Dip Your Ears, No. 15 (Barenboim's Tannhäuser)

R.Wagner, Tannhäuser, D.Barenboim / Staatskapelle Berlin / J.Eaglen, W.Meier, R.Pape, P.Seifert Teldec Warner budget re-issue (without libretto)

Daniel Barenboim, one of the finest Wagnerians alive, has given us one outstanding Wagner-recording after another – notably his Parsifal and Tristan! This 2001 Tannhäuser follows that line. Like the rival Sinopoli recording (DG, Paris Version, 1989), it benefits from state-of-the-art sound quality and a stupendous cast. The female leads Jeane Eaglen and Waltraut Meier might well be the best on record and Peter Seifert, Rene Pape and Thomas Hampson don’t need to shy away from any competition, either. Like Wagner’s wife, I prefer the Dresden version without the excessive Venusberg-mystery-music – and Barenboim’s subtle amalgamation seems to combine the best of both worlds. With his fine band in top form and the conducting sure-handed and emotionally charged, this Sängerkrieg is a clear winner – and not just among modern recordings.

Robert Merrill Dies

I am busy with a new arrival, a daughter born yesterday, so I'm sending you to the blogroll to the right. (Apparently, it's a time of miracles in other places, too.) Also, you can read the tributes to opera singer Robert Merrill. As one comes in, another goes out.

• New York Times
  
• Washington Post (Tim Page)
  
• NPR (audio feed)
  
• BBC News
  
• The Guardian
  
• The Telegraph

Also, again, this story is absolutely amazing, the discovery in Indonesia of skeletons of a small pre-Homo sapiens cousin of our species.

Dip Your Ears, No. 14 (Griller

E.Bloch String Quartets 1-4 The Griller Quartet Decca, 2004

The Sublime Chamber Music of Ernest Bloch

I can't honestly say that I knew that Ernest Bloch had written string quartets, when I first came across these recordings. Violin Concerto, Israel Symphony, the cello-evergreen Schelomo: yes. And good; all of it. But I was not prepared for this stunning discovery. In his four (of five—the fifth having been composed after this record was made) string quartets—the 2nd perhaps the primus inter pares—he gives Shostakovich a run for his money with his ravishingly rhythmic, increasingly chromatic style. Composed in 1916, 1945, 1952, and 1953, this music has a kick to it that belies the mellow style of Schelomo and the age of these 1954 mono recordings. Anyone wondering where the famous "Decca sound" came from might well start here. Anyone with even the faintest interest in 20th-century chamber music has a duty to him/herself to explore this budget-priced double CD. Dedicated to one composer, unearthing masterpieces, splendidly played, eerily good sound: this is my favorite of the Decca Original Masters series.

[The Griller String Quartet – Decca 475 6071]

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Upcoming Concerts

Washington is not a cultural Mecca, but it ain't half-bad, either—if you make use of some of its finer offerings. A mix between the big and the small, "events" and intimate gatherings, expensive and free concerts can give you at least as much music and culture as you could possibly enjoy.

One of the most interesting programs I have ever seen will sadly coincide with tomorrow's performance of Maurizio Pollini, and thus I cannot go. (When the gods call, you heed the call... there's no 'not-seeing' Pollini.) It is held by the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, by far the most daring and imaginative cultural programmers out there... the only ones not yet daunted by Washington's overwhelming cultural conservatism when it comes to music and art. Under the title From Chance to Hyper-Determination, they will offer a short panel discussion on chance and order with professors Marcello Buiatti (Professor of Genetics, University of Florence) and Fabrizio Luccio (Professor of Computer Science, University of Pisa) followed by a piano recital of aleatory music.

Emanuele Arciuli is a reputable interpreter of contemporary (and Baroque) music and will dish out modern delicacies like the Morton Feldman Intermission VI, Karlheinz Stockhausen's Aus den Sieben Tagen, John Adams's Phrygian Gates, and a piece by Alessandro Sbordoni (unknown to me) that was comissioned by the Italian Embassy in Washington and will receive its world premiere. (Unfortunately, I forgot the name of it.) To attend this concert (with following reception) on Wednesday, October 27, 6:30 PM, call (202) 223 9800, ext. 1. The Italian Embassy is at 3000 Whitehaven Street N.W., right off Massachusetts Avenue, 15 walking minutes from Dupont Circle.

