available
under Abbado with Cecilia Bartoli as
Cherubino).
A common feature which
emerges reading the biographies of many
of the singers (Skovhus himself, Mescheriakova,
Judith Halász, Girolami, Breedt,
Sima, Monarcha, Roider) is that they
have appeared regularly with the Vienna
State Opera, so it seems we have here
basically an ensemble performance rather
than one assembled by the phone-book,
albeit transported to a "cheaper"
venue and with a "cheaper"
(but thoroughly excellent) orchestra.
This no doubt explains why we have a
real performance, with the singers responding
to each other and each fully aware of
their character’s particular role in
the story. Much care has been given
to the pacing of the recitatives and
all the singers give the Italian words
a wholly believable cadence (though
a slight touch of a non-Italian accent
is sometimes noticeable). The only exception
is Orsolya Sáfár in the
small part of Barbarina; her recitatives
are of the shopping-list variety, but
she sings her tiny aria well. The singers
are helped in all this by an alert and
inventive continuo-player.
However, I do not wish
with the above to belittle the achievement
of Michael Halász, who extracts
lively phrasing from the orchestra,
sets convincing tempi throughout, balances
the ensembles watchfully, and above
all that sees that there is the right
feeling of a complex, however humorous,
human drama unfolding before us.
I hope Skovhus’s well-deserved
reputation has not led me to listen
with lazy ears, but it seems to me he
is the outstanding member of the cast,
with a certain vocal charisma which
ensures that we hang onto his every
word. His response to the text is very
detailed, as befits a singer who also
specialises in lieder, and the singing
as such is always finely-toned.
The others maybe evince
a smaller range of vocal colour, but
each has been carefully chosen, with
the right voice for the part – the four
principal ladies are well contrasted,
the Countess rich-toned, the Susanna
somewhat soubrettish (but not too much)
and the Marcellina sounds as if she
actually could be the mother of Girolami’s
rather young-sounding Figaro. This being
a complete performance, she gets her
aria, technically the most demanding
in the entire opera, and brings it off
very well. Many a Cherubino, however
entrancing, sounds essentially feminine;
Breedt’s husky tones could just about
convince you this is really a young
lad, and she makes the character rather
more serious, almost sullen, than usual.
As the one Italian
member of the cast, Girolami makes the
most of his words; you may find him
lighter-voiced than many Figaros, but
in reality he should be a young man
and he certainly makes a believable
character, expressing finely his indignation
and rage at the Count’s blithe assumption
that his noble birth will allow him
to do what he likes with Susanna. This
performance reminds us that there is
much criticism of social conventions
to be found under the opera buffa
surface of this work.
Roider offers a satisfyingly
toady Basilio, but when his aria comes
he leaves aside the caricature and sings
well. He has a very light, reedy tenor
which, apart from some Mozartian roles,
would probably be most suited to operetta.
The Bartolo is a splendid "basso
comico".
The recording is very
fine and clear. I suppose I should point
out that the odd lapse in ensemble suggests
that studio time may not have been generous,
but perhaps the conductor preferred
to record a real performance anyway.
This is an unassailable bargain, and
I wonder how many of the more expensive
alternatives are really worth the extra
money. As usual with Naxos’s opera issues,
we get no libretto but this is partly
compensated with a quite detailed synopsis.
Christopher Howell
Hungarian National Chorus, Nicolaus Esterházy
Sinfonia, David Aronson (continuo)/Michael Halász
