Teatro alla Scala (live stream), 07/03/2021

Schubert - Schumann - Fauré - Duparc - Ibert -

Offenbach - Tchaikovsky - Verdi - Giordano

Ludovic Tézier, baritone

Thuy-Anh Vuong, piano

I had only one beef with this generous programme streamed live from the forestage of La Scala in Milan, and that had nothing to do with the performers.  La Scala needs to improve their audio.  Right from the start, at a volume of playback satisfactory for a normal living room (and that would do justice to Tézier's magnificent instrument), the sound was saturated as soon as Tézier crossed into the upper register.  In addition, Vuong's piano, already fairly discreet, was too far in arrears, which only exacerbated the problem of finding a suitable playback level.  It was a great pity, because otherwise this was an outstanding recital.

Tézier began with a small group of Lieder, one Schumann and three Schubert, including "An die Musik", and the Serenade from Schwanengesang.  This immediately set a mood of confidentiality, with a melancholic tinge, but what really struck was the beautiful diction.  This proved to be consistent throughout the recital; whether German, French, Russian or Italian, every word Tézier sang was crystal clear, which was such a pleasure to hear.  

After a brief pause, he returned with a group of French mélodies around the themes of the sea, boats, travel and departure, the four songs of Fauré's last song cycle L'horizon chimérique, Duparc's sublime "L'invitation au voyage", returning to Fauré for "Les berceaux" and finally, in a slightly lateral move, Ibert's Quatre Chansons de Don Quichotte.  The Fauré song cycle was beautifully handled, its delicate textures perfectly balanced, longing palpable in every bar.  The Duparc was a little less successful, partly because Vuong's accompaniment lacked a certain sensuousness, and at the end of the first verse, Tézier essayed a sudden pianissimo that was throttled back a little too sharply and unsettled the note jarringly.  The Ibert songs were those written for Feodor Chaliapin to sing in Pabst's 1933 film Don Quixote, famously being chosen in preference to Ravel's submission for the same project.  The Ravel songs are better, but Ibert's have their own charm and pathos, elegantly rendered by Tézier.

The artists took another short break, and resumed with a selection of operatic arias.  At least, they resumed, but for a couple of minutes we were completely without sound, which meant that we lost two-thirds of "Scintille diamant", from The Tales of Hoffmann (the Ginsberg version).  What was left sounded gorgeous, culminating in a gleaming high G#, fit to enchant the most recalcitrant prey.  Equally seductive, though in a slightly different vein, was Yeletsky's aria from The Queen of Spades, mellifluous and plangent, and demonstrating exactly why opera houses go to the expense of engaging world-class baritones to sing what is, ultimately, a fairly small role.

The next item, Rigoletto's great Act 2 tirade "Cortiggiani!", was perhaps the only mistake in the programme.  Not because of Tézier, who is rightly reputed as perhaps the greatest Verdi baritone in operation just now, and delivered magnificently.   However, no piano reduction can do justice to the orchestral part here, neither the vituperative ferocity at the start, nor the weeping pathos of the conclusion, leaving the singer to carry the full weight  of the piece without that extra lift from the accompaniment.  Giordano's music does not place the same demands on the accompaniment, and "Nemico della patria", from Andrea Chénier was an eloquent lament for lost innocence and idealism.

The recital was, of course, given without a public present in the theatre, but it was rightly assumed that there would probably have been a standing ovation, and Tézier returned with two encores, a soaring, heartfelt "Zueignung" (Richard Strauss), and a meltingly lyrical "O du mein holde Abendstern" from Wagner's Tannhäuser.  This is Tézier at the height of his art, his rich, bronzed timbre, impeccable diction, wide range of expression and intelligence of programming all combining for the greater delight of his audience.