The Embassy Series will feature the delightful, Anne Schein-tutored Mendelssohn Piano Trio at the Austrian Embassy (3524 International Court, N.W., 10 walking minutes from the UDC-Metro Station) this Friday, the 29th at 8:00 PM. Apart from the Schubert B-flat, they will also play a Korngold and Goldmark trio—neglected Viennese marvels in their own right. The receptions at the Austrian Embassy usually include little home- and staff-made treats... the last time I got sick, I ate so many Hildabrötchen.

Ivo Pogorelich (a fallen hero rising?) will show his always unique talent at the George Mason Univsersity this Sunday, October 31, at 4:00 PM. Beethoven's Sonata in D Minor, op. 31/2 ("Der Sturm"), the Sonata in E Minor, op. 90, and Rondo a cappriccio in G Major, op. 129; Sibelius's tone poem Valse Triste, op. 44/2, and Rachmaninoff's Moments Musicaux are on the menu. (For more information, click here.)

The Trio Solisti will perform on November 2, at the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater (given to the American people by the people of Japan—as the entire Kennedy Center seems to have been cobbled up of gifts from other countries... Italian marble, hideous Austrian chandeliers, etc.) by the Washington Performing Arts Society. (Tickets available here.) The ladies look sexy, which is of course enough to satisfy this shallow reviewer, and I desperately want to hear Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Moravec's Mood Swings. Throw in the Brahms Trio in B Major, op. 8, and the Ravel Trio and it should be a fine night.

I love Duparc's songs, and François Le Roux will do a few at La Maison Française on Wednesday, November 3, 8:00 PM. (Call the Duparc-lover hotline at (202) 944 6091 for reservations.) If you hated it, get drunk at the wine reception that follows.

Pentatonic Scale? So Gay!

In an article (What's So Gay About American Music?, October 24) for the New York Times, Anthony Tommasini has posed some good questions about the latest salvo from the Queer Theory ("Queory" could be catchy) wing of musicology, a new book by Nadine Hubbs, who teaches music and women's studies at the University of Michigan (The Queer Composition of America's Sound: Gay Modernists, American Music and National Identity, University of California Press). Tommasini, you may recall, wrote a book on the life of Virgil Thomson (Virgil Thomson: Composer On The Aisle, published by W. W. Norton in 1997), one of the gay composers Prof. Hubbs cites as having created the American sound. Terry Teachout has already responded to the article at About Last Night, as did Alex Ross at The Rest Is Noise, and both had excellent thoughts. Both of them were thinking of writing reviews of the book themselves.

My take on this sort of musicological research—feminist and queer studies—is no different than the way I assess any other viewpoint. I think it's very helpful to learn about the lives of composers, male or female, gay or straight. It's interesting to know about the gay dynamics of the group of Forster-Pears-Britten while they were working on Billy Budd and arguing about what sort of love aria to have Claggart sing to Billy, just as our understanding of Kát'a Kabanová is improved by knowing something about Janáček's unhappy marriage and his affair with the woman to whom the opera is dedicated. You don't need to know these things to enjoy either opera, of course, but it is illuminating. You can usually tell when that sort of research crosses the line into something more purely speculative. I am not surprised at Tommasini's assessment of the book, that the author "is least convincing when discussing the particulars of the music in question." Right.

Reunited with Il Trovatore

Articles in the Washington Post Neely Tucker, Denyce Graves, After the Low Notes (Washington Post, October 24). Tim Page, 'Ill Trovatore,' Done In By the Advil Chorus (Washington Post, October 25)

Five years ago I saw the first production of Il Trovatore in many years that the Washington (not then "National") Opera staged. It was conducted by Plácido Domingo, had a fine cast, and a staging that was conservative but evocative and avoided—as much as (conservative) stagings can—clichés.

The Trovatore this year still comes in the same Stephen Lawless production, which came across as rather more impressive and imaginative than half a decade ago. Looking at it from the third tier, rather than the orchestra seating, too, helped in most scenes to get a new, better impression. Martin Pakledinaz's costumes are a bit too traditional for my taste: I believe the production would improve with a bit more of a minimalist approach to gypsy rags and soldiers' uniforms. Benoit Dugardyn's set design works, together with Mr. Lawless's grim and dark production, heavy on the symbolic side. Damocles' swords hang above pro- and antagonists, themselves crosses as are the swords sticking in the floor. In case that was too subtle, there's always a massive, 10' x 3' cross that descends from above in the third act. With the play of light, they also paint crosses of light onto the floor, shining from behind open doors in the movable walls.

