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SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL OPERA REVIEW

 

Gluck,  Orphée et Eurydice: Soloists, Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid. Coro Teatro Real. Conductor: Jesús López Cobos, Teatro Real de Madrid. 2.6.2008. (JMI)

Concert Version

Cast:

Orphée: Juan Diego Flórez
Eurydice: Ainhoa Garmendia.
Amour: Alessandra Marianelli


It seems to be the case  that nowadays it is becoming more and more difficult to attend full opera performances with top-grade  singers in their casts. Instead it is much more usual to see them only in recitals or in operas given as  concert versions. These concerts  of Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice  (the third Orpheus opera at Teatro Real in a month) offer Juan Diego Flórez   the opportunity to add a new role to his still limited repertoire and at the same time helps along a commercial venture by his recording company.

Since this Orphée  is led by the starry presence of Flórez, just as those in Bologna and Montpellier were based on Roberto Alagna (although in full stage version), the appropriate thing is to do is to begin by writing about the Peruvian tenor’s own performance.

Juan Diego Flórez is a great singer without question, whose voice is at its best in light operatic repertoire that needs vocal  flexibility and agility, particularly Rossini. It is clear that he is one of the very  few singers around with genuinely equal media and artistic appeal, whose presence at any  theater is enough to fill it completely. In the last 100 years,  I cannot think of any other case where a pure light tenor such as he is, has enjoyed such popularity. He is in fact,  a quite similar phenomenon to  Cecilia Bartoli, whose career has been  based on undeniable vocal quality coupled to very skillful marketing  support. Having said this though, I must also recognize without reservation that Juan Diego Flórez does sing exceptionally well, and in fact  I actually believe that he is actually incapable of singing badly.

It’s rather a  different question however, to ask if this role is particularly  well suited to his kind of voice and the fact that he comes out as probably the best current choice for Gluck’s Orphée, does not necessarily mean that he is perfect for the role in every sense. In my opinion,  Orphée requires a wider middle register and a heavier bottom end to the voice and although Juan Diego sang wonderfully well,  I do not believe that this work is a completely right choice from him, and suspect that  commercial aspects were at play here. His best moments were the in first act,  where he shone in the hugely demanding agilities required, and in the obviously expected “J'ai perdu mon Eurydice” ( “Che faró senza Euridice”) which he  sang with exquisite taste.

The big disappointment in this  concert came from  Jesus López Cobos. His was  a lifeless reading, mostly flat emotionally and with exceptionally   slow tempi. If I  tell you that the program said that  the first two acts would last 55 minutes, when in fact they took seventy five, then that explains my frustration. I think that to give true life and interest to this gorgeous music, particularly in concert, needs an exceptional  conductor, such as Minkowski  or Bolton, to name only a couple. There was however a very fine performance  from the orchestra, with outstanding playing by the  flautist  - Pilar Constancio, I think -  who provided a magnificent interpretation as the soloist in the Champs Elysées scene.

Ainhoa Garmendia replaced Nicole Cabell as Eurydice, due to now  familiar problems on the American soprano’s part. Ms. Garmendia was a convincing interpreter, singing with both taste and expressiveness and  she was far better here than as Servilia some days before. Her weakest point is with the higher notes, where her voice becomes tight and loses quality. Alessandra Marianelli made a very appealing Amour. She is a good and very promising singer and is now part of the regular Orpheus pack.

A full house for this last of the three performances had  the audience that was generally not over excited. Flórez was cheered, of course, although not to the same degree as on other occasions. My personal preference for this opera,  incidentally, lies with  the Berlioz version for a contralto Orphée, provided that it's  a great one. I would love to see Stephanie Blythe in the role.

José M Irurzun


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