Massenet Don Quichotte
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Jules (Emile Frédéric) Massenet
Genre:
Opera
Label: EMI
Magazine Review Date: 12/1993
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 115
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 754767-2
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Don Quichotte |
Jules (Emile Frédéric) Massenet, Composer
Alain Fondary, Sancho Pança, Baritone Christian Papis, Rodriguez, Tenor Isabelle Vernet, Pedro, Soprano Jean-Claude Barbier, Bandit Chief, Baritone José Van Dam, Don Quichotte, Bass Jules (Emile Frédéric) Massenet, Composer Marie-Ange Todorovitch, Garcias, Soprano Michel Plasson, Conductor Nicolas Rivenq, Juan, Tenor Teresa Berganza, Dulcinée, Mezzo soprano Toulouse Capitole Chorus Toulouse Capitole Orchestra |
Author:
With the magical Cherubin, Massenet's Don Quichotte marks the ripe maturity of his art. The final scene, of Quixote's death, still seems to me a weakening both musically and dramatically, yet, with time, it gets less so; certainly it is all the better for being, as here, played with restraint. Even in Ghiaurov's recording, which is the necessary comparison here, there is just a touch of the Boris Godunovs, and of course the more of that from the master, the more the servant is encouraged to respond in kind. Van Dam and Fondary put their trust in the sympathies induced throughout the opera: if the rest has gone well and these two characters have become endeared to us, we shall feel the pathos at the end without sobs and exclamations from the stage in the last five or ten minutes.
And no doubt about it, this performance has gone well, and sympathy is secure. Van Dam has sung beautifully throughout. The greying of his voice, now a very gentle instrument, lovingly preserved and used scrupulously for purposes of genuine singing, suits the role admirably except perhaps in the few moments of challenge, whether to the brigands or the windmills, when a more outgoing power is needed. His Sancho, Alain Fondary, sounds almost like an alter ego, for he too produces well-rounded genuine singing-tone and indulges in no untoward comic-business. Berganza as Dulcinee has the appropriate maturity of tone, more luscious than Crespin's in the Decca recording, and she too sings on the understanding that the whole idiom of the opera cries out against the cheap glamour which a Carmen of yesteryear might be tempted to infuse. The supporting roles are well taken, while chorus and orchestra both do good work under an able conductor.
But choice is involved, and that is not so simple. The Decca recording, for one thing, is far more imaginatively and vividly produced. The opera opens with crowds of Spaniards in festive mood, during which they are not noted for their silence, and in the Decca recording we hear, and therefore, see them, whereas on EMI there is not so much as the odd ''Ole''. In addition, the Decca chorus are further forward, more part of the scene. Plasson's drive in this opening act is energetic enough, but it is the Decca conductor, Kazimierz Kord, who has the surer rhythmic touch. On balance too the principals are better on Decca—not as singers but as singers in their roles. Bacquier, for instance, addresses his defence of the hapless Quixote against the detractors with much more point than Fondary can summon. I prefer, too, the more distant sound of Dulcinee's voice as heard in the Decca recording at the end of the opera. Add to this the Scenes Alsaciennes, Massenet's four orchestral pictures aptly brought in to fill up the short second disc, together with the mid-price of the Decca reissue, and I would settle for that as providing better value. Yet it would be a pity to miss this new one entirely. Mention it encouragingly, perhaps, to a less well-informed friend.
'
And no doubt about it, this performance has gone well, and sympathy is secure. Van Dam has sung beautifully throughout. The greying of his voice, now a very gentle instrument, lovingly preserved and used scrupulously for purposes of genuine singing, suits the role admirably except perhaps in the few moments of challenge, whether to the brigands or the windmills, when a more outgoing power is needed. His Sancho, Alain Fondary, sounds almost like an alter ego, for he too produces well-rounded genuine singing-tone and indulges in no untoward comic-business. Berganza as Dulcinee has the appropriate maturity of tone, more luscious than Crespin's in the Decca recording, and she too sings on the understanding that the whole idiom of the opera cries out against the cheap glamour which a Carmen of yesteryear might be tempted to infuse. The supporting roles are well taken, while chorus and orchestra both do good work under an able conductor.
But choice is involved, and that is not so simple. The Decca recording, for one thing, is far more imaginatively and vividly produced. The opera opens with crowds of Spaniards in festive mood, during which they are not noted for their silence, and in the Decca recording we hear, and therefore, see them, whereas on EMI there is not so much as the odd ''Ole''. In addition, the Decca chorus are further forward, more part of the scene. Plasson's drive in this opening act is energetic enough, but it is the Decca conductor, Kazimierz Kord, who has the surer rhythmic touch. On balance too the principals are better on Decca—not as singers but as singers in their roles. Bacquier, for instance, addresses his defence of the hapless Quixote against the detractors with much more point than Fondary can summon. I prefer, too, the more distant sound of Dulcinee's voice as heard in the Decca recording at the end of the opera. Add to this the Scenes Alsaciennes, Massenet's four orchestral pictures aptly brought in to fill up the short second disc, together with the mid-price of the Decca reissue, and I would settle for that as providing better value. Yet it would be a pity to miss this new one entirely. Mention it encouragingly, perhaps, to a less well-informed friend.
'
Massenet Don Quichotte
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