Poul Rovsing Olsen
was something of a polymath. He trained
first in music at the Royal Danish Academy,
graduating in theory and piano in 1946
and then went on to take a law degree
at Copenhagen University. On completing
this, he resumed his musical studies
with Boulanger and Messiaen, and combined
careers by working as a lawyer at the
Danish Ministry of Education, by composing
and by writing on music for Danish newspapers.
In 1958, Rovsing Olsen
went to the Arabian Gulf where he developed
an interest in ethnomusicology. He returned
to the Gulf States several times and
also went on music-collecting expeditions
to India, Turkey, Egypt and Greenland.
He became an expert on the music of
the Gulf States and was appointed as
Keeper of the Danish Folklore Archives,
where he concentrated on ethnomusicological
work, also becoming Chairman of the
International Council for Traditional
Music. His musical output totals some
85 pieces and includes orchestral works,
songs, piano music, ballet scores as
well as his two operas, Belisa
and Usher.
Rovsing Olsen apparently
said that ‘his dream was to make music
as direct as possible and to bring it
closer to the listener,’ and he pursued
this ambition vigorously by fusing Oriental
and Western influences (like his teacher
Messiaen) to provide what he called
‘clarity and substance.’
On the strength of
this short opera at least, these ambitions
have been fulfilled. The world première
of the work at Copenhagen’s Royal Theatre
in 1966 and received enthusiastic reviews
throughout Scandinavia and Germany.
The score contains music of wonderful
delicacy combined with powerful and
engaging harmonies, and while undoubtedly
‘modernish,’ it is easy on the ear and
thoroughly compelling. It is also reminiscent
on occasion (perhaps unsurprisingly
given the composer’s interests and indeed
the opera’s plot) of Bartók.
Like Duke Bluebeard’s
Castle, Lorca’s story explores reality’s
boundaries. Married off by her Mother
to the elderly Don Perlimplin, the beautiful
Belisa takes five lovers (or says so)
on her wedding night. She confesses
to Perlimplin, who says he loves her,
understands her and forgives her.
Perlimplin discovers
that Belisa is captivated by a mysterious
man who always wears a red cloak. He
sends her love letters and waves to
her, but she has seen him only at a
distance. A stone with a new love letter
wrapped round it, is thrown through
a balcony doorway from Belisa’s admirer:
Perlimplin hints that he knows the man
and vows to sacrifice himself for her
happiness.
Belisa waits for her
admirer in a garden at night. A male
chorus sings as she enters and a red
cloaked man shows himself briefly, but
then disappears. Belisa declares her
love for the man to Perlimplin who says
that he will stab him if he returns.
Perlimplin leaves and when the cloaked
admirer returns, he has been stabbed
and is revealed as Perlimplin himself.
Belisa has no other lover.
Unlike many modern
opera composers of the last thirty years
or so, Rovsing Olsen understood how
to write for singers. The many short
‘arias’ for Belisa, for Perlimplin and
for the Mother are always singable,
interesting and emotionally expressive.
The duet for the two House Spirits in
Scene 2 is particularly lively, puckish
and quirky.
The orchestral interludes
between the four scenes are small masterpieces
too however, as is the garden scene
piece for the off-stage male chorus
(in which the dynamics range only between
pp and mp). This chorus
combines a tenor soloist with multi
– part harmonies and electronics to
produce a sound that moves around the
auditorium: it is magical even in two
channel stereo and reminded me sharply
of the wonderful Jan Sandström
double choir setting of Praetorius’
‘Es ist ein Ros’ on the Swedish Christmas
Music disc, ‘Nu stige jublets ton.’
(BIS Northern Lights CD – 5008.) The
work is worth hearing for this
passage alone.
As a performance, this
recording seems pretty well faultless
with excellent orchestral playing by
the Odense Symphony Orchestra and remarkably
fine singing from all the soloists.
Sten Byriel has wonderful dark bass
tone, Eir Inderhaug is a fresh voiced
and lyrical Belisa and Marianne Rørholm
(Perlimplin’s servant, Marcolfa) and
Anne Margrethe Dahl (Belisa’s Mother)
are both on the good form typical of
Royal Danish Opera principals. The recording
is clear, noise free and convincing
and the informative booklet that accompanies
the disc contains the plot synopsis
and libretto in Danish English and German.
Anyone interested in unusual opera or
Scandinavian music should rush out to
buy this recording. It’s a Disc of the
Month for me.
Bill Kenny
Vocal Group Ars Nova, Odense Symphony Orchestra
/ Tamás Vetö