Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864)
L’Africaine (Vasco da Gama) (1865)
Michael Spyres (Vasco da Gama), Claudia Mahnke (Sélika), Brian Mulligan (Nélusko), Kirsten MacKinnon (Inès), Andreas Bauer Kanabas (Don Pédro), Thomas Faulkner (Don Diego), Bianca Andrew (Anna), Michael McCown (Don Alvar)
Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester & Chor/Antonello Manacorda
rec. live, March & April 2018, Oper Frankfurt, Germany
No libretto
Naxos 8.660558-60 [3 CDs: 201]
It’s rare to encounter new recordings of French Grand Opéra and this account of Meyerbeer’s L’Africaine is certainly reason for celebration. Originally set around the 1490s, the libretto of L’Africaine is a heart-rending love story portraying imaginary events in the life of the Portuguese maritime navigator Vasco da Gama, whose name became Meyerbeer’s working title for the opera.
Following the triumph of his two grand operas Robert le diable (1831) and Les Huguenots (1836) Meyerbeer looked forward to another success with L’Africaine, which would become his final work. The opera certainly had a protracted and fitful creation; Meyerbeer and his librettist Eugène Scribe started work as early as 1837 and did not complete the score until almost a quarter of a century later. After the deaths of Meyerbeer and Scribe, Belgian musicologist and composer François-Joseph Fétis took the vast score material and prepared a performing version, using the title of L’Africaine rather than Vasco da Gama. In five acts, it was first performed posthumously at the Paris Opéra in 1865 and it enjoyed a long period of success in the nineteenth century. Since then, its popularity has waned considerably yet it has not been totally forgotten. From a list by Meyerbeer biographer Robert Ignatius Letellier I was quite surprised to learn that in the last hundred years the opera has received some fifty or so revivals including the live performances that comprise this 2018 Oper Frankfurt recording.
Rather than the more usual edition by Fétis, this Oper Frankfurt recording is based on the critical edition of Meyerbeer’s autograph score edited by Jürgen Selk (2018) and published by G. Ricordi as part of the Giacomo Meyerbeer Werkausgabe. I notice the Selk edition uses the opera title Vasco de Gama not L’Africaine and there are restorations of material that Fétis and his associates cut from the score. Despite using the Selk edition, several arbitrary cuts have still been made here, a savage practice which would be inconceivable if the composers were Wagner, Verdi or Puccini.
This recording was compiled from live performances – and, no doubt, rehearsals. The futuristic production was by controversial German stage director Tobias Kratzer. Set and costume designer Rainer Sellmaier changed Vasco da Gama from a maritime explorer into an astronaut exploring distant galaxies in a spaceship. Hindu queen Sélika and her companion Nélusko were portrayed as blue skinned aliens from outer space and others wore bright orange boilersuits with full face respirators. I doubt too many of the Frankfurt audience were thirsting to see this type of treatment given to L’Africaine and it certainly isn’t to my taste. Nevertheless, chances to attend a French grand opera come along so infrequently, that given the opportunity I would have probably felt obliged to attend. Thankfully, one doesn’t have to worry about Kratzer and Sellmaier’s staging in this audio recording.
Currently riding on the crest of a wave, American tenor from Missouri, Michael Spyres is in great demand in the opera house and recording studio. Sometimes referred to as a contra-tenor or bari-tenor, Spyres is a renowned exponent of bel canto repertoire. In my view, Spyres’ voice is peerless in the transitional era from the late classical period of, say, Méhul and Rossini to the early Romantic era of Meyerbeer and Wagner. In 2019, I reported on the Bayerischen Staatsoper revival of Richard Jones’ production of Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann. Seeing Spyres’ performance as the lovesick protagonist Hoffman was a highlight of my opera reporting. Here as the intrepid Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, Spyres is in resolute form. As I have found previously, his impressive technique provides him with a solid foundation. He is comfortable in his low and middle range although there is some strain in the high notes. I expected more effective use of coloratura which he seems to keep at a minimum. His use of the text is expressive and convincing. Instead of Vasco’s famous grand air ‘Pays merveilleux… Ô paradis’ this recording uses the original version of ‘O ciel! Que vois-je?’; I admit the alteration of text takes some getting used to. It is still a glorious showpiece air that Spyres performs with unwavering sincerity, but I can’t help making comparisons with the beauty of tone and vocal weight provided on recordings of ‘Ô paradis’ by Plácido Domingo (‘L’Africaine’ CD 1972, Opera d’Oro) and Jonas Kaufmann on his collection (‘L’Opéra’ CD 2017, Sony).
