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Presto News - 20th June 2011Beethoven’s Fidelio from Abbado and Kaufmann |
 As my Presto colleagues would wryly confirm, I've been avidly awaiting this new Fidelio from last year’s Lucerne Festival for several weeks, greeting each morning’s post with an eager ‘Is it here yet...?’. Stumbling upon the Radio 3 broadcast of the live performance last summer, I was absolutely spellbound by the immaculate pacing, clarity and drama of what I heard and spent the next week zealously urging every opera-lover I knew to catch it on BBC’s listen again device – iplayer – so I was thrilled when Decca confirmed that it was to be released commercially.  Nina Stemme and Jonas Kaufmann From the opening flourishes of the overture, Abbado and his hand-picked festival orchestra arrest the attention: despite the relatively brisk tempo, countless little details emerge which are glossed over on rival recordings, and the energy and care for countermelodies are carried over into the ensuing duet between the sparring Marzelline and Jaquino. The dialogue – often a stumbling-point on recordings – is delivered with absolute conviction and a total absence of staginess, and never feels like an unwelcome interruption. It’s no backhanded compliment to say that Nina Stemme is almost more compelling in the spoken sections than when singing: she sounds convincingly masculine when playing ‘Fidelio’ with Rocco and his daughter (small wonder that Rachel Harnisch’s bright-toned Marzelline fell for this sultry-voiced young ‘jailer's assistant’!), and her barely-suppressed joy and anguish on discovering the identity of the high-security prisoner in the dungeon-scene are almost unbearably moving. Occasionally, a hint of shrillness creeps into the very upper reaches (a couple of moments in ‘Abscheulicher!’ might have warranted a re-take on a studio recording) but the voice is so lustrous and every phrase is so invested with character that it hardly matters. Falk Struckmann, a celebrated Wagnerian baddie, avoids the one-dimensional barking of many Pizarros: there’s a terrible beauty to his big ‘vengeance’ aria (the chorus sound tangibly seduced by his presence in their interjections) and a charismatic authority in his dealings with Christof Fischesser’s Rocco, who veers between gruff sympathy for his prisoners and audible fear of the Powers That Be. The ensemble-singing has the balance and synthesis which characterise the very best performances of Beethoven’s chamber-music, yet this Fidelio is dominated by the last character we meet, sung here by the mesmerising Jonas Kaufmann. His first note alone is worth the price of the set: his entry is virtually imperceptible, but the prisoner’s soft moan of ‘Gott!’ builds to a searing cry of anguish which had my hair standing on end (and, no doubt, my neighbours poised to bang on the wall!). Despite the innate virility and power of the voice, he conveys the starving prisoner’s physical weakness as well as his nobility and strength of mind – and at the end of a gruelling evening still fields clarion tone in the brief solos praising his ‘holdes Weib’ in the final scene. The comparatively dark voices of the two protagonists won’t perhaps be to all tastes but, for me, are one of the selling-points of this recording – it goes without saying that both are in almost total technical command of these fiercely demanding roles, but there’s a palpable sense of effort which only reinforces the heroism of the characters. One tiny caveat: all applause (including a loud ‘Bravo!’ and noisy storm of shushing after Florestan’s aria!) has been edited out since the broadcast, which seems oddly anticlimactic after the blazing C major jubilation of the very end! It says much that this is my only reservation: this is truly glorious, exhilarating music-making, and a superb document of one of the most thrilling live performances of 2010.
