Opera no
Szymanowski: King Roger
Soloists
CBSO
Simon Rattle
Szymanowski’s first violin concerto made a big impression on me last year and I am surprised that somewhere along the way I haven’t listened to this opera before. Now that I have heard it I doubly wonder why it has taken me so long. I thought that it was an absolutely gorgeous piece. Szymanowski has a wonderful ear for orchestra colour but what really struck me was the beauty of the choral writing. The big set pieces at the beginning and the end of the opera were almost overwhelming in their power - I would love to hear the work sung live - I expect that it would be quite spine tingling. The lyrical writing balances out the big moments and Roxana’s aria, which is the centrepiece of the opera, was quite lovely - there are several different vocal and instrumental arrangements of it as a stand-alone piece. So this confirms the very positive impression of Szymanowski that I had last year - I really must get round to listening to more of his music.
