Christoph Willibald GLUCK (1714-1787)
Orfeo ed Euridice (Mixed version in Italian language – Vienna
1762 and Paris 1778) [103:43]
Ewa Podles (Orfeo); Ana Rodrigo (Euridice); Elena de la Merced (Amore)
Coro de la Comunidad de Madrid
Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia/Peter Maag
rec. live on 19th June 1998, La Coruña, Spain
ARTS 47753-8 SACD [34:29 (Act 1) + 69:14 (Acts 2 and 3)]
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