'Niobe, regina di Tebe' is the first of Agostino Steffani's sixteen operas to have regained international acclaim in recent years. Originally staged in Munich in 1688 at the court of Max Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, it is a dramatic and involving work for a number of reasons, but above all for its vivid storyline, its larger-than-life but convincing characters, and its striking, deeply affecting music. It was first revived in 2008 with great success at the Schwetzingen Festival under Thomas Hengelbrock, a production then restaged at Covent Garden in 2010; and the present set is a live recording of that Covent Garden production. Devoted baroque opera fans may already know that this was then followed in 2011 by a very successful staging at the Boston Early Music Festival, the latter directed by Paul O'Dette and Stephen Stubbs. This acclaimed Boston production recently formed the basis of the opera's first-ever appearance on CD - a very fine, studio-recorded set Agostino Steffani: Niobe, Regina di Tebe which beat the present live Covent Garden recording into the catalogues by a couple of months, even though the Boston production was staged a year later than that of Covent Garden.
So now, after so many years of neglect of this brilliant work, all of a sudden we have two recordings to choose from! The Boston recording has already been considered on UK and US Amazon sites by a number of reviewers, including me, who between them give plentiful details about the plot, characters and music. So I'll just summarise the opera's main content briefly here, with apologies for repetition to those who've already read Amazon reviews of the Boston recording. The plot concerns the tragic figure from Ovid's 'Metamorphoses' of the Greek queen Niobe, granddaughter of Zeus, whose pride leads her to challenge the gods by daring to claim superiority over them. For this she is savagely punished, along with her husband Anfione and all their children. It's a gripping and brutal tale of love, war, arrogance, jealousy, scheming, revenge and cruel punishment. The usual additional baroque-opera elements, such as inconstant pairs of flexi-lovers, disguises, magic, comical and ceremonial interludes, worldly-wise servants and the unfair slaughter of allegedly dangerous wild beasts, all find space in the various sub-plots, and they provide enjoyable distractions both musical and theatrical. But these sideshows are overshadowed by the tragic central story-line, which in many ways is more akin to the mythology beloved of Wagner than to the standard high jinks of baroque opera.
The story and its characters thus offer outstanding opportunities for the main business of baroque music, namely the expression of human emotions; and in the hands of Steffani, one of the great masters of baroque opera, the musical results are stunning. According to a contemporary account the composer took great care and much time over his compositions, sometimes spending many months considering and absorbing a libretto before committing his musical thoughts to paper. And it all shows in the magnificent music of the present work. This high quality is immediately evident in the opening notes of the initially French-style Overture. Thomas Hengelbrock's Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble are an extremely stylish period-instrument band and they play with spirit and fine-sounding textures throughout the work, including a rich and varied continuo section to add beauty and variety to the recitatives. Soon noticeable, too, are the usual features of a live recording, including stage thumps and other movements - and, of course, audience appreciation including the occasional laughter at comic moments, as well as enthusiastic and well-deserved applause after a gripping scene or after the many arias delivered with outstanding virtuosity. Recorded sound is rich and well-balanced - with the proviso that, owing to the ample stage drama and movement at various points, occasionally a voice and its words can lose out somewhat in the recorded balance, depending on the character's position on stage.
The plot involves nine characters, both leading and secondary; they include a full range of voices, from a couple each of sopranos and countertenors, through tenors to baritone and bass, but with even the lesser characters all having plenty to do during the course of around two-and-three-quarter hours (less than the Boston set, a point I'll return to in a moment) of music and action spread over three discs. This is an entirely different cast from the Boston recording, of course, with the exception of the excellent soprano Amanda Forsythe who again takes the sympathetic part of the young lover Manto. The two dominant figures are the impossibly arrogant queen Niobe, here sung by soprano Véronique Gens, and her king Anfione, taken by countertenor Jacek Laszczkowski who also starred in Hengelbrock's original Schwetzingen cast. Véronique Gens had a terrific stage presence in the Covent Garden production, which I was fortunate enough to see, and she sounds every bit as fine here on disc. In fact, if pushed, I would have to admit to a slight preference for Gens over Karina Gauvin of the Boston set, but the truth is that both are superb. As for the countertenor leads, Boston's Philippe Jaroussky would be almost impossible to beat, but I would say that Laszczkowski is his equal in the present set from a purely musical point of view. I add this qualification because it seems to me that Jaroussky, in addition to his stunning musical skills, imparts an extra touch of insight and emotion to the part of the sympathetic, tragic figure of Anfione.
In addition to these, every other member of the cast delivers a fine performance - including, for example, bass Alastair Miles as Poliferno, and countertenor Iestyn Davies as Creonte. There are numerous musical treats in this rich and varied score. Having already described some of these in the context of the Boston recording, I'll only mention a few of my favourites from this Covent Garden performance. The flirtation scene between the two young lovers Manto and Tiberino (CD1, tracks 7-9) is beautifully done; so is the forceful rendering of Poliferno's aria `Nuovo soglio' (1/12). The hushed aura of Anfione's lone contemplation of the stars and planets in the Palace of Harmony scene (13-14) is conveyed with profound feeling and involvement by singer and viol consort players alike.
Moving on to the second disc (but still in Act 1), Laszczkowski is superb in the aria `Come padre' (CD2/2) in which his singing causes defensive walls to rise around Thebes in preparation against enemy attack. The amorous duet between Anfione and Niobe, `Mia fiamma/Mio ardore' (2/4), is quite beautiful, one of several reminders of Steffani's magical mastery of duet form and texture. Gens brings off Niobe's vigorous Act 2 aria `Qui la Dea cieca volante' superbly, matched by brilliant orchestral accompaniment (2/10). Throughout this lively and dramatic second act, in fact, the excitement of events and of stage confrontations is vividly conveyed. The later duet between Creonte and Niobe, `T'abraccio, mia Diva' (2/18) - Niobe having temporarily switched her affections at this point - is most beautiful as well. Act 3 culminates in the final, grief-stricken drama (CD3/7-9) of the deaths, firstly of the royal couple's children by fire and lightning at the hands of the gods; then of Anfione by suicide; and finally of Niobe herself by turning to stone - in the Covent Garden production, a gilded statue. The music for the two leading roles is as expressive and tragic as can be, and again the two singers bring it off superbly. This is followed by a short concluding scene for the survivors to cheer up baroque audiences.
Comparing this present Covent Garden recording with the Boston issue, then, the main differences are, firstly, in the fact that the former is a live recording, and secondly that it's significantly shorter. Taking the first point, the present recording conveys a terrific atmosphere and stage presence, with all the benefits - as well as the occasional distractions - of audience involvement. Thomas Hengelbrock's direction is superb, his ensemble play with admirable style and commitment, and no other allowances need to be made for the live recording because all the performers do a terrific job. On the second point, the present set offers us two-and-three-quarter hours of music, whereas the Boston set is a whole hour longer. That's a substantial difference, but it has nothing whatsoever to do with tempi because the style and approach of the directors in the two sets are very similar. Rather, it's about cuts. The Covent Garden set pares a number of Steffani's nearly-sixty arias, and of course the recitatives to go with them, although I have to say that none of my own favourite music is missing and, without a careful comparison of the track listings or a greater familiarity with the score, it would be hard to notice just where the omissions have been made. The Boston set includes more ballet music at the end of each act - most of it by the composer's contemporary Melchior d'Ardespin - and also adds a fine chaconne, borrowed from Steffani's `Henrico Leone', to conclude the proceedings; in place of this, from Covent Garden we hear rapturous applause.
This new set, then, is a very fine achievement, and of course Thomas Hengelbrock deserves great credit for being the first to revive this great but long-neglected work, and for doing so with both authenticity and spirit. The accompanying booklet is not as lavish as that of the Boston set, but contains all the essentials including documentation, synopsis, full text, English translation and enlightening notes by Colin Timms. In the case of many musical masterpieces, the approaches of different conductors and performers can vary so greatly that a serious devotee can almost feel compelled to hear and to own more than one recording. That is not really the case here, because there is a broad concordance of musical style and approach between the two productions and their directors. Having said that, these two recordings of `Niobe' still offer a fascinating comparison. The present Covent Garden set brilliantly conveys the work's colour, vitality, drama and emotional involvement. The Boston production's deeply considered studio recording offers all of this too - except for audience participation, obviously - and, in addition to its completeness, perhaps conveys even more effectively the beauties and subtleties of Steffani's magnificent music.
Steffani: Niobe, Regina di Tebe インポート
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Stephen Midgley
Pride, punishment and stunning music for Steffani's stone heroine
2015年3月31日 -
(Amazon.com)
6人のお客様がこれが役に立ったと考えています.
A. F. S. Mui
Have its good points, but generally fails to exalt over the Boston set.
2015年6月4日 -
(Amazon.com)