Reviewed by Robert Hugill on May 15 2017
Star rating: 3.5
Based on performances at the Heidenheim Opera Festival, this recording bring tremendous verve and energy to Verdi's first opera
This disc is the first fruits from the Heidenheim Opera Festival, though the CD booklet does not make that particularly obvious. Verdi's Oberto was staged at the 2016 festival (based in Heidenheim an der Brenz in Baden-Württemberg in Southern German) and this recording was made in Heidenheim shortly afterwards. Released on the Coviello Classics label it features Marcus Bosch conducting the Cappella Aquileia and Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno. Bosch is the artistic director of the Heidenheim Opera Festival and Cappella Aquileia is the resident orchestra. The cast features the Korean bass Woong-Jo Choi as Oberto, the Russian soprano Anna Princeva as Leonora, Czech mezzo-soprano Katerina Hebelkova as Cuniza, Romanian tenor Adrian Dumitru as Riccardo and the Slovak mezzo-soprano Daniela Banasova as Imelda.
 |
| Verdi: Oberto - Heidenheim Opera Festival 2016 Woong-Jo Choi & Anna Princeva |
The plot involves a background of warring politics (insufficiently sketched in), and a tenor hero Riccardo (Adrian Dimitru) who is about to marry one woman, Cuniza (Katerina Hebelkova) whilst having been betrothed to another, Leonora (Anna Princeva) whose father Oberto (Woong-Jo Choi) is passionate in his support of his daughter's rights.
Perhaps the work's strongest scene is the wonderful duet for father and daughter, Oberto and Leonora, finding each other again after a long absence.
Woong-Jo Choi and Anna Princeva manage to cook up a real emotional charge here, and whilst neither has quite the ideal sense of line the energy and commitment of their performance really carries things. Princeva impresses in her opening cavatina, with an appealing edge to her voice and a nice delicacy in the ornamentation, but though she participates in the Act One finale, we have to wait for the rondo finale to the opera to hear her again properly, and here she rises to the occasion with a performance which, not always subtle, is high on vibrancy.
 |
| Verdi: Oberto - Heidenheim Opera Festival 2016 - Adrian Dumitru |
Katerina Hebelkova as Cuniza is a real second heroine rather than the rather mumsy mezzo-soprano figure you can sometimes get. Her voice has a an attractively resinous quality which brings great character to the role and she brings a believable brilliance and vibrancy in her performance of Cuniza's music, so that though there is the odd smudge in the faster passagework we appreciate the verve of her performance, and she is rather stylish too.
In the title role Woong-Jo Choi is creditable, and in the various ensembles he clearly develops a passionate intensity so that the ensembles fairly crackle, but I found his voice sometimes lacked focus and he has a tendency to mistake bluster for drama.
It is in the ensembles that the performance really comes alive. There is a terrific Donizettian duet for Riccardo and Cuniza in Act One, where the two give the music a real emotional charge and this is followed by a trio for Cuniza, Leonora and Oberto which leads into the Act One finale, a superb dramatic sequence which rather reminds you of some of Rossini's large scale ensemble scenes. Bosch brings a terrific sense of impetus to the drama. The quartet in the middle of Act Two is equally impressive, as a duel for Oberto and Riccardo is interrupted by Cuniza and develops into a vivid quartet.
The chorus get a number of opportunities and are in fine voice. The orchestra gives a lively account of the opening Sinfonia, and provide strong support. This isn't a period style performance and they provide strong weight and impetus in the music.
The CD booklet provides copious pictures of the Heidenheim production along with full text and translations.
Verdi's first opera has done well on disc, and if you don't possess a copy then you might think about exploring Samuel Ramey, Maria Guleghina, Stuart Neill & Violeta Urmana on Decca, conducted by Neville Marriner or Rolando Panerai, Ghena Dmitrova, Carlo Bergonzi & Ruza Baldani on Orfeo conducted by Lamberto Gardelli. But Marcus Bosch draws tremendous verve and commitment from his performers, creating an account of Oberto which, for all the occasional complaint, really punches above its weight.
Bosch and his cast bring all the vividness and vibrancy of having performed the work on stage. This year, Heidenheim continues its early Verdi explorations with another rarity, Un giorno di regno.
Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) - Oberto (1839) [1:45:19]
Oberto - Woong-Jo Choi (bass)
Leonora - Anna Princeva (soprano)
Cuniza - Katerina Hebelkova (mezzo-soprano)
Riccardo - Adrian Dumitru (tenor)
Imelda - Daniela Banasova (mezzo-soprano)
Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno
Cappella Aquileia
Marcus Bosch (conductor)
Recorded 31 July-5 August 2016, Festspielhaus Congress Centrum, Heidenheim, German
CORVIELLO CLASSICS COV91702 2CDs [1:00:35, 44:43]
Available from Amazon.
Elsewhere on this blog:
- Exquisite but reverential: Monteverdi's L'Orfeo at the London Festival of Baroque Music - Opera review
- Not just the scribbling of a person on the way to greatness: Elijah Moshinsky talks about Verdi's original 1847 version of Macbeth - interview
- Vibrant music making: Martynas Levickis at Club Inegales - concert review
- Spanish Renaissance: The Tallis Scholars in Iberian mood - Concert review
- Late night club? Jasmin Toccata's Late o'Clock Baroque at London Festival of Baroque Music - concert review
- Thought-provoking: Benjamin Appl and James Baillieu's Heimat - CD review
- Virtuosic Bach & stormy Telemann: Florilegium at the London Festival of Baroque Music - concert review
- Start of a new series: Complete cello music of Stephen Dodgson - CD review
- Not quite vintage: Verdi's Don Carlo at Covent Garden - opera review
- Music and movement: Gildas Quartet at Conway Hall - concert review
- Home
.jpg)
%202.jpg)
%20c%20Michael%20Wheatley.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment