Lalo Roi d'Ys
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Edouard(-Victoire-Antoine) Lalo
Genre:
Opera
Label: MusiFrance
Magazine Review Date: 5/1990
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 111
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 2292-45015-2
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| (Le) Roi d'Ys |
Edouard(-Victoire-Antoine) Lalo, Composer
Armin Jordan, Conductor Barbara Hendricks, Rozenn, Soprano Delores Ziegler, Margared, Mezzo soprano Edouard(-Victoire-Antoine) Lalo, Composer Eduardo Villa, Mylio, Tenor French Radio Chorus French Radio Philharmonic Orchestra Jean-Philippe Courtis, Le Roi, Bass Marcel Vanaud, Karnac, Baritone Michel Piquemal, Saint-Corentin Philippe Bohée, Jahel, Baritone |
Author: Lionel Salter
The booklet-note here (admirably translated, by the way—other French companies, please take notice!) points out that Le roi d'Ys, though it never achieved the runaway success of Faust or Carmen, was for half a century one of the most frequently performed of French operas, but that in the last 40 years it has almost entirely disappeared from the repertory, and the standing of its composer has dwindled away. It is perhaps not easy for today's audiences to accept the work's overheatedly melodramatic action—the king's daughter Margared, infuriated that Mylio, the man she secretly loves, is marrying her sister Rozenn, connives with Karnac, an enemy, to open the town's floodgates: total annihilation is averted only by the intercession of the local patron saint when Margared, in a last-minute repentance, throws herself into the sea; but weaker opera plots than this have survived; and flat-footed as is the libretto, it is no worse than plenty of others. No, in the last resort an opera's quality depends on its music, and it has to be admitted that Lalo's thematic material, apart from the famous Aubade in Act 3, is rather undistinguished; and on close acquaintance one begins to tire of some of his 'ham' musical gestures and his frequent recourse, when wishing to whip up excitement, to edging the tonality upwards in semitones. Nevertheless Le roi d'Ys does not deserve to fall into oblivion, and in the present recording it has found, in many ways, a sturdy champion.
From the very beginning of the Overture it is obvious that the orchestra is infinitely superior to that in Dervaux's 1973 version for Le Chant du Monde/Harmonia Mundi (also for the French radio) and that Armin Jordan, with his more imaginative approach, creates far more sense of atmosphere; and the recording is well balanced, without the blatant brass of the earlier issue (though personally I should have welcomed a slightly stronger orchestral bass line in several places). The chorus, which plays a not inconsiderable part in the work, sings cleanly, with firmness or with delicacy as required (its predecessor contented itself with a generalized forte)—the B major bridal chorus in Act 1 and the Breton pre-wedding folk ceremony are delightfully done. Jordan tends often to adopt deliberate tempos, but he is considerate with his singers, allowing them time to phrase expressively, and ensuring that the composer's dynamics are respected: the Act 2 quartet, for example, gains enormously over the Dervaux performance by starting piano, as marked.
The two female roles, superbly cast here, form a major attraction of this recording. Dolores Ziegler, with a warm voice of considerable quality and fine tonal coloration (as in her early sad reflection that it is her sister whom Mylio loves), encompasses Margared's turbulent emotions without sounding shrill and too hysterically overwrought all the time (as was the case with Jane Rhodes); and Barbara Hendricks shows a melting dolcezza, intelligent verbal phrasing and a beauty of tone that make Rozenn a most sympathetic character. The men are less outstanding. Eduardo Villa, though an agreeable light lyric tenor, is no rival to Alain Vanzo: he gives the impression of treading very carefully throughout, his words do not always carry much meaning, and when the two lovers are together Hendricks's purity of intonation shows up small flaws in his: in the final page of the opera he prudently decides
against the top C which Vanzo took so ringingly. Philippe Courtis is quite acceptable as the king, if more bass-baritonal in timbre than bass; but the one real weakness in the casting is Marcel Vanaud, whose obtrusively heavy vibrato produces a consistently unsteady line and who does not begin to compare with Robert Massard's blackly incisive interpretation of the role of the villain. The engineers have handled the distant effects, and the diminuendo of the passing procession in Act 1, well, but could have done more to characterize the supernatural appearances of Saint Corentin. The present performance, unlike the earlier one, connects the two scenes of Act 3. So, some reservations, then; but the contributions of Jordan and the two ladies make this a set well worth having.'
From the very beginning of the Overture it is obvious that the orchestra is infinitely superior to that in Dervaux's 1973 version for Le Chant du Monde/Harmonia Mundi (also for the French radio) and that Armin Jordan, with his more imaginative approach, creates far more sense of atmosphere; and the recording is well balanced, without the blatant brass of the earlier issue (though personally I should have welcomed a slightly stronger orchestral bass line in several places). The chorus, which plays a not inconsiderable part in the work, sings cleanly, with firmness or with delicacy as required (its predecessor contented itself with a generalized forte)—the B major bridal chorus in Act 1 and the Breton pre-wedding folk ceremony are delightfully done. Jordan tends often to adopt deliberate tempos, but he is considerate with his singers, allowing them time to phrase expressively, and ensuring that the composer's dynamics are respected: the Act 2 quartet, for example, gains enormously over the Dervaux performance by starting piano, as marked.
The two female roles, superbly cast here, form a major attraction of this recording. Dolores Ziegler, with a warm voice of considerable quality and fine tonal coloration (as in her early sad reflection that it is her sister whom Mylio loves), encompasses Margared's turbulent emotions without sounding shrill and too hysterically overwrought all the time (as was the case with Jane Rhodes); and Barbara Hendricks shows a melting dolcezza, intelligent verbal phrasing and a beauty of tone that make Rozenn a most sympathetic character. The men are less outstanding. Eduardo Villa, though an agreeable light lyric tenor, is no rival to Alain Vanzo: he gives the impression of treading very carefully throughout, his words do not always carry much meaning, and when the two lovers are together Hendricks's purity of intonation shows up small flaws in his: in the final page of the opera he prudently decides
against the top C which Vanzo took so ringingly. Philippe Courtis is quite acceptable as the king, if more bass-baritonal in timbre than bass; but the one real weakness in the casting is Marcel Vanaud, whose obtrusively heavy vibrato produces a consistently unsteady line and who does not begin to compare with Robert Massard's blackly incisive interpretation of the role of the villain. The engineers have handled the distant effects, and the diminuendo of the passing procession in Act 1, well, but could have done more to characterize the supernatural appearances of Saint Corentin. The present performance, unlike the earlier one, connects the two scenes of Act 3. So, some reservations, then; but the contributions of Jordan and the two ladies make this a set well worth having.'
Lalo Roi d'Ys
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