Now in his early forties Ildebrando d’Arcangelo is certainly
one of the leading bass-baritones on the international circuit
and Mozart is his god. ‘He is the composer who inspired in me
the passion for music and my career’, he is quoted saying in
the liner-notes for this issue. His breakthrough came in Parma
in 1994 when he sang Leporello under John Eliot Gardiner (also
recorded by DG) and today he has an impressively long list of
recordings, including a Handel recital that was issued a couple
of years ago. Some years before that I reviewed Harnoncourt’s
Le nozze di Figaro recording from Salzburg (DG on both
CD and DVD) with d’Arcangelo singing the title role and I found
him superb in every respect, besides singing marvellously also
a charismatic actor. Cesare Siepi on the Erich Kleiber recording
on Decca from the mid-1950s has always been my touchstone Figaro
and here I finally found someone very close to that legendary
singer.
But he opens the recital with Leporello’s Catalogue aria, a
role that Siepi didn’t sing, at least not on record. Here he
excels in expressive word-painting, though never over-the-top
antics in the slap-stick style that one sometimes can hear in
this role. It is a grandiose voice, powerful but flexible down
to the softest whisper.
Later in the programme he is upgraded to the Don himself. The
serenade is scaled down but not as honeyed as some true baritones
can make it but full of seductiveness even so. Fine mandolin
playing, excellently recorded. The champagne aria is a feast,
full-throated and infectious.
His Figaro is just as superb as on the Harnoncourt recording.
In the first act aria Se vuol ballare signor contino
he is the revolutionary with his dark tone and violent passion
but there is also warmth in his voice. Non più andrai,
which brings the first act to its conclusion, is here preceded
by a recitative accompagnato that was not found until the 1930s
and was only recently restored by Francesco Lora. It’s a vital
piece that fits like a glove to sit before this eternal favourite
aria, which is sung with all the required verve and with superb
enunciation. He also indulges in some embellishments taking
him up to the highest reaches of the bass voice. The top notes
have a thrust and brilliance that few basses can match. The
vitality of the orchestral playing is also stirring. The act
IV aria also finds him in his element. As in Don Giovanni
he changes from valet to nobleman and ends the recital with
the count’s recitative and aria. The anger of the count is very
tangible but it is still a Figaro voice in disguise.
Guglielmo is his role in Così fan tutte and we are treated
to a well characterized and nuanced Rivolgete from the
first act with exceptional ringing top notes. Then there’s a
lively Donne mie, more dramatic than Erich Kunz’s on
the Karl Böhm Decca set from the 1950s, an old favourite of
mine. Kunz has more Viennese charm while d’Arcangelo’s glow
is more Mediterranean.
These are all well known favourites but in between are also
some concert arias that are not frequently heard. That is a
pity for here is inspired writing by the mature Mozart and had
they been included in some of his own operas they would have
been just as admired as Donne mie or Madamina.
One reason for their neglect is their difficulty. The vocal
range is enormous and they require stupendous technique. Ildebrando
d’Arcangelo has both. Non so d’onde viene explores the
full register and he has the lowest notes as well as the capacity
to manage effortless florid singing. The aria was composed in
1787 but he had set the same text nine years earlier for Aloysia
Weber. Mentre ti lascio, also from 1787, is another grand
aria, which certainly can be counted among Mozart’s best. After
a slightly unsteady recitative, d’Arcangelo delivers a magnificent
reading of the aria proper. According to the booklet notes both
were written for the great Ludwig Fischer, the singer who created
Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, though another
source says that Mentre ti lascio, was composed for Gottfried
von Jacquin. Aspri rimorsi atroci, written in 1783, is
shorter but tremendously dramatic with a furious recitative
and an energetic aria. d’Arcangelo manages the great leaps that
Mozart requires him to sing with the utmost ease and great power.
Even more of a challenge is Per questa bella mano, written
in March 1791 for Franz Gerl, the first Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte,
and the double-bass player Friedrich Pischlberger. It is long
and difficult, not least for the double-bass player, who needs
to be a true virtuoso. Davide Ghio on this recording has a tough
time but is superb and d’Arcangelo fulfils all our expectations,
impressing greatly with sonorous pitch-black deep notes.
Gianandrea Noseda and Ildebrando d’Arcangelo have splendid rapport
and with fine playing from the Turin orchestra and excellent
recording this is one of the most thrilling bass recitals that
has come my way.
Göran Forsling
Track-listing
Don Giovanni
1. Madamina, il catalogo è questo (Leporello) [5:51]
Le nozze di Figaro
2. Bravo, signor padrone! ... [0:47]
3. Se vuol ballare (Figaro) [2:32Relja Lukic (cello),
Giannandrea Agnoletto (harpsichord)
Recitative and Aria for Bass and Orchestra K 512
4. Alcandro, lo confesso ...[1:11]
5. Non so d’onde viene (Clistene) [5:54]
Le nozze di Figaro
6. Ehi, sor paggio!* [1:00]
7. Non più andrai (Figaro) [3:59]
* New critical edition by Francesco Lora
Don Giovanni
8. Deh, vieni alla finestra (Don Giovanni) [2:04]
Dora Filippone (mandolin)
Aria for Bass and Orchestra K 513
9. Mentre ti lascio, o figlia (Dario) [7:58]
Don Giovanni
10. Fin ch’han dal vino (Don Giovanni) [1:30]
Così fan tutte
11. Rivolgete a lui lo sguardo (Guglielmo) [5:14]
Le nozze di Figaro
12. Tutto è disposto ... [1:22]
13. Aprite un po’ quegli occhi (Figaro) [2:30]
Recitative and Aria for Bass and Orchestra K 432 (421a)
14. Così dunque tradisci ... [1:26]
15. Aspri rimorsi atroci (Sebaste) [2:32]
Così fan tutte
16. Donne mie, la fate a tanti (Guglielmo) [3:22]
Aria for Bass, Double Bass Obbligato and Orchestra K 612
17. Per questa bella mano [6:52]
Davide Ghio (double bass solo)
Le nozze di Figaro
18. Hai già vinta la causa! ... [1:22]
19. Vedrò mentr’io sospiro (Conte) [3:16]
Ildebrando d’Arcangelo (bass-baritone) 
