Wigmore Hall (live stream), 07/06/2021
French mélodie doesn't come any headier than this pairing of Berlioz, decades ahead of his time, and early Debussy still in the throes of Wagnerolatry, and it made a singularly tempting programme for a lunchtime recital. The artists were soprano Sophie Bevan, and her husband Ryan Wigglesworth, whom I know best as a conductor.
The elephant in the corner has to be acknowledged. These are poems by two of France's greatest writers, it's not third-rate poetry glorified by magnificent musical settings, as is often the case. Hearing it perfectly is particularly important, and while Bevan's French pronunciation was generally acceptable, her articulation was a little thick, some consonants swallowed at times, which made comprehension without the lyrics sheet difficult. The Gautier was clearer than the Baudelaire, perhaps more carefully worked, because it wasn't the change of composer. As an encore, Bevan performed another Berlioz song, from the Fleur des landes set, and that was as obscure as the Debussy.
 |
| Sophie Bevan & Ryan Wigglesworth (screenshot, 2021) |
Beginning with "Le balcon" is a challenge under any circumstances, it's a long, rambling song, difficult to put across, but on the whole they held our attention through its meanders, although her timbre for the first couple of minutes was just a little unsteady. "Le jet d'eau" is the song that most clearly points the way forward in Debussy's writing, it has a different, leaner texture to the piano writing, and a greater vocal transparency, but while Bevan managed that, for the most part, I felt that Wigglesworth did not.
Somewhat similarly, he was a comparatively unpoetic partner in the Berlioz. Notably, the tempo for "Le spectre de la rose" was far too slow, bringing the song almost to a standstill. Bevan was able to sustain the lines in the song, but only barely. "Sur les lagunes" was given a very dramatic treatment, which suited Bevan very well, and she managed a fine degree of stillness for "Au cimetière", to the point that the vigour of the launch into the last song seemed almost too aggressive. It was certainly bracing to the system after the mournful and ethereal atmosphere of the previous songs.
Musically, this was a very strong programme, and Bevan clearly believes in the music, her interpretations had conviction behind it, but a partner with more finesse would have made a good deal of difference to the overall presentation.