The awfully popular anvil scene was mercifully transposed into sword-fight practicing, though better coordination among the participants could have made that far more impressive while the choreography in Act I made up in quality for the lack of realism in the portrayal of the characters. (Ever notice how grown men huddle with imbecilic excitement around a leading character telling a story for the umpteenth time, all while heavily nodding with their heads and affirmatively looking at each other? Yikes.)

The cast, of dubious quality on the night I saw them, included Mikhail Davidoff, who did Manrico well but had a voice that offered no real center of gravity. That Count di Luna's baritone was twice as loud, even though Wolfgang Brendel didn't put too much effort into it, wasn't helpful to his character. Brendel, despite a gorgeous and strong tone, had significant problems with intonation at times and was a bit wobbly. Nothing compared to Ferrando's mother, Azucena, sung by Denyce Graves. Even though this was a dress rehearsal, she must have been ill: otherwise, her disturbing vocal problems (higher regions garbled and wobbly like a ripped tape) are inexplicable. Towards the end I felt bad for her and wished the night just to be over so that she may get some rest. Mikhail Kazakov (Ferrando) did a fine job. "Alerta" can be more realistically alarming, though.

Heinz Fricke and his orchestra were, apart from the staging, the best offerings of the night. Even if he may not have been entirely happy with his team's efforts, their continuous development under Fricke (a much better conductor and orchestra builder than Domingo) is noticeable. Worth seeing? Yes. But not on the same level as either Andrea Chénier (Ionarts reviews) or Billy Budd (Ionarts reviews).

P.S. Concerns about Brendel's somewhat uninvolved performance that was right only with regard to the size of his voice can be put aside: he was yanked (or withdrew) from the production before opening night. His replacement, Carlos Archuleta, hasn't nearly the voice of Brendel or, for that matter, Davidoff... but perhaps he sang with more zest?

Spanish Portraits at the Prado

Other Reviews: "The Spanish Portrait from El Greco to Picasso" (absolutearts.com, October 22) The Spanish Portrait: From El Greco to Picasso Opens (Artdaily.com, October 25)

A little article from France 2 Cultural News (Du Greco à Picasso: expo au Prado, October 18) described a new exhibit at the Museo del Prado in Madrid. El Retrato Español del Greco a Picasso (The Spanish portrait from El Greco to Picasso) brings together 87 paintings from the end of the 15th century up to 1920: "Spanish nobles, courtisans, and common people captured by Titian, Ribera, Murillo, Velazquez, Zurbaran, Goya, El Greco, Miro, and Picasso," among others (here's a list, but it's not complete):

The first painters shown are devoted solely to monarchs, the nobility, and rich bourgeois. "The female portrait becomes important only from the 18th century onward, and we have to wait many years for other subjects to be undertaken," says the curator, Javier Portús. Through the centuries and styles, the exhibit tries to answer the question of whether there is a typically Spanish portrait. "It is characterized by subjects like jesters and dwarves," says Javier Portús. [...] Numerous works shown by the largest Spanish museum have been loaned by foreign museums. Some, like Velázquez's Infanta Margarita in blue and Goya's Duchess of Alba are on exhibit in Spain for the first time.

Hervé Gauville's review (Le Prado de faces, October 22) for Libération singles out what is probably the highlight of the exhibit:

Far from fencing itself in along nationalist lines, the exhibit crosses geographic as well as historical boundaries. One room is devoted to a comparative presentation of Velázquez and Goya. Each painting is confronted by its counterpart: Philip IV on horseback (V.) versus Charles IV on horseback (G.), Prince Baltasar Carlos hunting (V.) versus Charles III hunting (G.), etc.

Gauville's other article (Le Greco, avec grâce et en toute liberté, October 22) for Libération is an appreciation of one painting in the exhibit, El Greco's Portrait of Fray Hortensio Félix Paravicino (from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston), shown here.

El Retrato Español del Greco a Picasso will be at the Museo del Prado, in Madrid, until February 6, 2005. If you will not be able to make it to Madrid, the museum's Web site has many high-quality images.