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 Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72Jonas Kaufmann (Florestan), Nina Stemme (Leonore), Falk Struckmann (Pizarro), Christof Fischesser (Rocco), Rachel Harnisch (Marzelline), Christoph Strehl (Jaquino), Peter Mattei (Don Fernando), Juan Sebastian Acosta (Erste Gefangener), Levente Pall (Zweite Gefangener) Lucerne Festival Orchestra & Arnold Schoenberg Chor, Claudio Abbado |
Katherine Cooper - katherine@prestoclassical.co.uk |
Listen - sound samples available for this itemNew Releases20th June 2011 |
This is just the pick of the recent releases. The New Releases and Future Releases pages are always available for browsing all the new and forthcoming releases. |
 Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 4 & Rhapsody on a Theme of PaganiniSimon Trpčeski (piano), Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Vasily PetrenkoSimon Trpčeski’s recording of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concertos Nos. 2 and 3 was one of the most acclaimed and best-selling classical releases of 2010. His frequent collaborations with Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra are justly celebrated. Together they complete the Rachmaninov canon with this highly-anticipated follow up of Concertos Nos. 1 and 4, and the Paganini Rhapsody. |
 Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 in E Major (Nowak Edition)Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Marek JanowskiContinuing their Bruckner cycle with Janowski and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, here is Symphony No. 7. With Symphony No. 8 PTC5196371 as the ‘benchmark recording’ on Radio 3’s Building a Library, this volume will be eagerly awaited. |
 Sandrine Piau: Aprés un RêveSandrine Piau (soprano) & Susan Manhoff (piano)The award-winning pairing of soprano Sandrine Piau and pianist Susan Manhoff received unanimous critical acclaim for their previous recital disc Evocation, (V5063). On their new CD, Après un rêve, they perform a fascinating collection of songs by some of the greatest composers for the voice of the 19th and 20th centuries, including Richard Strauss, Fauré, Mendelssohn, Chausson, Poulenc, Britten and Vincent Bouchot. |
 Vivaldi: The French Connection 2Adrian Chandler (director/violin), Katy Bircher (flute), Gail Hennessy (oboe) & Peter Whelen (bassoon), La SerenissimaAdrian Chandler and La Serenissima, winners of 2010’s Gramophone Award in the Baroque Instrumental category for Vivaldi: The French Connection (AV2178), present the sequel, The French Connection 2, which features the world-premiere recording of Il Gran mogul, the lost Vivaldi Flute Concerto recently rediscovered in the National Archives of Scotland. |
 Grandi: Vespro della Beata VegineDeborah York (soprano), Daniel Taylor (alto), Ed Lyon (tenor) & Peter Harvey (bass), Gachinger Kantorei Stuttgart & Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, Matthew HallsAlessandro Grandi was Monteverdi’s Vice-Kapellmeister at St Mark’s Venice for seven years and was elected Kapellmeister at the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo in 1627. This performance of his Vespers is a live recording and includes outstanding soloists such as Deborah York and Peter Harvey. |
 Yakov Kreizberg conducts Debussy & RavelOrchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo, Yakov KreizbergThis is the second release in this new series under the direction of the late Yakov Kreizberg. The ballet theme of the first release is continued with two more works much performed by the Ballets Russes; Ravel’s Daphnis & Chloé and Debussy’s Prélude à l’Apres-midi d’un faune”. |
 Opera AustraliaNew and archive recordings from SydneyThe first batch of releases from an exciting new company which will bring us new and archive recordings from the world’s greatest opera houses. These first releases come from Sydney and feature a new recording of The Marriage of Figaro with Teddy Tahu Rhodes in the title role and a choice of three formats – CD, DVD and Blu-ray. At the same time are three beautifully re-mastered CD recordings of La Stupenda – Joan Sutherland – live from the iconic Sydney Opera House, in conjunction with Opera Australia and The Sydney Opera House. |
 Four new Giulini RecordingsBerliner Philharmoniker, Carlo Maria GiuliniTestament have just released four terrific new Giulini releases with the Berlin Philharmonic. All live recordings from the Philharmonie, they include Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with Brigitte Fassbaender & Francisco Araiza, Schubert Symphonies 8 & 9, Mussorgsky-Ravel Pictures at an Exhibition and Mahler Symphony No. 1. |
 BBC Radio 3 CD ReviewSaturday 18th June 2011 |
Building a Library - Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (Tristan and Isolde) |
 First ChoiceIncluding full printed librettoSiegfried Jerusalem (Tristan), Waltraud Meier (Isolde), Marjana Lipovsek (Brangaene), Matti Salminen (König Marke), Falk Struckmann (Kurwenal), Johan Botha (Melot), Peter Maus (Hirt), Roman Trekel (Steuerman), Uwe Heilmann (Stimme eines jungen Seemanns) Berlin State Opera Chorus, Beirlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim |
 First ChoiceAbout to be re-issued (no libretto)Siegfried Jerusalem (Tristan), Waltraud Meier (Isolde), Marjana Lipovsek (Brangaene), Matti Salminen (König Marke), Falk Struckmann (Kurwenal), Johan Botha (Melot), Peter Maus (Hirt), Roman Trekel (Steuerman), Uwe Heilmann (Stimme eines jungen Seemanns) Berlin State Opera Chorus, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim |
 DVD ChoiceRobert Gambill (Tristan), Nina Stemme (Isolde), Katarina Karnéus (Brangäne), Bo Skovhus (Kurwenal), René Pape (König Marke), Stephen Gadd (Melot), Timothy Robinson (Hirt/Junger Seemann), Richard Mosley-Evans (Steuermann) The Glyndebourne Chorus & London Philharmonic Orchestra, Jirí Belohlávek |
 Blu-ray ChoiceRobert Gambill (Tristan), Nina Stemme (Isolde), Katarina Karnéus (Brangäne), Bo Skovhus (Kurwenal), René Pape (König Marke), Stephen Gadd (Melot), Timothy Robinson (Hirt/Junger Seemann), Richard Mosley-Evans (Steuermann) The Glyndebourne Chorus & London Philharmonic Orchestra, Jirí Belohlávek |
Disc of the Week |
 Hugo Wolf: Italienisches Liederbuch (46 songs, complete)Mojca Erdmann (soprano), Christian Gerhaher (baritone), Gerold Huber (piano) |
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