Édouard Lalo (1823-1892)
Le Roi d’Ys , Opera in 3 Acts
Rozenn, Judith van Wanroij (soprano); Margared, Kate Aldrich (mezzo-soprano); Mylio, Cyrille Dubois (tenor); Karnak, Jérôme Boutillier (baritone); Le Roi d’Ys, Nicolas Courjal (bass); Saint Corentin/Jahel, Christian Helmer (baritone)
Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Hungarian National Choir/György Vashegyi
rec. 2024, Bela Bartok National Concert Hall, Budapest
Bru Zane BZ1060 [2 CDs: 101]
This is a somewhat unexpected issue from Bru Zane. Most of their previous issues have been of works which have been pretty-well completely forgotten since before World War One, but Lalo’s opera has been performed at least half a dozen times in the last forty years (though often in concert, rather than staged, form) and there have been three commercial recordings: for EMI in 1957 André Cluytens conducted a cast including Janine Micheau, Rita Gorr, Henri Legay and Jean Borthayre (despite the date, recorded in mono only – Walter Legge’s distaste for stereo was a real disadvantage to EMI. This recording can be found complete on YouTube); in 1988 Erato recorded it with Armin Jordan conducting and Barbara Hendricks, Delorès Ziegler and Jean-Philippe Courtis, and a live video performance (from Liège, 2008) was issued as recently as 2014 (review) and this performance was also issued on CD (review). There is also a very fine live “pirate” performance from a French Radio broadcast of 1973 released by Gala in very decent stereo sound with Andréa Guiot, Jane Rhodes, Alain Vanzo and Robert Massard conducted by Pierre Dervaux. Bru Zane’s booklet addresses this issue, saying that “most of the recordings fall short of the technical quality expected today… [so] we thought it would be useful to add a new interpretation produced in the best possible technical and artistic conditions.”
The titular King of Ys is actually a comparatively minor character in the opera, the main ones being Rozenn, Margared and Mylio. The first of the principals to appear is the soprano Rozenn, sung by Judith van Wanroij. This Dutch soprano, who has appeared on a number of previous Bru Zane issues, was born in 1974 (as I discovered by an internet search – as usual, Bru Zane says not a word about any of the performers) and has an attractive tone in the middle of the voice, though it is not quite as steady as I would have liked. Her entrance “Margared, ô ma sœur” (CD1, tr. 5) shows her sensitive, musical phrasing and very good French, though when she puts pressure on the higher notes, as she must at the end of the Act 1 aria “Par une chaîne trop fort” (CD1, tr. 9), the tone becomes rather thin and acidic and the top B is not an attractive note. She is far more at home in the more lyrical parts such as the Act 3 duet with Mylio (CD2, tr. 14), where she shows a lovely legato and beautifully floated high notes, though again when pressure is applied, the quality diminishes. Listen to Barbara Hendricks in the Armin Jordan performance and you will hear much more rounded, nourished high notes, but though Hendricks is sensitive and phrases beautiful, there is not quite the detailed response to words of van Wanroij. Best of all is Janine Micheau in the earliest set under Cluytens. She has the depth of tone of Hendricks and an even greater verbal acuity. One feels that she has an absolute knowledge of the score attained through stage performances, and a complete mastery of music and text that neither of the other non-French singers can attain.
The main role in the opera is that of Margared, the vengeful sister of Rozenn who causes the disastrous flood at the end of the opera but, full of remorse, tells the citizens of Ys that the ocean demands a sacrifice and hurls herself into the sea from a high rock. This is a really meaty role for a dramatic mezzo, and I find much to enjoy in Aldrich’s performance. She has both an impressive chest register and an exciting top, the first being heard in her first appearance at “Tu vois le fièvre en mes yeux” (tr.5). Her French is quite good, but far, far too many consonants are just swallowed. In her long solo at the start of Act 2 where her anger should be conveyed as much by incisive enunciation as loud singing, she is disappointing. To hear what is missing, listen to the fanatical vehemence of Cluytens’ Rita Gorr (who was one of the great Ortruds of the 1960s and 70s) in this scene: blazing tone with a narrow, quick vibrato which adds tension and excitement to the sound, and clarity of enunciation which gives incisive rhythmic buoyancy to the line. Aldrich’s performance is estimable, though as with van Wanroij, I personally find her vibrato a little too loose, but this seems to be the accepted vocal production of the present time, so listeners of a younger vintage than mine may well find it to their taste.
