Scottish Opera, 21/05/2017
Puccini : Preludio sinfonico
Puccini : Crisantemi
Puccini : Capriccio sinfonico
Puccini : Le Villi
Chorus of Le Villi
Orchestra of Scottish Opera
Stuart Stratford
The last Sunday afternoon concert from Scottish Opera this season, like the previous ones, brings a rarity up alongside the main house performances of a better known piece. Today, while the company is performing La bohème to end their subscription season, Music Director Stuart Stratford proposed Puccini's very first opera, Le Villi, along with three of his very early orchestral works as make-weight.
Early Puccini is kind of fascinating, because you can see the cogs turning, whereas later on, it's all very polished and precisely calculated. That said, the polished works are moderately idiot-proof, in that they still sound good even in a bog-standard performance (though, of course, benefit immensely from a proper measure of TLC being lavished upon them). The early works - and this is true right up to and including Manon Lescaut - demand real attention for true success. Today, we got that with the opera, but the orchestral numbers that constituted the first half were rather more uneven.
The "Preludio sinfonico", the least known of the three items, was performed with a good degree of relish, and augured well for the rest, but the lovely Crisantemi, directed from the leader's chair by Anthony Moffat, was somewhat lacklustre, and the string sound lacked depth. Similarly, the outer sections of the "Capriccio sinfonico" didn't quite have the right degree of romantic sweep. The central section, however, fared much better, hardly surprising since a good part of it was recycled into La bohème which, as previously mentioned, is precisely what the company is performing at the moment, so they've certainly had the practice!
These reservations were, however, swept aside during the presentation of Le Villi. Here, the orchestra was wholly engaged, giving a no-holds-barred interpretation, with a lively choral contribution. Le Villi is an odd piece, a bit of a curate's egg, with long orchestral passages meant for dancing, and two spoken interludes (not even melodrama, just speech). The plot is something like The Rake's Progress-meets-Giselle; typical Puccini, the soprano dies, abandoned by the tenor, but at least he well and truly gets his comeuppance in the end, unlike in most of the rest of Puccini.
Puccini was trying to win a competition, so the structure is, at times, a little formulaic. Introductory chorus, soprano aria, love duet, concertato prayer, so runs the first half, but things get a shake-up after that, with a two-part Intermezzo, the first half a gentle choral lament for the deceased Anna, the second a very lively witches' sabbath dance, which is reprised at the end as the Villi claim their victim. The two male soloists get their arias in this half, and if the baritone's one is again a fairly standard angry-father piece, the tenor gets an extended and highly dramatic scena in which to express his remorse.
This was admirably delivered by Peter Auty, in ringing voice and with firm conviction. He was well matched by the lush, strong soprano of Karen Black. She sometimes has a rather fast beat in the voice which can be a little disconcerting, but it was only ever a passing thing, and in the end took nothing away from her bright-toned singing (combined with the excellent diction one expects from American singers). Stephen Gadd made up the trio with a good, sound Guglielmo.
If one is going to disinter forgotten pieces, this is the kind of whole-hearted, thoroughly engaging performance that's needed. Le Villi is still not likely ever to make regular appearances in our opera houses, but played like this, you certainly don't feel like you wasted your time discovering it.
[Next : 27th May]
Puccini : Crisantemi
Puccini : Capriccio sinfonico
Puccini : Le Villi
Chorus of Le Villi
Orchestra of Scottish Opera
Stuart Stratford
The last Sunday afternoon concert from Scottish Opera this season, like the previous ones, brings a rarity up alongside the main house performances of a better known piece. Today, while the company is performing La bohème to end their subscription season, Music Director Stuart Stratford proposed Puccini's very first opera, Le Villi, along with three of his very early orchestral works as make-weight.
Early Puccini is kind of fascinating, because you can see the cogs turning, whereas later on, it's all very polished and precisely calculated. That said, the polished works are moderately idiot-proof, in that they still sound good even in a bog-standard performance (though, of course, benefit immensely from a proper measure of TLC being lavished upon them). The early works - and this is true right up to and including Manon Lescaut - demand real attention for true success. Today, we got that with the opera, but the orchestral numbers that constituted the first half were rather more uneven.
The "Preludio sinfonico", the least known of the three items, was performed with a good degree of relish, and augured well for the rest, but the lovely Crisantemi, directed from the leader's chair by Anthony Moffat, was somewhat lacklustre, and the string sound lacked depth. Similarly, the outer sections of the "Capriccio sinfonico" didn't quite have the right degree of romantic sweep. The central section, however, fared much better, hardly surprising since a good part of it was recycled into La bohème which, as previously mentioned, is precisely what the company is performing at the moment, so they've certainly had the practice!
These reservations were, however, swept aside during the presentation of Le Villi. Here, the orchestra was wholly engaged, giving a no-holds-barred interpretation, with a lively choral contribution. Le Villi is an odd piece, a bit of a curate's egg, with long orchestral passages meant for dancing, and two spoken interludes (not even melodrama, just speech). The plot is something like The Rake's Progress-meets-Giselle; typical Puccini, the soprano dies, abandoned by the tenor, but at least he well and truly gets his comeuppance in the end, unlike in most of the rest of Puccini.
Puccini was trying to win a competition, so the structure is, at times, a little formulaic. Introductory chorus, soprano aria, love duet, concertato prayer, so runs the first half, but things get a shake-up after that, with a two-part Intermezzo, the first half a gentle choral lament for the deceased Anna, the second a very lively witches' sabbath dance, which is reprised at the end as the Villi claim their victim. The two male soloists get their arias in this half, and if the baritone's one is again a fairly standard angry-father piece, the tenor gets an extended and highly dramatic scena in which to express his remorse.
This was admirably delivered by Peter Auty, in ringing voice and with firm conviction. He was well matched by the lush, strong soprano of Karen Black. She sometimes has a rather fast beat in the voice which can be a little disconcerting, but it was only ever a passing thing, and in the end took nothing away from her bright-toned singing (combined with the excellent diction one expects from American singers). Stephen Gadd made up the trio with a good, sound Guglielmo.
If one is going to disinter forgotten pieces, this is the kind of whole-hearted, thoroughly engaging performance that's needed. Le Villi is still not likely ever to make regular appearances in our opera houses, but played like this, you certainly don't feel like you wasted your time discovering it.
[Next : 27th May]