More
than a few members of the audience at the opera gala held as
part of Bryn Terfel’s Faenol Music Festival in August 2007
felt that the outstanding performer had been the charismatic
Spanish baritone Carlos Alvarez. Many seemed particularly to
enjoy his performance of the aria ‘Los cantos alegres de los
zagales’ from La del soto del parral: an equally
fine performance of the same aria, by Alvarez, opens this very
enjoyable anthology of music from the Spanish zarzuela.
If, like
me, you are already an enthusiast of the zarzuela – Spain’s
native form of opera/operetta, incorporating a certain amount
of spoken dialogue – then you will surely relish this collection
of some of the finest modern singers of zarzuela performing
some of the genre’s finest arias and duets. If you are not
already an aficionado of zarzuela, be warned – listening
to this two CD set may go a long way towards making a convert
of you. New or old, admirers of the zarzuela will find
their pleasure much enhanced by regular consultation of the
excellent website - Zarzuela.net -
run by Christopher Webber, a name familiar to readers of these
pages.
Not everything here is perfect.
Some of the performances by Alfredo Kraus, recorded very late
in his career, admittedly show signs of vocal wear and tear,
but the singing has enormous passion, an utter oneness with
the idiom and a wonderful sense of phrasing. Still, for all
the occasional moments of strain, it would be a hard-hearted
listener who remained unmoved by his interpretation of ‘No
puede ser’ from Sorozábal’s La taberna del Puerto, for
example.
Placido Domingo’s contributions
are those of a masterly exponent of a genre for which he has
often expressed his admiration and enthusiasm and quite a number
of whose major works he has recorded. This collection offers
four examples of his work. We hear him in a resolute interpretation
of the march-flavoured piece ‘La Cancíon de la espada’ from
Guerrero’s El
huésped del sevillano, one of the many fine works in the zarzuela idiom
which were premiered in the 1920s; in
a jota from Bretón’s La
Dolores, in which Enrique Asensio’s direction of the Orquestra
Sinfónica de Madrid is particularly attractive.
Domingo is heard at something like his most seductive in ‘Bella
enamorada’ a gorgeous love song from El último
romántico,
in which he gives perfect vocal expression to the text’s bitter-sweet
celebration of a “dama misteriosa”. Domingo is joined by Maria Rodriguez in a duet from
Chapí’s La Revoltosa of 1897, extracted from the fine
complete recording issued on RTVE Música 65150.
The spinto tenor of Antonio Ordóñez is heard to good effect in his
single contribution (from Guerrero’s Los gavilanes)
not especially lyrical, but tonally strong; Manuel Sirera is
a long established favourite amongst lovers of the zarzuela,
utterly at home in the idiom – something very evident in his
performance of ‘Por el humo se sabe donde esta el fuego’ from Doña
Francisquita by Amadeo Vives, a warm and articulate reading
of the aria.
Of the
lower male voices, that of Alvarez largely steals the show. ‘Los
cantos alegres de los zagales’ is sung with grace and authority,
every phrase imbued with an appropriate poignancy, as Germán sings of how his own pain is increased, pain
he must conceal, as he hears the songs of the happy young men
around him. In ‘Suena guitarrito mío’ the
simple list-like lyrics are invested with a degree of unforced
sincerity and the music shaped rather beautifully. Despite
some intrusive audience coughing at the beginning, his performance
of Simón’s aria ‘La lluvia ha cesado’ from Chapi’s La tempestad has
an arresting power, the character’s guilt powerfully expressed;
this is zarzuela at something like its nearest approach
to nineteenth-century Italian opera, and Alvarez does it full
justice. Deservedly, it gets a rapturous reception from the
audience.
Amongst the women, I would have liked
to have heard more of the marvellous
Maria Bayo. As it is, we have to make
do with the ‘Cancíon de Ruiseñor’, another
item from Vives’s Doña Francisquita.
Bayo sings with characteristic warmth
and agility, and in this ‘Song of the
Nightingale’ we are treated to many
a beautiful “trina”(trill) and “gorjeo”
(warble), to quote the libretto by Frederic
Romero and Guillermo Fernández Shaw.
A delight! I have to confess that Pilar
Lorengar was never a personal favourite,
and I got rather less pleasure from
her contributions here, while recognising
that this may well be a critical blind
spot of mine. Her performance of Barbieri’s
‘Como nací en la calle de la Paloma’
is a bit too heavy on the vibrato for
my taste; her sheer weight of voice
works better in Antonio Litores’s ‘Confiado
jilguerillo’, arranged from his Azis
and Galatea (1708/9) and sung with
piano accompaniment, even if the performance
is most respects stylistically altogether
inappropriate.
The Basque
soprano Ainhoa Arteta is represented here by three contributions.
