For full details of
the plot, its derivation and philosophy,
and the history of the composition,
production and early performances of
Respighi’s opera, La campana sommersa
please see my article that accompanies
this review.
La campana sommersa
was one of Respighi’s most successful
works. It is an interesting piece not
the least because of its philosophical
ambiguities. On the surface it appears
to be a story of the conflict of orthodox
Christian faith with older, more pagan
beliefs as represented by the fairy
folk: Ondine, the water sprite, the
Faun (the spirit of the woods) and the
heroine, Rautendelein, the elf-girl.
Respighi confessed to having fallen
in love with the character of Rautendelein.
His wife, Elsa, observed that, in this
opera, he revealed his predilection
for the world of nature and fable. Respighi
had a complex personality, torn between
ascetic ideals, often reaching the domain
of pantheistic mysticism and the sensual
realities of the world.
Respighi’s mastery
of the orchestra - luscious harmonies
and resplendent orchestrations - is
apparent immediately in invoking the
magic of the opening scene – ‘an upland
meadow enclosed by sonorous fir trees’.
The composer commented that he felt
the music take wing, creating a world
that mixes reality and fable as we meet
the elf Rautendenlein and the water
sprite Ondino. Respighi’s sure touch
in creating atmosphere and dramatic
tension permeates this appealing work.
I should mention two more examples.
The first is the oppressiveness and
ambiguously moral tone of the mining
scene in Act III where Enrico angrily
forces the dwarves to forge the bell
to adorn his inspirational temple to
the sun. The second is the powerful
Act III dénouement when the ghosts
of Enrico’s children appear carrying
a bowl of his wife Magda’s tears. The
sunken bell tolls ominously and accusingly
as her spectral fingers touch it at
the bottom of the lake.
Friedemann Layer and
the Montpellier orchestra impress strongly,
delivering a powerfully dramatic and
colourful reading sensitive to the drama’s
quicksilver mood changes.
As Rautendelein, the
elf who craves romance with a human,
Laura Aiken is appealingly sweet, a
powerful and clear coloratura. Respighi
gives Rautendelein some of the loveliest
lyrical vocal lines in the opera which
Aiken weaves quite silkily. John Daszak
seizes all his varied expressive opportunities,
as Enrico. He is tender in his Puccini-like
love duets with Rautendenlein, angered
and frustrated as he impatiently admonishes
his dwarf bell-builders, ecstatic as
he articulates his dream of a wondrous
temple and horrified, full of revulsion,
when he discovers the consequences of
abandoning Magda. For Ondino, Roderick
Earle’s bass voice nicely mixes authority
and vulnerability as he expresses his
loss of Rautendelein. Kevin Connors
is outstanding as the malicious Faun
whose mischievous action in wrecking
the cart carrying the bell up the mountain
and thus plunging it to the bottom of
the lake precipitates the tragedy.
A fine recording of
one of Respighi’s most successful and
appealing operas. A must for all Respighi
fans.
Ian Lace
Orchestre National de Montpellier et Choeur Opéra
Junior/Friedemann Layer 
