Orfeo ed Euridice - to a libretto by Raniero de’ Calzabigi
- is without a doubt Gluck’s most famous work and arguably his
masterpiece. Whether its fame and popularity is due to Gluck’s
wonderful music or to his intended reform of Italian opera
seria with the first version in 1762 is a matter of opinion.
Then again, it may be because it contains the beautifully touching,
celebrated aria “Che farò senza Euridice?”. It probably
depends on one’s knowledge of opera or simply one’s personal
taste.
Gluck wrote no less than three versions of Orfeo ed Euridice.
The first, as mentioned above, came in 1762, to an Italian libretto,
It was written for Vienna, with the part of Orfeo sung by the
famous alto castrato, Gaetano Guadagni. Ten years earlier he
had worked extensively with Handel in London. In 1769, Gluck
conducted the work in Parma, Italy, as part of a triple-bill
of his operas. There, he adapted the role of Orfeo for the soprano
castrato, Giuseppe Millico, naturally with a much higher voice
than Guadagni. Finally, in 1774, Gluck composed his third and
last version; this time for Paris under the patronage of his
former pupil Marie Antoinette. France was at the time the only
European nation that did not accept the castrato voice and found
it ridiculous. Therefore, to appeal more to French taste, Gluck
composed a new version to an extended French libretto by Pierre-Louis
Moline (based on de’ Calzabigi’s Italian original). There the
role of Orfeo was radically transposed for a haute-contre,
which is really a high tenor voice though it has occasionally
been mistakenly translated as a counter-tenor. Additionally
and again to please Parisian audiences, Gluck changed the orchestration
and wrote new numbers, namely the bravura aria at end of Act
I and the ballets, in Act II and at the end of Act III. Much
later, as the popularity of the castrato voice declined, women
began to sing the role of Orfeo. In 1859, the French contralto
Pauline Viardot (sister of the celebrated Maria Malibran) asked
composer Hector Berlioz to adapt the opera for her vocal line.
Berlioz created a so-called mixed version where he used Orfeo’s
voice register from the original of 1762 but otherwise followed
mostly the French score of 1774. The present recording of Orfeo
ed Euridice is the mixed version and the role of Orfeo is
sung by a woman contralto.
Polish contralto Ewa Podles sings the role of Orfeo in this
version of Gluck’s opera, performed live and originally recorded
in 1998. It is now re-issued in SACD format. Ms Podles undoubtedly
possesses an exquisite, distinctive voice with a very wide range
and great agility. Whether one finds it beautiful or not, is
a matter of taste. I must say that although I like the contralto
voice in general, Ms Podles’s is really not my cup of tea! Her
performance is powerful and on stage, she must have made an
impressive, commanding Orfeo but on disc there is something
missing and I often found her interpretation over-dramatic.
Her tone is very dense - for want of a better word - and to
my mind lacks purity. The vowels are often closed in instances
where they should be open and clear. Occasionally, it was difficult
for me to tell whether she was singing in Italian or another
language. Her vocal agility is patent in the bravura aria “Addio,
addio, o miei sospiri”, however, I also felt that
her voice was a little too stretched. Its highest register sounded
forced and slightly artificial. She was at her best in the duets
with Euridice where her voice harmonises pleasantly with the
soprano of Ana Rodrigo. Her interaction with Elena de la Merced’s
Amore is also very effective but to me Podles’s greatest moment
is with the famous “Che farò senza Euridice?”.
Here, she does a truly marvellous job, delivering a moving,
delicate and very beautiful rendition of Orfeo’s loss.
Soprano Ana Rodrigo sang Euridice convincingly. Her voice possesses
a nice timbre, which combined effectively with Podles’s full
contralto; though occasionally, she lacked power. Ms Rodrigo
delivered however a sensitive interpretation of the character,
which often compensated for the moments where a little more
power would have enhanced her singing. She has a solid technique
that sustained her performance and gave us some very pleasant
moments, as for example her rendition of “Che fiero momento”
(Act III, Scene I), sung flawlessly.
Amore was sung by soprano Elena de la Merced, owner of a lovely
crystal clear voice, with a pure tone. This contrasted beautifully
with Podles’s rich contralto, particularly during their interaction
in Act I, Scene II. I thoroughly enjoyed her rendition of “Gli
sguardi trattieni” delivered with easy clarity and assured
high notes.
The three women were at their best in Act III, the last of the
opera, during the terzetto in Scene II where their voices harmonised
beautifully, and then in Scene III, “Trionfi amore”,
which forms the great finale. It was very well sung and their
interaction with the chorus is excellent.
In Orfeo ed Euridice, Gluck deliberately gave the chorus
a great degree of importance so that they are like the fourth
character in the opera, hence a powerful, expressive choir is
essential. The Coro de la Comunidad de Madrid rose mostly to
the challenge. They delivered some of the most memorable moments
of the opera, particularly in the funereal opening of Act I
“Ah se intorno a quest’urna” poignantly sung, and then
in “Torna o bella al tuo consorte” at the end of Act
II, a lovely, sweet rendition of the piece. Their diction could
have been clearer, as it was not always obvious that Italian
was the language used, however this turned out to be a minor
issue and easily overlooked due to the quality of their singing.
The Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia is not one of Spain’s best
known orchestras but they do a convincing job and deliver Gluck’s
beautiful score effectively, making it a very enjoyable event.
Peter Maag’s direction is generally excellent; he gives the
singers their space, never allowing the orchestra to overwhelm
them. On the downside, I thought that it was not always well
balanced. For example, the violins are too obvious during the
overture, meaning that one almost has the impression that there
were no other instruments. Nevertheless, this re-issue of a
1998 live recording of Gluck’s opera is a pleasant event and
the SACD format does enhance the sound if one listens to it
on the relevant equipment. If not, the echoes and other minor
deficiencies are perhaps more noticeable. The libretto appears
only in Italian and English while the booklet notes are in English,
German, French and Italian, expertly written by Danilo Prefumo.
They make enjoyable and informative reading but I disliked the
font chosen; it is not only small but somehow jammed together,
which does not go easy on the eyes and makes it difficult to
read.
The CD heading on page 1 of the booklet places the Paris version
in 1778; however, all the sources that I could find, including
Danilo Prefumo - who wrote the CD booklet notes - give 1774
as the date for the Paris version.
Whether one should buy this version of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice
or another by better known artists will probably depend on personal
taste. If you like the role of Orfeo sung by a woman then I
would say that a recording featuring the great Janet Baker is
probably the best you can get. Some scholars regard Gluck’s
third and final version - for the voice of a high tenor, with
a French libretto and entitled Orphée et Eurydice - as
the definitive version; the one that Gluck really intended to
create, mostly because it was the composer’s last. I must say
that after having heard Juan Diego Flórez sing it, in the role
of Orphée, at the Teatro Real in Madrid, I would definitely
agree. However, if you believe that the role of Orfeo should
really be sung by a contralto - the most similar register to
that of the original version of 1762 - then this recording with
Ewa Podles is a good option. The present disc in SACD format
is superior to the simple CD (from the same label, with catalogue
number 47536-2), however, considerably more expensive. So, if
one does not have SACD equipment it is possibly better to go
for the earlier, conventional CD recording.
Margarida Mota-Bull
see also reviews by Brian
Wilson and Jim
Zychowicz
Ewa Podles (Orfeo); Ana Rodrigo (Euridice); Elena de la Merced (Amore)