All display her light and lyrical voice at something like its
best, a voice which, for all its freshness and sparkle, is
also capable of darker colours when required. In ‘Al pensar
en el dueño de mis amores’ from Chapí’s Las
hijas del Zebedeo she sings quite beautifully Luisa’s affirmation
of her love, a perfect statement of innocent passion. The petenera from
Torroba’s La Marchenera is full of stage-Andalusian
charm, sung with both delicacy and climactic power. Her performance
of Rosina’s (offstage) song from Serrano’s La canción del
olvido is exquisite; Arteta’s ability to sustain melodic
lines beautifully, while interpreting text very subtly much
in evidence.
Susana
Cordón
is a relatively new name – although she has already attracted
a good deal of praisein Riossini as well as in zarzuela – and she sings impressively in a duet with
the Brazilian Rodrigo Esteves, ‘Acude
al reclamo de tu capitán’ from Guerrero’s La alsaciana, in which
Esteves also acquits himself very well. So far as duets are
concerned particular highlights of the collection come in two
items, one by Penella and one by Barbieri, sung by soprano
Ana María Sánchez
and mezzo María José Montiel. Their voices
blend delightfully, not least in the habanera ‘Todas las mañanitas’ from Don
Gil de Alcalá, a gorgeous affirmation of daylight’s power
to take away the worries of the la
noche triste y traidora (the sad and treacherous
night) in which the women of the RTVE chorus are also heard
to very good effect. Sánchez is heard on her own in a nicely characterised version of Pilar’s ‘Esta
es su carta’ (from Caballero’s Gigantes y cabezudos),
sung with rather heavyweight passion, and in a vivacious account
of ‘La tarantula é un bicho
mu malo’, a fine piece of theatrical gipsy music by Gerónimo Giménez.
Montiel is heard in two solo items too. The first is a rich
performance of that quintessential affirmation of Spanish identity, ‘De
España
vengo’ from Luna’s El niño judío, where her voice is
well complemented by the work of RTVE Orchestra under Enrique
G. Asensio. The second is a lilting aria from Caballero’s El
dúo de la africana, in which Monteil sings commandingly, especially at the
bottom end of her register.
Throughout
these two CDs the singers benefit from the work of orchestras
and conductors who are soaked in the musical language of the zarzuela.
In one or two of the live performances there are some mildly
irritating extraneous noises and the balance of the recorded
sound is always perfect. But these are very minor quibbles;
taken as a whole this is over two hours of splendid music,
splendidly sung and guaranteed to lift the spirits,
Glyn
Pursglove
Track details
Reveriano SOUTULLO (1884-1932), Juan VERT (1890-1931)
‘Los cantos alegres de los zagales’, from La del soto del
parral (1927); Carlos Álvarez (baritone), Orq. Sinfónica
y coro de RTVE/Juan José Ocón [5:26]
Ruperto CHAPÍ (1851-1909)
‘Al pensar en el dueño de mis amores’, from Las hijas del
Zebedeo (1889); (Ainhoa Arteta (soprano), Orq. Sinfónica
de RTVE/Enrique G. Asensio [4:36]
Manuel PENELLA (1880-1939)
‘Todas las mañanitas’, from Don Gil de Alcalá (1932);
Ana María Sánchez (soprano), María José Montiel (mezzo),
Orq. Sinfónica y coro de RTVE/Enrique G. Asensio [2:46]
Tomás
BARRERA (1870-1938), Rafael CALLEJA (1870-1938)
‘Adiós ranada’, from Emigrantes (1905); Alfredo Kraus
(tenor), Orq. Sinfónica de RTVE/Enrique G. Asensio [3:55]
Francisco Asenjo BARBIERI (1823-1894)
‘Como nací en la calle de la Paloma’, from El barberillo
de Lavapiés (1874); Pilar Lorengar (soprano), Orq. Sinfónica
de Sevilla/Antonio G. Navarro [3:16]
Jacinto GUERRERO (1895-1951)
‘La Cancíon de la espada’, from El huésped
del sevillano (1926); Plácido Domingo (tenor), Orq. Sinfónica
de Madrid y Coro de RTVE/Enrique G. Asensio [2:39]
Amadeo VIVES (1871-1932)
‘Cancíon de Ruiseñor’ from Doña Francisquita (1923);
María Bayo (soprano), Orq. Sinfónica de RTVE/Enrique G. Asensio
[4:57]
Agustin Pérez
SORIANO (1846-1907)
‘Suena guitarrito mio’ from Guitarrico (1900); Carlos Álvarez
(baritone), Orq. Sinfónica de Castilla y León/Miguel Ortega
I Pujol [3:42]
Pablo LUNA (1879-1942)
‘De España vengo …’ from El niño judío (1918); María
José Montiel (mezzo), Orq. Sinfónica y coro de RTVE/Enrique
G. Asensio [5:47]
Jacinto GUERRERO (1895-1951)
‘Acude al reclamo de tu capitán’ from La alsaciana (1921);
Rodrigo Esteves (baritone); Susana Cordón (soprano), Orq.
