The combination of a Roberto Alagna recital disc to be reviewed and a concert performance of Halevy's La Juive, both of which included the well known aria Rachel, quand au Seigneur, meant that I went scurrying off to try to get a complete performance of the opera for D.'s Christmas present. Not surprisingly, the best recording, with June Anderson, Jose Carreras and Julia Varady, did not seem to be available. This sent me scurrying toThe Clasical CD Exchange, one of the sites which sell second hand CD's. There, by virtue of the vagaries of search engines, I managed to acquire not only the relevant recording of La Juive but also Ben Heppner's recital of French opera arias (which includes Rachel, quand au Seigneur). Both are wonderful; the complete opera is notable for the fact that Carreras over-dubbed his part after the recording, because of his problems with Leukemia, but you would never notice.
The Heppner is a marvel because so few tenors nowadays can sing the French parts with such a feeling of focus in the voice and a fine sense of line. Heppner is, perhaps, not the most interesting singer in the world, but his tone and line are incomparable when compared to many contemporaries. He is not Georges Thill, but in this barren modern age, he comes decently close.
Sunday, 31 December 2006
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Popular Posts this month
-
The Pink Singers at Cadogan Hall, January 2023 (Photo Jessica Rowbottom) In July 1983 I allowed myself to have my arm twisted and take over ...
-
Peter Selwyn conducting the Lambeth Orchestra at All Saints West Dulwich in April 2022 (Photo: Anna Shilonosova) The Lambeth Orchestra , pri...
-
Portrait miniature of Handel (c1710) by Christoph Platzer (Photo of a lost original, Handel-Haus, Halle) Handel: Sans y penser (Cantate Fra...
-
Sondheim: Company - Artform in rehearsal, Daniel Lawrence (Bobby) & Aimee Collins (Kathy) - Photo Bethany Andrews Artform is a non-profe...
-
Calidore String Quartet (Jeffrey Myers, Ryan Meehan, Jeremy Berry, Estelle Choi) The Calidore String Quartet is a young American string qua...
-
Shiva Fesharecki - Milton Court Concert Hall (Photo Emma Werner) Oliver Leith, Stevie Wishart, Mira Calix, Jethro Cooke & The Hermes Exp...
-
Britten: Peter Grimes - Simon Keenlyside, Allan Clayton - Paris Opera (Photo Vincent Pontet/OnP) Benjamin Britten: Peter Grimes ; Allan Cla...
-
1984 - New European Ensemble, Mihkel Kerem George Orwell, Mihkel Kerem 1984 ; Edward Snowden, Joseph Thompson, Willem Stam, New European...
-
Hollie Harding, Heather Roche, Eva Zöllner, Colin Alexander LSO St Luke's(Photo Emily Hazrati ) Christophe Bertrand, Laurence Crane, Joa...
-
Galina Grigorjeva: Music for Male-Voice Choir; Estonian National Male Choir, Mikk Üleoja, Theodor Sink; Toccata Classics Reviewed 27 January...
No comments:
Post a Comment