Leading dramatic soprano of her day Cornélie Falcon, who achieved fame as Valentine in Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots (1836), was the composer’s original first choice to sing the role of Sélika. Falcon never did sing the role as she had to withdraw with the vocal problems that were bring her career to a halt. Hitting the mark as Sélika is German mezzo-soprano Claudia Mahnke from Saxony. Her performance is outstanding; especially enjoyable is the Act Two ‘air du sommeil’ where in the prison Sélika sings to the sleeping Vasco. Admirable, too is Mahnke’s display of Sélika’s long Act Five scene and air which includes the cavatine ‘La haine m’abandonne’ and air ‘Quels célestes accords!’. Mahnke displays a creamy mid-range, effective top notes and impressive expression and diction. Having said all this, I compared Mahnke’s splendid rendition of ‘air du sommeil’ to one by the great Leontyne Price recorded live in 1968 at Munich, which is something special (you may hear it on YouTube).
Brian Mulligan gives a wholehearted performance as Nélusko, loyal and dedicated companion Hindu slave to Sélika his queen. He stands out in Nélusko’s Act Two scene and air ‘Fille des rois, à toi l’hommage’. Of note, too, is his ballade, the Act Four cavatine ‘L’avoir tant adorée’ where Nélusko reluctantly affirms Sélika’s life-saving lie that she is married to Vasco. In a role requiring a range of emotions Mulligan’s assured performance is compelling, high on sincerity and he projects his voice with ample heft.
A lyric soprano with a youthful, expressive, not overbright, voice, Canadian Kirsten MacKinnon, a member of the Oper Frankfurt ensemble, is successful in the role of Inès. A highlight is her Act One romance ‘Adieu, mon doux rivage’ with woodwind accompaniment as she waits anxiously for Vasco to return from his ocean voyage, in which she convinces with her expression of Inès’ sadness, providing an effective coloratura display and achieving her high notes comfortably.
Two duos that stand out: that of Sélika and Vasco’s in Act Two, ‘Terrible et fatal promontoire’ sung formidably and with fervent passion by Mahnke and Spyres and from Act Five, ‘Avant que ma vengeance’, the face-to-face confrontation between Sélika and Inès which results in a begrudging mutual respect. Mahnke and MacKinnon generate an impressive intensity. This is a strong cast of principals and Oper Frankfurt has also chosen the comprimarii extremely well.
The playing of the Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester is effective and committed although Italian conductor Antonello Manacorda’s choice of tempi is at times a little puzzling. The members of the Chor der Oper Frankfurt, under chorus director Tilman Michael, provide reliable support throughout. In Act Three, both the ‘Chœur des femmes’ and the ‘Chœur des matelots’ are commendable. Striking, too, is the short yet delightful ‘Chœur aérien’ from Act Five.
This new Naxos set does not include a libretto or any link to one, but there is an essay and a synopsis containing the track numbers and it is easy to access a complete French libretto on-line. The sound quality is clear and well balanced, with hardly any extraneous noise to worry about.
The online CLOR opera discography shows a list of several older recordings of L’Africaine. Employing an Italian libretto, there is a live recording on Opera d’Oro in problematic sound of L’Africaine conducted by Riccardo Muti from 1971 in Florence featuring Jessye Norman (Selika), Veriano Luchetti (Vasco), Giangiacomo Guelfi (Nélusko) and Mietta Sighele (Inès). I have enjoyed over the years the 1972 live recording of a performance from the San Francisco Opera in French and conducted by Jean Périsson. The splendid cast features Shirley Verrett (Selika), Plácido Domingo (Vasco), Evelyn Mandac (Inès) and Norman Mittelmann (Nélusko). Again on Opera d’Oro, the live recorded sound has always diminished its appeal. The date of this performance is sometimes given as 1973 although 1972 is more likely.
There is a 2014 release using the title Vasco de Gama rather than L’Africaine in a French edition by Jürgen Schläder. Well recorded in 2013 at Chemnitz Opera House under Frank Beermann, the 4 CD set is described as the most complete version by the CPO label. Though I haven’t previously encountered any of the principal Chemnitz cast members their singing is agreeable overall (review).
The 1988 performance on video of L’Africaine sung in French from the San Francisco Opera is a production directed by Lofti Mansouri, using traditional style set and costumes. Conducted by Maurizio Arena, it has a fine cast with Shirley Verrett (Selika), Plácido Domingo (Vasco), Ruth Ann Swenson (Inès) and Justino Diaz (Nélusko). This is an engaging performance and a commendable production by Mansouri that I have on a single Blu-ray disc from Arthaus Musik (review).
This release of L’Africaine is the best recording I know. Despite the cuts, I certainly enjoyed reviewing the set. It is a praiseworthy live recording that will undoubtedly assist Meyerbeer’s rehabilitation.
Michael Cookson
Previous review: Mike Parr (July 2024)
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