When I was in my teens
in the early 1950s, having had my own
experiences with screaming women, I
thought I hated opera. I had been not
merely bored but even a little frightened
by some of those "vocal collectors"
whose only interest in music is the
same dozen arias sung over and over
by everybody; most of them dead Italians,
of course. With the discovery of Boris
Godunov and Yevgeny Onyegin —
that is, opera with men in it — I found
that opera could be interesting after
all and eventually I came eventually
to appreciate it all.
And here we have a
rich banquet of male vocal music, some
of it supreme, all of it greatly interesting.
The Bizet work I have seen on stage
and own every commercial recording,
and the grand duet has never sounded
better. Some of the others I know from
videos. I’ve never before heard a note
of Verdi’s Vêpres Siciliennes
or Don Carlos, or anything by
Meyerbeer, and that is a great shame,
because opera must be appreciated as
a whole, not merely all the music and
all the words from beginning to end,
but also the staging and the costumes.
The performers are
fully in character for these performances.
Although no chorus or other soloists
are included, the whole scene is presented
including orchestral introductions and
conclusions, i.e., these are not "concert
versions" but the complete original.
Jerry Hadley has a
beautiful, controlled, lyrical dramatic
tenor voice. Thomas Hampson has made
a fine reputation in opera and song
for his rich baritone voice, wide musical
interests, his musical intelligence
and dramatic sense. Together these artists
form an unbeatable team, and the chemistry
between them in these scenes is electrifying,
most especially in the music from Don
Carlos and Vêpres Siciliennes.
Is it that French is the most intense
operatic language? Or just that these
artists can make it sound so? I even
enjoyed the Bohème duet,
clearly and brightly sung here with
no trace of howling or wailing. The
Meyerbeer Dinorah scene especially
left me with a desire to hear more from
this composer. The orchestra, conductor,
and recordists give complete support
and the result is a very exciting recital.
Paul Shoemaker