Golden Label Nomination – Like the grandiose eighth symphony by Mahler that we could recently experience during the Klarafestival at BOZAR, the masterful opera Les Troyens by Hector Berlioz is extremely demanding in terms of performers and thus also an exceptional experience. Erato managed to bring together such a special cast for the no less than four-hour Grand Opéra in five acts. A monumental opera recording.
With Les Troyens, Berlioz – ten years older than Richard Wagner and his French-speaking romantic counterpart in the dramatic genre – makes a bid for an opus magnum for which he – like Wagner – writes the libretto himself. When Berlioz dies in 1869, he has only been able to see the second part of his extensive score. In the years after his death, concert performances follow of either the first part, La prise de Troie, or the second, Les Troyens à Carthage.
Les Troyens was not performed in its entirety in French until 1969, one hundred years after the composer's death, at the Royal Opera in Londen, thanks to Colin Davis, who also provided the first complete recording of the opera for Philips. This recording still has its value as a reference work. In 2003, Sir John Eliot Gardiner – again a Brit – took on the opera on the occasion of the composer's bicentenary and he conducted performances at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, from which a beautiful dvd was released. Meanwhile, several more recordings on cd and dvd have appeared, but this new cd recording already charms with the cream of today's singers: Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Joyce DiDonato, Michael Spyres, Stéphane Degout and Marianna Crebassa. And with John Nelson as conductor, who is regarded as a Berlioz expert.
Magnificent
The first soloist you hear is Marie-Nicole Lemieux as Cassandre and she literally blows you away. She has such a strong auditive presence that you can virtually picture her as she sings her unrest and despair. She effortlessly reaches the extremely high notes that only a singer of her calibre can master. In her duet with the glowing baritone of Stéphane Degout (Chorèbe) we share the chilling fear of the desperate situation of loss in war. When the horse is brought into Troy at the end of the first act, her bewilderment sounds lifelike! Moreover, as a French-speaking Canadian, she has perfect diction. That is indeed something that characterizes the entire cast, including the two American singers in the leading roles, tenor Michael Spyres as Énée and soprano Joyce DiDonato as Didon. Joyce DiDonato convinces as a charismatic Didon with her generous and colorful voice. Her interpretation makes Énée's dilemma to fulfil his duty and establish a new kingdom in Italy all the more problematic. At the farewell, her rage and despair shine through. What dramatic power and vocal intensity. The tenor of Michael Spyres is ideal for the French repertoire, his soaring high notes flow naturally, even in his extremely difficult aria in the fifth act. He embodies all of Énée's emotions. Their love duet Nuit d'ivresse (act IV) with their perfectly blended voices is pure magic. They deliver a truly glorious role each. Magnificent!
The smaller roles are also well cast with Marianne Crebassa as Ascagne, the son of Énée, and mezzo Hanna Hipp as Didon's sister. The bass Nicolas Courjal has a somewhat nasal and less beautiful tone as Narbal, but that is hardly grounds for criticism of the whole.
Sound Fresco
Add to that a wonderfully playing orchestra under the direction of John Nelson. In an introductory note in the cd booklet, he explains that this recording is undoubtedly one of the most satisfying realizations of his life as a musician. It is clearly audible. There is also a dvd with the four cds featuring a selection of fragments from the concert performance that formed the basis of the recording, and in it we see a super engaged, very precise working and always supportive conductor. The huge orchestra with no fewer than six harps and a massive brass section displays enormous color variety, sharpness and momentum. The massive choirs sing perhaps with too little nuance and solely on loudness, but they still convey the many different emotions, from mourning to warring. The saxhorns that Berlioz had provided for the orchestra apparently Nelson did not have at his disposal in this Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg. But he nonetheless creates a four-hour sound fresco of this beautiful score, a passage from mythology that sounds like a never-before-heard story.
- WHAT: Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) | Les Troyens
- VOICES: Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Joyce DiDonato, Michael Spyres, Stéphane Degout, Marianna Crebassa
- MUSIC: Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Choeur Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Choeurs de l'ONR, Badischer Staatsopernchor conducted by John Nelson
- RELEASE: Erato 0190295762209 (4 cds plus 1 dvd)