In the era of recorded music from roughly 1900 certain star names from
classical music and opera have become household ones. In the world of
classical music most often these have been conductors or singers with the
occasional instrumentalist. Notable early names included Toscanini on the
rostrum and the tenor Caruso. They were not alone, albeit were nearly
dominant in the popular mind going by sales of the 78 rpm shellac discs that
followed the primitive early cylinders. Among singers it has always seemed
that tenors dominated the sales charts. Caruso was followed by the likes and
fame of Gigli, Schipa, Tagliavini, and Corelli among others; not should we
forget Lanza although he never sang staged opera. As tenor popularity moved
on from records to film, and even football matches, so names such as Domingo
and Pavarotti became world renowned. Their fame extended well beyond the
normal realm of their operatic skill and specialism. In the present day,
after the retirement or death of the latter two, there had been something of
a vacuum until the spectacular emergence of the Bavarian Jonas Kaufmann who
seems to be in constant demand at the best operatic addresses along with
music spectaculars such as the BBC Promenade concerts.
Like Domingo, Kaufmann has a defined stage persona and the macho physical
attributes of a super star. These attributes extend to a range that takes in
the demanding roles of German and Italian repertoire. In the present
collection which moves naturally from his Verdi collection (Sony 8867492002)
where he showed his skills among the early works through the
composer's middle period
Rigoletto and
Traviata all
the way to his penultimate work,
Otello, a role that many tenors
will not tackle because of vocal strain. Along the way in that collection
Kaufmann showed his respect for the composer’s intentions in the conclusion
to
Celeste Aida, just as he does in the recent complete recording
of the work. That sensitivity and musicianship allied to his vocal ability
and prowess is also evident in this Puccini programme. This ranges from
Puccini's earliest works to his final one,
Turandot,
completed by Alfano, with encouragement from Toscanini after the composer’s
death.
The CD takes in the whole of the Puccini operatic oeuvre with the
exception of
Suor Angelica in which there are no male roles. A
minor regret is that the repertoire is not covered in chronological order.
It starts with the composer’s first great success,
Manon Lescaut,
after the very modestly received
Le Villi and
Edgar. After
the lukewarm reception of his first two operas, with his domestic life in a
mess and unable to settle with the chosen librettists, who were changed to
the extent that none put his name to the programme at the premiere, Puccini
thought of emigration to America. Being aware of these difficulties, and
that La Scala was to premiere Verdi’s last opera,
Falstaff shortly
after the scheduled premiere of
Manon Lescaut, his publisher
Ricordi moved the venue of the premiere away from the Milan highlights to
Turin. Despite these last minute fears, the work was a resounding success,
the applause beginning after the brief tenor aria
Tra voi, belle in
act 1 when Puccini had to appear on stage to acknowledge the applause. At
the end of the performance the composer and cast took thirty curtain-calls.
Manon Lescaut set Puccini on a secure financial and artistic future
and sets this CD off to a thrilling start. He is accompanied by Kristine
Opolais as Manon as he was in the performances of the work at Covent Garden
in June 2014, a performance transmitted to cinemas and recently appearing on
Blu-ray and DVD.
What is impressive in this collection, as in the Verdi disc referred to,
is how Kaufmann varies both the modulation and tonal variety of his voice to
match the character and dramatic situation being portrayed. He effortlessly
essays the big notes in
Nessun Dorma, in the written key and full
voice (Tr.6), no downward transposition for him. There's also a
tender
Non piangere, Liù! (Tr.15). Similarly, his assumption of
Ruggero from
La Rondine (Tr.12) and Rinuccio from
Gianni
Schicchi (Tr. 14). Personally I would also have preferred the inclusion
of
Che gelida manina to the duet
O soave fanciulla (Tr.7
from
La boheme)
. However, it seems that I cannot have both
and there is nothing to fault in the singing in the duet. At only sixty
minutes I could also have had
e lucevan la stele from
Tosca as well as the well-sung
Recondita armonia (Tr.8)
with its excellent expression and phrasing, characteristics of Kaufmann
throughout this disc. Is that being greedy? Well if Sony could mange 75
minutes on the Verdi album then this could have run for more. Yes, I know
Kaufmann has recorded those Puccini arias already, but not with the Pappano
on the rostrum - this conductor's contribution to this collection is
magnificent. Kristine Opolais is a worthy partner as she was in that cinema
transmission of
Manon Lescaut, and in the DVD extracts (Chs.
4-6).
Is the
De Luxe version worth the extra money? My answer, with
Christmas on the horizon is: in for a penny in for a pound, or more. You
won’t regret it down the track. The views of Rome and the singer talking in
perfect English (Chs 1-3) are more than worth the extra money.
Robert J Farr
Track Listing
Manon Lescaut
1. Act I. Donna non vidi mai
2. Act II. Oh, sarò la più bella! ... Tu, tu, amore? Tu?
3. Act II. Ah! Manon mi tradisce
4. Act III. Presto! In fila! ... Non v'avvicinate! No, pazzo
son!
Le Villi
5
. Act II. Ei giunge! ... Torna ai felici dì
Edgar
6. Act 1. Orgia, chimera dall'occhio vitreo
La Bohème
7. Act I. O soave fanciulla
Tosca
8. Act I. Recondita armonia
Madama Butterfly
9. Act III. Addio, fiorito asil
La Fanciulla del West
10. Act II. Una parola sola! ... Or son sei mesi
11. Act III. Risparmiate lo scherno ... Ch'ella mi creda libero
La Rondine
12. Act I. Parigi! È la città dei desideri
Il Tabarro
13. Hai ben ragione
Gianni Schicchi
14
. Avete torto! ... Firenze e come un albero
fiorito
Turandot
15. Act I. Non piangere, Liù!
16. Act III. Nessun Dorma
DVD Track Listings
Trs. 1-3. Promotional Trailer
Trs. 4-6.
La fanciulla del West
with Nina Stemme (sop) as Minnie.
Chorus and Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera/Franz Welser-Möst
rec 2013
Trs. 7-8.
Manon Lescaut
with Kristine Opolais (sop) as Manon
Chorus and Orchestra of Royal Opera House, London/Antonio Pappano
