Gioachino ROSSINI (1792-1868)
Guillaume Tell - opera in four Acts (1829) [3:57:48]
Mathilde – Montserrat Caballé (soprano); Jemmy – Mady Mesplé (soprano); Hedwige
– Jocelyne Taillon (mezzo); Guillaume Tell – Gabriel Bacquier (baritone);
Arnold – Nicolai Gedda (tenor); Gessler – Louis Hendrix (bass); Melchthal
– Gwynne Howell (bass); Walter – Kolo Kovacs (bass); Fisherman – Charles Burles
(tenor); Rodolphe – Ricardo Cassinelli (tenor); Leuthold – Nicolas Christou
(bass); Huntsman – Leslie Fyson (tenor); Ambrosian Opera Chorus; Royal Philharmonic
Orchestra/Lamberto Gardelli
rec. 26-30 June and 8-11 July 1982, Kingsway Hall, London
text and translations included as PDF file on bonus disc
EMI CLASSICS 6407632 [4 CDs: 66:34 + 73:00 + 58:00 + 40:14 + bonus
disc]
Guillaume Tell was the composer’s last and longest opera. I do not
think I would go on to say that it was also necessarily his best, but it is
certainly an amazing work full of life. It is, in many ways, both a summation
of his operatic genius and a tantalizing glimpse of what might have been had
he continued to write for the stage. Like his other last operas it was written
for Paris and in its scale and mixture of public and private events is a clear
forerunner of such works as Les Huguenots and Don Carlos. At
the same time it can be regarded as essentially classical, but with that style
subtly transfigured into one that is just as essentially romantic. It represents
a turning point in the history of opera, so that the obvious question arises
as to why it is so seldom encountered on the stage, and why many music-lovers
know it solely by its undoubtedly magnificent overture.
There are several answers to this, but as is clear from these discs they are
a mixture of the inherent performance problems and of the expectations of
the audience. The performance difficulties tend to centre on casting, in particular
of the tenor role of Arnold. This was first sung by Adolphe Nourrit, but its
most famous performer was Gilbert-Louis Duprez who made a feature of taking
the many high Bs and Cs from the chest rather than with the head voice as
the composer would have expected from previous singers. Nowadays tenors who
use the head voice in this role are rare, and one of the great pleasures of
this performance is Nicolai Gedda’s willingness to do this for at least some
of the time. Maybe it is less momentarily exciting but the sheer quantity
of high notes can make tenors singing with the chest voice very wearing to
listen to. In addition he sings with real elegance, assisted by the use of
the original French words.
Problems of casting almost as great arise with the role of Matilde, and the
choice of Montserrat Caballé was inspired. Her tone and phrasing show both
classical restraint and an understanding of the composer’s style, and so too
does Gabriel Bacquier in the title role. I could continue in this vein for
the many other secondary roles; the inclusion of French singers seems to have
spurred the others on in their adoption of a Gallic style. It is typical of
the care over casting that the first solo - the very minor role of a fisherman
– is beautifully sung here by Charles Burles with just the right ease of tone
and attention to phrasing. The chorus and orchestra are English but sing and
play with immense care for the subtlety of Rossini’s writing under Lamberto
Gardelli’s very idiomatic direction.
And here we must turn to the second part of the problem of performance. The
speed of events in this opera, as in so many of Rossini’s “serious” or “semi-serious”
works, is leisurely. The formal structure of individual numbers frequently
makes use of extensive repetition, and many of those numbers are essentially
scene-setting rather than driving the plot forward. The lengthy ballet sequences
in Acts 1 and 3 are musically delightful but hold up the action just where
one expects it to be moving on. This recording is complete – a real virtue
in principle in such a rarely recorded work, but one which may try the listener’s
patience at times. Nonetheless what we have here is the only recording of
the opera in its original language, performed in a way that respects its essentially
noble and humane character as well as its musical style. To enjoy it fully
the listener must accept its length and the inclusion of episodes more related
to the setting than to the story. A libretto is contained in a “bonus” disc
and is an essential adjunct.
The obvious comparison is with Decca’s recording conducted by Riccardo Chailly
with Pavarotti, Freni and Milnes in Italian. Exciting as that undoubtedly
is I much prefer the present version for its fidelity to the text and idiom
of the opera as the composer would have known it. Even if you are fortunate
enough to attend a live performance the chances of its reaching anywhere near
the musical standards achieved here are remote. The prospects for a rival
recording of similar quality are equally remote so that for anyone interested
in Rossini or indeed in nineteenth century opera in general this is a welcome
and indeed essential reissue.
John Sheppard
This is a welcome and indeed essential reissue.