A FAIRLY RECENT DVD
L’ÉLIXIR D’AMOUR
OPERA BY DONIZETTI
With Nadine Sierra, Sarah Dufresne, Liparit Avetisyan,
Boris Pinkhasovich and Bryn Terfel.
Conductor: Sesto Quadrini.
Stage director: Laurent Pelly.
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 2023.
Interpretation: *****
Technical quality: *****
Our opera pick for the end of 2024 is a delightful 2-hour-and-20-minute experience. The Royal Opera House in London had the excellent idea of filming, during the 2023 revival (the fifth of this production), one of its most iconic shows: L’elisir d’amore, staged by French director Laurent Pelly, whose hilarious La fille du régiment by the same Donizetti we have previously recommended.
The setting is a rural 1950s Italy, among a community of agricultural workers. Advertising signs promote Dulcamara’s magical elixir, said to cure both constipation and impotence. None other than the veteran Bryn Terfel dons the charlatan’s costume. Nadine Sierra made her London debut on this occasion and charmed everyone. Her pairing with Liparit Avetisyan’s Nemorino works wonderfully, while Boris Pinkhasovich delightfully hams up the macho bravado of Belcore.
For us Quebecers, the added treat is seeing the brilliant Sarah Dufresne as Giannetta in a cast deftly led by conductor Sesto Quadrini. The whole production is well lit and captured with finesse by Rhodri Huw.
❖❖❖❖❖❖
FAIRLY RECENT RELEASES
ROBERT SCHUMANN
Concerto and Works for Cello.
Kian Soltani Camerata Salzbourg, Julien Quentin (piano).
Deutsche Grammophon, 486 6489.
Interpretation: ****
Technical quality: ****
Kian Soltani is an Austrian cellist of Persian descent who made a strong impression in 2020 with a masterful interpretation of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto alongside Daniel Barenboim. Playing on the richly warm-toned London, ex-Boccherini Stradivarius, Soltani confirms his promise in a light and transparent reading of Schumann’s Concerto, which he conducts from the cello with Camerata Salzburg. His sense of cantabile and legato is outstanding, and the music never gets bogged down.
The Concerto is accompanied by four short pieces adapted for cello and orchestra, and eight songs (including one by Clara Schumann) transcribed by Soltani for cello and piano. Rather than pairing Schumann’s Concerto with another cello concerto, this warm and heartfelt album takes a refreshing and emotionally resonant approach.
❖❖❖❖❖❖
PENE PATI
Nessun Dorma.
Pene Pati (tenor),
Bordeaux National Orchestra Aquitaine,
Emmanuel Villaume.
Warner Classics, 5054197897702.
Interpretation: *****
Technical quality: *****
Looking to discover a tenor who truly stirs the soul? Meet Pene Pati. Hailing from Samoa and trained in New Zealand, the 37-year-old tenor is the closest thing we’ve heard to Pavarotti in recent years. While not identical in voice, Pati shares his predecessor’s radiant tone and vocal brilliance. We first heard him four years ago, and it’s both thrilling and reassuring to witness the wisdom and quality with which his career is unfolding.
He opens this recital with the iconic Nessun dorma from Turandot, setting the tone for a vibrant selection of French and Italian tenor arias that celebrate the sheer joy of beautiful singing. He’s at his best in Puccini’s La Bohème, Massenet’s Werther, and Gounod’s Faust. The album also includes fine ensemble moments, such as a superb duet from Mercadante’s Il bravo with his brother Amitai Pati, and concludes with a blazing trio from Halévy’s La Juive (Tu possèdes, dit-on) with Amina Edris. Emmanuel Villaume’s conducting is cultured and attentive throughout.
❖❖❖❖❖❖
VOCES8
Nightfall.
Decca, 487 0458.
Interpretation: ****
Technical: *****
This album sits at the very edge of what might still be considered classical, but Voces8 approaches the genre with such refinement that the result is a benchmark. Composed of eight singers, the ensemble has crafted a flawlessly blended sound. Their fusion and the ethereal purity of their voices lend themselves beautifully to dreamy, atmospheric music.
Today’s contemporary choral repertoire abounds with music that borders on the neoclassical or ambient. In this night-themed program, Voces8 blends a few rare classical gems —like works by Max Reger and Hugo Alfven —with a wealth of “neo-somethings”: Ludovico Einaudi, Max Richter, and South Korean composer Jaeil Jung (known for Squid Game and Parasite). Decca and Voces8 offer up dreamy vocal lines also sculpted by Sigur Rós, Koji Kondo, British composer Lucy Walker, and Taylor Scott Davis.
You can either drift off or get annoyed—but those who drift will soar very high indeed, because this is impeccably done.