Monteverdi in the House

As a Baroque specialist, I follow with great delight new productions that appear to be expanding the core repertory of opera theaters backward in time into the Baroque era. Handel and, to a lesser degree, Monteverdi are the composers who have benefitted most. I have been reading the reviews on the new production of Monteverdi's L'Incoronazione di Poppea led by René Jacobs, with the Concerto Vocale, at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris (two pictures here). Marie-Aude Roux's review (Monteverdi et Sénèque transposés au temps de la télé-réalité, October 16) for Le Monde called it "a hip Poppea":

This Nerone like a Latino pop star, with dreadlocks, torn jeans, santiags, coke, and leg kicks à la James Brown; this new-rich Poppea, a Lolita of luxury call girl bad taste; this 1960s Seneca, wan and ridiculous; this menopausal and bourgeois Octavia; not even mentioning the transsexual nurses, somewhere between Mrs Doubtfire and Miss Fine, the CNN news report after the attempted murder of Poppea, the mafioso bodyguards, the night-club employees. In short, a very hip bunch of nothing. Should Love be no longer an "enfant de bohème" but a ghetto rapper? Does this story essentially take place below the waist? Of course! Beyond that, it transforms Monteverdi into a racy American vaudeville comedy.

She doesn't care much for the production design, by David McVicar, and her assessment of the music is not much more positive. Patrizia Ciofi (Poppea) "did not seem unforgettable" (a classic French double negative putdown). Anne Sofie von Otter (Ottavia) "seemed stripped of color and nuance." She does praise the two nurses (Tom Allen and Dominique Visse), who were "on top of their roles," and Lawrence Zazzo (Ottone), a role often reduced in modern productions but which was restored by René Jacobs. Gilles Macassar's review (Poppée de sang, October 15) for Télérama goes into the history of Monteverdi's opera to see if McVicar's production is justified:

"I cannot imitate language that is not spoken," Monteverdi complained to the librettist who had given him an allegorical poem on the south winds. "Ariadne moves listeners because she is a woman, and Orpheus because he is a man, but not a zephyr!" It was indeed creatures of flesh and blood that were confronted, in 1643, by the maestro di capella of the Basilica of San Marco, in a new libretto authored by a Venitian diplomat, L'Incoronazione di Poppea. The Roman emperor Nero pulls himself from the arms of his mistress Poppea, before having her proclaimed empress; Ottone and Ottavia, the legitimate but frustrated spouses, spout their vengeance, while the philosopher Seneca stoically opens his veins in his bath, by imperial command. A marriage of sex and blood in the shadow of the Campidoglio.

Claudio Monteverdi, L'Incoronazione di Poppea, Concerto Vocale, dir. René Jacobs

There is no orchestration for the opera, just a figured bass line in the manuscripts. René Jacobs has changed some of the registration of instruments he used in his recording with this group, which is more than 10 years old, fluctuating "between a sobre polychromatic continuo and larger textures."

Nicolas Blanmont's review (Le retour à Néron et Poppée, October 22) for La Libre Belgique makes note of the same oddities of the McVicar production but has a different take on the musical quality:

Bergonzi or Vickers as Nerone, Christoff or Ghiaurov as Seneca, Van Dam as Ottone, Bumbry or Lott as Poppea: many great singers have tried L'Incoronazione di Poppea, but the novelty here is that they are doing it with an original instruments group (the excellent Concerto Vocale), with a conductor experienced in this repertoire. Here, the stage is dominated by the stunning Nerone of Anna Caterina Antonacci, surrounded by the excellent Patrizia Ciofi (Poppea) and a vocally grandiose Anne Sofie Von Otter (Ottavia), even if she seems to have more difficulty fitting in with the direction. The latter two also camp it up as Fortune and Virtue in the prologue.

He calls Lawrence Zazzo "one of the best countertenors at this moment" and has good things to say about the rest of the cast. However, the Agence France-Presse review of the premiere (Un "Couronnement de Poppée" de Monteverdi canaille et contesté au TCE, October 14) said that "part of the audience booed vigorously after the premiere" because of the "production of British director David McVicar, which gave a particularly dirty taint to this opera dedicated to Love."

The last performance of Poppea was last night (October 23), but if you live in France, the opera will be broadcast on France Musiques, on November 8 at 8 pm. The production will then be mounted in the three houses that cosponsored it: the Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg, the Staatsoper under den Linden in Berlin, and the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels.