Holmès: La Montange Noire

 Opera no 176

Opera no 176

Holmès: La Montagne Noire

Soloists

This is a real curiosity. Augusta Holmes had Irish routes but settled in France , where she acquired the accent on her name. She was one of the very few women composers whose operas reached the stage in the 19th century, although it has to be acknowledged that she wrote three others which were never performed.

This was a big full-blooded work on a large scale. To start with I felt that it was rather stiff and old fashioned, looking back perhaps 50 years to the work of Auber and Meyerbeer. But as the work progressed I sense that Holmès found her own voice and the idiom became much more akin to the works of the late 19th century. Part of it could have passed for Massenet and Saïnt-Saens and I suspect that Carmen was never far way from the composer’s mind. Some of the impassioned writing for the main female character was very disincentive and leapt off the page in this performance. Although it was an uneven work - rather like the symphonic poem of her’s that I included last year, at its best this was an opera of real distinction and certainly was worthy of performance at the Paris Opèra.

This recording is rather odd. It is on a private label and has never been issued commercially. It stems from a recent revival (the first in over 100 years) where the director, for some reason that I can’t fathom, decided that it needed a framing reference, so the performance starts with dialogue in Japanese with accompaniment by a tradition Japanese instrument. That recurs later in the opera. Fortunately it is no superimposed on the music of the opera so it doesn’t detract from the performance, but it threw me completely when I started listening to the opera. People so such strange things - the opera in perfectly capable of standing on its own two feet.

Bretón: La Dolores

Opera no 173

Bretón: La Dolores

Soloists

Barcelona Symphony Orchestra

Antoni Ros Marbà

From Portugal we move across the border (and forward a century) to a Spanish opera. The only thing I knew about opera in Spain was the tradition of Zarzuela, which is form of light opera with song and spoken dialogue. I thought that this night an example of that form, but in fact this is a fully-composed opera of some dramatic weight.

The obvious attraction is the many overtly Spanish elements - in particular the jota in the first act finale, which is straight out of the world of Chabrier’s España - I did wonder whether Chabrier had taken the idea for his work from this opera but the dates don’t work - España predated it by several years. Perhaps the influence went the other way - after it is often said that the best Spanish music was written by French composers.

But there is more to the opera than this Spanish colouring. It belongs to same world as Carmen but also of Cav and Pag and the early verismo operas. It packs quite a punch, particularly in the big duet near the end for the Soprano and Tenor - that really leapt off the page. I can imagine that opera would work very well on the stage - it has a freshness and attractiveness which would go down well with contemporary audiences, though I suspect that few opera companies would want to take on the risk of a work by a completely unknown composer.

Kienzl: Der Evangelimann

Opera no  67

Kienzl: Der Evangelimann

Soloists

Munich Radio Orchestra

Lathar Zagrosek

This is another opera which had a huge initial impact but which has almost disappeared from view. I had heard it years ago and was glad to make its reaquaintance. Stylistically it was rather hard to pin down. Wagner was certainly a major influence. The music at the end of the first act to illustrate the fire was clearly indebted to the Magic Fire music from Die Walkure and parts of the anguished monologue in Act 2 could have come from Tannnauser or even Parsifal. Yet elsewhere there was delightlful lighthearted music for the village scenes which could almost have come from The Bartered Bride. There were moments of verismo and the big tune in the overture (reprised later in the opera) seemed almost a straight lift from Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty. But all of these elements do come together to make an entertaining and dramatic work. Tastes change and the music associted with the Evalgelist – complete with children’s choir – now seems over-sentimental and indeed almost kitch. Perhaps it could still work in a sympathetic production but somehow I doubt it,

This is the last in this group of German operas , where I have tried to follow almost a century of development. What is striking is how little 19^th century German opera has remained in the repertory. Wagner casts an enormous shadow. In fact the only non-Wagner operas from the 19^th century which are still part of the standard repertoire are Hansel and Gretel and Fidelio,

So for the next part of this project I will be looking at some of the operas which form the background to Fidelio.

Taneyev Oresteia

 Opera no 43

Taneyev The Oresteia

After a couple of shorter Russian operas back to something on a much larger scale. This was a hugely impressive piece, perhaps the most impressive in this series of Russian operas. It is full scale work full of big set pieces, lyrical passages and real excitement. Indeed at times the number of climaxes piling up one after another became a bit overwhelming. The music style was eclectic. It was obviously Russian but there were plenty of sections which were clearly related to French and Italian models and some Wagnerian overtones. There was even a passage near the beginning that heard cold I would have identified as Elgar!

The end of the opera was particularly exciting - a big choral climax which rang in the ears long after it was over. Altogether this was a memorable experience and one which makes me eager to hear more of Taneyev’s music - unfortunately this was his only opera.

This is the last in this short series of Russian operas. It has been fascinating. We know so little of the 19th century Russian operatic repertory - basically Boris and Eugene Onegin - that almost everything else comes as a surprise. It also shows that the work of the lesser known composers is capable of vying with the major figures - in fact the only real disappointment in this group was the Tchaikovsky.

The next phase in this project will be very different - I will be exploring some of the very earliest operas - a repertoire which is almost completely unknown to me.