Berlioz Opera Challenge update - Les Troyens
Winner
Berlioz
Les Troyens Live recording
Ben Heppner, Petra Lang, Michele DeYoung, Sara Mingardo, Stephen Milling, Peter Mattei, Orlin Anastassov, Toby Spence, Kenneth Tarver
London Symphony Chorus and Orchestra
Colin Davis
LSO Live (2001)
2nd Place
Berlioz
Les Troyens
Jon Vickers, Berit Lindholm, Josephine Veasey, Heather Begg, Roger Soyer, Peter Glossop, Pierre Thau, Ian Partridge
Wandsworth School Boys' Choir
Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Colin Davis
Philips (1969/2005 Reissue Edition)
3rd Place
Berlioz
Les Troyens
Michael Spyres, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Joyce DiDonato, Hanna Hipp, Nicolas Courjal, Stéphane Degout, Jean Teitgen, Cyrille Dubois
Chœurs de l'Opera National du Rhin
Badischer Staatsopernchor
Chœur et Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg
John Nelson
Erato (2017)
4th Place
Berlioz
Les Troyens
Gary Lakes, Deborah Voigt, Françoise Pollet, Hélène Perraguin, Jean-Philippe Courtis, Gino Quilico, Marc Belleau, Jean-Luc Maurette
Chœur et Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal
Charles Dutoit
Decca (1994/2011 Reissue Edition)
[HR][/HR]
I had read this grand French opera as one of the pinnacles of the genre. I had given a go to the Philips Davis recording a long time ago without libretto and ignored it until this month. The opera never interested me but I made an effort to read and understand the plot, and then watch two performances: a dull
Pappano DVD from
Covent Garden with great staging but dire singing, and a subtitled
Gardiner Paris DVD with brighter orchestra and singers and baffling staging (for better or worse). This opera's style was for me mid 19th century with pretty singing, less drama but interesting orchestral parts in the finales, ballets and the Royal Hunt. It never won me enough to consider it a worthy experience over other works, but I had the will to listen to the studio recordings and decide my favourite.
I'd like to point out that while it was hard not to feel bored while watching Act IV. But without images in front of me, it's musically very rewarding: Royal Hunt, Ballet, Iopas' song and Didon & Enée love duet. The two Davis recordings are in terms of Cast quite superior to the others, but the sound and engineering balanced my decision in favour of the LSO recording. They are both superbly played but from the beginning, the Philips recording has that analogue sound issue. Dutoit can be enjoyable in cast and sound without impressing but acts IV and V are growers. The new Nelson Strasbourg is a great try which seems just fine in Act I but grows a lot in Carthage. You should give it a listen too, just for DiDonato (unless you feel she's over-the-top).
4th: Charles Dutoit, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal 1994
This first digital recording didn't impress me more than the videos, but the Carthage Acts were better sung for me. Pollet's Didon is well performed but she is swallowed by the orchestra in the decisive Scene 2 of Act V. Act IV takes off and entertains better than the other three. Lakes' Enée and Voigt's Cassanndre are not quite nice for my ear.
3rd: John Nelson, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg 2017
The new Erato recording that finally adds a Troyens to the Warner catalogue is a grower. Don't misjudge too early the performance of Lemieux's Cassandre. I didn't like at all her Act I and didn't have a great partner in Degout (Chorèbe). She was quite improved in Act II. However, the rest of the singers, although they can be a bit pushy for others, do their best and succeed, especially Joyce DiDonato as Didon. She is the star from her first line in Act III and well partnered by Anna and Narbal. She grows from beauty to melodrama and her dramatic performance in Act V is hair-raising. She is the climax of the recording, like, about to burst. Cyrille Dubois is a cool Iopas. Michael Spyres rarely becomes the main character of the recording but his Enée is intense (a bit pushy too), without a dull moment from Act I onwards. My highlight is the complete Act V, where the singers shine. My issue with the recording is a sound quality in the chorus that never expands as much as the LSO Davis one, and a conducting and orchestral playing that is two floors below the winning material. The climaxes, put in comparison with others, often lose grip. Live recording by compilations in the orchestra hall with no audience.
2nd: Colin Davis, Covent Garden 1969
This fan-favourite cannot be ignored in the challenge and delivers a great musical performance, arguably the best vocally. It features the legends of Veasey, Glossop, Lindholm and Vickers. Where I hold my horses is in the analogue recording quality, because I feel it's too restrained or maybe it's not enough to have clear double-basses if the orchestra cannot expand enough in my headphones. Others do better. If I doubt the championship of this recording is because other contenders offer almost equal singing results, if one forgets the nostalgia for the good old days of Vickers and Lindholm, who nail their roles but they are challenged anyway. Vickers is Enée and is certainly heroic. Act V is rock-steady dramatic for the two main singers.
1st: Colin Davis, London Symphony Orchestra 2001
I personally find this Digital and High-Quality recording to be more compelling than the Philips commercial recording. The modern sound the opera deserves: bright and expanded. Orchestrally sublime. I didn't fall in love but the quality is undeniable in the singers. I wasn't expecting a lot for them, but feats like Lang, Mattei and Heppner (Cassandre, Chorèbe & Enée) elevate the performance to the seemingly unreachable heights of the Philips recording. Petra Lang sings a Cassandre I would never imagine, over Lindholm. Heppner can be put on par with Vickers unless you are a fan of the latter, of course. And DeYoung improves as Didon in Act IV and nails the tough Act V. I can't decide between Veasey and her. And some remarks: it's live without audience and at the end of Act IV, the three 'Italie's by Hector's spectre are sung in the foreground.
[HR][/HR]
I don't think I will get a Troyens CD set any soon. I'm sorry. It's on my list of
Great operas I don't like together with
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and
Der Rosenkavalier.