The tenor, Mylio, has by far the most famous aria in the score, the “Aubade”, and the role is taken here by Cyrille Dubois. I am a great fan of this lovely light-lyric tenor who has so many of the vocal and stylistic traits of the pre-war French tenors of this fach such as Villabella, Micheletti, Devriès, Planel, Clément – the list is almost endless. He has the same exquisite legato and ability to float high notes as these predecessors, and his enunciation is an object lesson. Every word is crystal clear, though he never allows this to spoil the legato – he has the perfect balance of text and line. Listen to the exquisite way he shades the tone and dynamics of his entrance “Si le ciel est plein de flammes” (CD1 tr. 10); it is difficult to imagine how it might be done better. I had been a little worried about whether he would have the necessary “beef” in his tone for the martial aspects of the character – Mylio is, after all, the commander responsible for the defeat of the evil Karnac. I needn’t have worried, though; his delivery of “Le salut nous est promis!” (CD1 tr. 17) is exemplary, with real swagger. My absolute favourite recording of the famous “Aubade” (Vainement, ma bien-aimée) is Joseph Rogatchewsky’s from 1928, and I was a little disappointed by Dubois’s; but on the other hand it can be cogently argued that Rogatchewsky takes far too serious, even tragic, a view of a piece in which Mylio sings under Rozenn’s window to awaken her on her wedding day, and that Dubois’s way is far more appropriate to the dramatic situation. Legay (Cluytens) and Vanzo
(Dervaux) are also excellent, and Dubois is fully their equal.
The “baddie”, Karnak, who does not have much to do in the opera, is taken by the baritone Jérôme Boutillier. He has a decent voice, though without much depth of tone, but the dramatic duet with Margared in Act 2 Tab. 2 (CD2 tr. 2 and 3) is very effectively done by both singers. Lalo had clearly learnt a lot from the Ortrud/Telramund duet in Lohengrin. The other baritone, Christian Helmer, sings the two short parts of Saint Corentin and Jahel with an impressively resonant tone and seems destined for bigger parts. The least satisfactory singer is the bass Nicolas Courjal who sings the Roi d’Ys. The basic voice is quite good, but I’m afraid that I find the wobble (that really is the only word for it) insufferable. Bru Zane clearly have a higher opinion of him than I, as he sang the principal bass role of Bertram in their recording of Meyerbeer’s Robert le Diable (review) three or four years ago. I found him unimpressive there, too, though I don’t remember the vibrato being so destructive.
The Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra and Hungarian National Choir are excellent and the conductor György Vashegyi is exciting and has a good grasp of the piece. He can’t quite rival Cluytens, but few will have any complaints about his work. The recording is also first rate, and undoubtedly far better than any of its predecessors, and Bru Zane provide the usual exemplary presentation on a hardback book with four articles in both French and English and a full libretto with English translation.
This is a welcome set which will provide considerable pleasure. All my comparisons with earlier recordings are, I suppose, somewhat academic, as none but the Liège performance (which I have not heard) is in print at the moment. I did quick searches on both eBay and Amazon, and found a tiny number of copies of each of the others, but they are all priced at insane amounts of money and most are outside the UK, so have considerable postage charges on top. In reality, this Bru Zane issue almost certainly the best choice for anyone who wants the opera, and it will not seriously disappoint.
Paul Steinson
See also Ralph Moore’s survey of this opera
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