Francesco CAVALLI (1602 - 1676)
Il Giasone [191.10]
Giasone - Christophe Dumaux (counter-tenor)
Medea - Katarina Bradic (soprano)
Isfile - Robin Johannsen (soprano)
Giove / Besso - Josef Wagner (bass)
Demo - Filippo Adami (tenor)
Delfa / Eolo - Yaniv D’Or (counter-tenor)
Amore /Alinda - Angelique Noldus (soprano)
Ercole / Oreste - Andrew Ashwin (bass)
Egeo / Sole - Emilio Pons (tenor)
Symphony Orchestra of Vlaamse Opera Antwerp-Ghent/Federico Maria Sardelli
rec. live, Vlaamse Opera, Antwerp, May 2010
DYNAMIC CDS 663/1-3 [3 CDs: 63.03 + 57.42 + 70.25]
Cavalli’s operas still remain tricky to bring off. Though nowadays few
people would think of performing an edition as luxuriant and interventionist
as Raymond Leppard’s for the Glyndebourne Festival, there is still plenty
of scope for an editorial hand.
For a start, the operas are generally long, far longer than we nowadays would
consider. An urtext can be difficult to establish. So there is a lot of scope
for being creative when creating the edition actually being performed. This
new recording of Cavalli’s Il Giasone from Vlaamse Opera is frustratingly
silent about what we are actually hearing. The score revision is credited
to Alexander Krampe but his article in the CD booklet tells us little about
his editorial methods even if there is a lot about his admiration for early
copyists.
The recording comes in at 190 minutes. That’s rather less than René
Jacobs 234 minutes on his 1989 Harmonia Mundi recording. Jacobs recorded a
cut edition, so that we are inevitably hearing a version which misses things
out. It would be nice to be told what and why.
The other problem is the balance between comedy and tragedy. Venetian opera
of this period revelled in the juxtaposition of comic and serious characters.
On this disc we do get a good mix of comedy and pathos. Il Giasone
is itself rather difficult to take, because even the serious characters get
mixed up in a plot which could come from a Carry On film. Both Giasone
(Christoph Dumaux) and Medea (Katarina Bradic) are provided with exes, Isfile
(Robin Johannsen) and Egeo (Emilio Pons). Their comings and goings render
Medea’s vengeance and Giasone’s heroics mere side-shows to the
main event, something approaching a four-door Whitehall farce.
To the credit of the original theatre director, the production seems to have
kept a balance. On this set there is a nice mix between both fun and pain.
Dumaux makes an excellent lover, creating a nicely erotic atmosphere. As a
hero Giasone is hopeless; he is completely interested in his latest woman,
unreliable and certainly not heroic. Dumaux makes the most of this. That said,
I have to admit that the role seems to sit a little oddly for him in terms
of tessitura and there are moments when he seems uncomfortable.
As Medea, Katarina Bradic successfully moves from infatuated lover to vengeful
sorceress. Her duets with Dumaux are notable, particularly their tryst Act
3. She is tremendous in invocation to the spirits at the end of Act 1.
The most consistent character is Isfile; she is the lover spurned and Robin
Johannsen is superb in her tragic scenes such as the opening to Act 2. Filippo
Adami makes a lovely Demo, the largest comic character, a stammering dwarf.
Adami stammers hilariously but sings Demo’s songs like Con arte con
lusinghe quite delightfully. The rest of the cast, all playing double
roles, are well cast though not all sound like period specialists and a little
too much vibrato does creep in. The vocal doubling - and the large cast of
characters, 14 in all - means that you do need to be on the ball about who
is who.
The Symphony Orchestra of Vlaamse Opera accompanies with a small string band
(11 players), recorders, cornett and timpani plus a continuo group of viol,
two lutes and two harpsichords. Conductor Federico Maria Sardelli keeps things
moving and lively yet lets the melodic moments flower.
The advantage, and disadvantage, of this recording is that it is taken from
live performances in an opera house. You are not hearing a specialist period
performance troupe; these are cast and players of Vlaamse Opera and in that
sense, what they achieve here is very impressive. More so, in that the performance
has a credible dramatic feel. The scenes tumble over each other, vividly and
you can get drawn in.
The track-list on the booklet is not terribly helpful and the plot summary
rather short so if you want to enjoy this set to its full then you need to
download the libretto (in Italian and English) from the Dynamic website (www.dynamic.it).
It takes a little finding, but it is there and is well worth acquiring to
be able to follow the set properly.
The set is also available on DVD and frankly, if you can afford it, then I
would buy the DVD to get the full benefit of the stage production and actually
see what is going on. The CD booklet includes a few photographs of what appears
to be an attractive, modern dress production.
At the moment René Jacobs’ recording is still the prime recording
of this work. This new one, being from a live non-specialist opera house is
a little rougher around the edges, but manages to be dramatic and engaging.
I would be entirely happy to listen to it, but do consider the DVD.
Robert Hugill
A dramatic and engaging live event.