Ombre di luce
Nathan Granner (tenor), Orchestre Philharmonique de Marseille/Clelia Cafiero
rec. 2023, Le CEPAC Silo, équipment culturel de la Ville de Marseille, France
Sung texts with English translations enclosed
Reviewed as MP3 download
Pentatone PTC5187209 SACD [67]
This is a fascinating programme of tenor arias from the latter part of the 18th century, a period today represented for a majority of opera enthusiasts by the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He dominates the choice of arias here, but was far from alone in creating memorable arias and operas; several others were held in high esteem by both audiences and critics, even outdistancing him. He was even regarded as too difficult in some circles, but while his reputation has grown steadily till this very day, the fame of his contemporary greats has gradually waned until they have become more or less footnotes in the history books. However, in recent years, several of them have been rediscovered and found worthy of resurrection.
The youngest of the four in this collection, Ferdinando Paër, was Italian but of Austrian decent, and had a rapid rise to international fame having debuted as a composer at the age of twenty with an opera on the well-known theme Orphée et Eurydice, premiered in Parma in 1791. After that, followed another 54 works, the last being a one-act opéra-comique titled Un caprice de femme, premiered at the Paris Opéra-Comique on 23 July 1834. His most famous opera, Agnese (1809), was played at the most important opera houses in Europe and had a deep influence on the next generation of composers, but the work best known today is Leonora, premiered in 1804 in Dresden. The story is the same as Beethoven’s Fidelio, which also was titled Leonora in his first version, premiered the following year. Beethoven had a high opinion of Paër, and listening to Florestano’s aria from Act II, one can understand why. The two-minute-long orchestral introduction to the aria is melodiously attractive and expertly orchestrated and the accompaniment to the aria is far more than just a background to the singing. It takes an active part in the drama and amply demonstrates that Paër was a man of the theatre. The aria is very attractive and requires a lot of florid singing, which Nathan Granner executes with technical fluency, elegance and brilliant top notes. He, too, is very expressive and like Paër decidedly a man of the theatre. The complete opera exists in at least two recordings, one quite old Decca under Peter Maag with Siegfried Jerusalem and Edita Gruberova, and a recent CPO. Both are recommendable.
Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni is an indecisive wimp, and that’s the way he is portrayed in both the recordings and on stage. Dalla sua pace in the first act is comforting but reticent, but in Il mio tesoro he at least textually tightens his muscles, saying he will return as a messenger of destruction and death. As Granner sings the aria, furioso, and with steel in his voice, one is inclined to believe that he is a man of action. The singing of this, possibly the most technically demanding of Mozart’s arias, is tremendously accomplished, and his breath control is truly impressive.
Pylade’s aria from Gluck’s penultimate opera Iphigénie en Tauride is on the other hand sung with warmth and nobility, showing another side of Nathan Granner’s wide armoury of expressive means. Back to Mozart, we find the titular hero in Idomeneo, his first mature masterwork,in great danger, his ship threatened to be wrecked and sink. This is one of Mozart’s most dramatic arias, and the orchestra is utterly expressive. Ganner has the power required to carry off this frightening situation – and his insight is formidable, his sense for nuances likewise, which is also obvious in the second, more relaxed aria.
Die Entführung aus dem Serail followed only a year and a half after the Italian Dramma per musica, and is a German Singspiel with spoken dialogue – quite a contrast. The hero Belmonte, whose beloved Konstanze has been abducted, sings glowingly about his adoration of her and trembles with longing to see her again. Granner expresses this desire with such eagerness that he almost out sings both Gedda and Wunderlich, even though he can’t quite challenge their sweetness of tone.
Gluck’s Orfeo went through several adaptations of the title role, from alto castrato for the first premier in Vienna in 1762, via soprano castrato in Parma in 1769, to haute-contre for the Paris premiere in 1774. Here Granner sings Quel nouveau ciel and J’ai perdu mon Eurydice. Both are performed with great sensitivity and plangent tone, heart rending and touching – possibly the best readings in this album.
Remarkable in a different way are the two arias from Mitridate, an opera seria in three acts, composed by a 14-year-old Mozart and premiered during the carnival in Milan in December 1770. It was a great success and was played no less than 23 times. What is extraordinary is the maturity of the writing for so young a boy with such psychological insight. This is high octane and virtuoso singing.
Antonio Salieri was one of Mozart’s keenest rivals and a towering figure in the European opera world of the late 18th century and well into the 19th century. As a youth, he was a protégé of Gluck, and when the ageing master fell ill in 1784 and unable to fulfil a commission from the Paris Opéra, he asked Salieri to take over the task. Initially it was announced that Gluck had composed Les Danaïdes with assistance from Salieri, but when it was a success Gluck revealed the truth that Salieri was the true composer – and he was no beginner. He had behind him already twenty operas, and that he was a fully-fledged master in every respect, not least as a melodist, is obvious when one listens to the present aria from Les Danaïdes.
Mozart, too, was fully fledged when he composed Così fan tutte in 1790. It is arguably the musically richest of all his operas, and the reason why it hasn’t been played as often as the other two Da Ponte operas is the complicated story, plus the fact that it, at least in earlier times, was regarded as too risqué. The aria Ah, lo veggio isn’t as well-known as Dalla sua pace, but no one can deny its mastery.
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges was a versatile man. He was violinist, conductor, composer and soldier. He was also an excellent fencer, athlete and a skilled dancer. He was born in the French colony of Guadeloupe. The father was a wealthy white plantation owner, and the mother was one of his slaves, of Creole descent, so Joseph became the first coloured composer of importance in Europe, where he lived and studied from the age of seven. He composed several violin concertos, two symphonies, string quartets and also stage works. L’Amant anonyme is an opera with ballet from 1780, and the aria Depuis longtemps is a fine introduction to the music of the “Black Mozart”, as he was called.
The grand finale of this programme is one of the real Mozart’s finest concert arias, Misero! O sogno, o son desto?, composed for Valentin Adamberger, Mozart’s favourite tenor. It is long and filled with intense feelings. I learnt this aria many years ago through a recording with the marvellous Canadian Leopold Simoneau, which till this very day has been my favourite reading. Nathan Granner, with a larger voice, runs him very close.
All in all, this is a very attractive programme with several rarities sprinkled in between more well-known repertoire – and the singing is just as attractive.
Göran Forsling
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Contents
Ferdinando Paër (1771-1839)
1 Dolce oggetto del mio amore… Deh che ciglio rasserena from Leonora (1803)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
2 Il mio tesoro intanto from Don Giovanni (1787)
Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787)
3 Unis dès la plus tendre enfance from Iphigénie en Tauride (1779)
Mozart
4 Fuor del mar from Idomeneo (1781)
5 Torna la pace al core from Idomeneo
6 O wie ängstlich, o wie feurig from Die Entführung aus dem Serail (1782)
Gluck
7 Quel nouveau ciel pare ces lieux from Orphée et Eurydice (1774)
8 J’ai perdu mon Eurydice from Orphée et Eurydice
Mozart
9 Se di lauri il crine adorno from Mitridate, re di Ponto (1770)
10 Vado incontro al fate estremo from Mitridate, re di Ponto
Antonio Salieri (1750-1825)
11 Rends-moi ton cœur from Les Danaïdes (1784)
Mozart
12 Ah, lo veggio from Così fan tutte (1790)
Joseph Bologne (1745-1799)
13 Depuis longtemps from L’Amant anonyme (1780)
Mozart
14 Misero! O sogno, o son desto? (Concert Aria) 1783)