Sinfónica y coro de RTVE/Enrique G. Asensio [6:26]
Amadeo VIVES (1871-1932)
‘Por el humo se sabe donde esta el fuego’ from Doña Francisquita (1923);
Manuel Sirera (tenor), Orq. Romanza Española/Benito Lauret
[3:56]
Manuel Fernández
CABALLERO [1853-1906)
‘Esta es su carta’ from Gigantes y cabezudos (1898);
Ana María Sánchez (soprano), Orq. Sinfónica de Madrid/Jesús
López Cobos [5:16]
Tomás
BRETÓN (1850-1923)
‘Jota para tenor y coro’ from La Dolores (1895); Plácido
Domingo (tenor), Orq. Sinfónica de Madrid y coro de RTVE/Enrique
G. Asensio [7:07]
Pablo SOROZÁBAL (1897-1988)
‘No puede ser’, from La tabernera del Puerto (1936);
Alfredo Kraus (tenor), Orq. Sinfónica de RTVE/Enrique G.
Asensio [3:10]
Francisco Asenjo BARBIERI (1823-1894)
Duet from El barberillo de Lavapiés (1874); Ana María
Sánchez (soprano), María José Montiel (mezzo), Orq. Sinfónica
y coro de RTVE/Enrique G Asensio [4:06]
Ruperto CHAPÍ (1851-1909)
‘La lluvia ha cesado’, from La tempestad (1882); Carlos Álvarez
(baritone), Orq. Sinfónica y coro de RTVE/Juan José Ocón
[6:23]
Federico Moreno TORROBA (1891-1982)
‘Tres horas antes del dia’ from La marchenera (1928);
Ainhoa Arteta (soprano), Orq. Sinfónica y coro de RTVE/Enrique
G. Asensio [3:09]
Reveriano SOUTULLO (1884-1932), Juan VERT (1890-1931)
‘Bella enamorada’ from El último romántico (1928);
Plácido Domingo (tenor), Orq. Sinfónica y coro de RTVE/Enrique
G. Asensio [4:08]
Antonio LITERES (1673-1747)
Confiado jilguerillo (1709); Pilar Lorengar
(soprano), Miguel Zanetti (piano) [3:48]
Gerónimo
GIMÉNEZ (1854-1923)
‘La tarantula é un bicho mu malo’, from La tempranic (1900);
Ana María Sánchez (soprano), Orq. Sinfónica de RTVE/Enrique
G. Asensio [1:46]
Francisco Asenjo BARBIERI (1823-1894)
Preludio y entrada de Lamparilla from El barberillo de
Lavapiés (1874); Jesús Castejón (bass baritone), María
de las Mercedes García (soprano), Orq. Sinfónica de RTVE/Enrique
G. Asensio [7:31]
Manuel Fernández
CABALLERO (1895-1951)
‘Yo he nacido muy chiquita’, from El dúo de la Africana (1893);
María José Montiel (mezzo), Orq. Sinfónica de RTVE/Enrique
G. Asensio [2:53]
Jacinto GUERRERO (1895-1951)
Escena de la flor, from Los gavilanes (1923); Antonio
Ordóñez (tenor), Orq. Sinfónica de RTVE/Enrique G. Asensio
[5:20]
Ruperto CHAPÍ (1851-1909)
‘¿
Porqué de mis ojos…?’, from La Revoltosa (1897); Plácido
Domingo (tenor), María Rodríguez (soprano), Orq. Y Coro de
la Comunidad de Madrid/Miguel Roa [5:54]
José SERRANO (1873-1944)
‘Marinela’, from La canción del olvido (1916); Ainhoa
Arteta (soprano), Orq. Sinfónica de RTVE/Enrique G. Asensio
[2:22]
Jota, from El trust de los tenorios (1910); Alfredo
Kraus (tenor), Orq. Sinfónica de RTVE y Coro Amici Musicae
del Auditorio de Zaragoza/Enrique G. Asensio [2:51]
Jacinto GUERRERO (1895-1951)
Duet of Adriana and Rosaura, from Los gavilanes (1923);
Inmaculada Egido, Milagros Poblador (soprano), Orq. Sinfónica
y coro de RTVE/Enrique G. Asensio [4:56]
Federico CHUECA (1846-1908)
‘Soy el rata …’ from La Gran Vía (1886); Ricardo
Muñiz (tenor), Francisco Matilla (baritone), Miguel Sola
(bass-baritone), Orq. y Coro de la Comunidad de Madrid/Miguel
Roa [4:01]
RTVE MUSICA
65280 [60:01 + 62:26]
