Bridgett Hooks, soprano
Emily Magee, soprano
Youngok Shin, soprano
Stephanie Blythe, mezzo
Jill Grove, mezzo
Gary Lakes, tenor
Donnie Ray Albert, baritone
John Cheek, bass-baritone
Minnesota Chorale, Kathy Saltzman Romey, artistic director
Kantorel, Axel Theimer, artistic director
Magnum Chorum, David Dickau, music director
Metropolitan Boys Choir, Bea Hasselmann, music director
Minnesota Orchestra
James Conlon, conductor
Orchestra Hall
Minneapolis, Minnesota
In a fiery -- and risky -- debut
with the Minnesota Orchestra celebrating its 100th Anniversary
season, James Conlon proved himself in complete command of the Eighth,
this most extravagant of Mahler’s output. From the opening "Veni,
creator spiritus," taken at a pulse-quickening pace, to the stirring,
shattering final pages, Conlon launched into this vast piece with an
almost animal ferocity. And for most of the work’s breathless ninety
minutes, he seemed to be oblivious to the printed score in front of
him, as only the most confident conductors can manage. I have been lucky
to hear this piece live several times, and it is a pleasure to report
that this performance will likely resonate in my memory for a very long
time.
Conlon was fortunate to have a
committed (but not always accurate) group of soloists, and an impressive,
beautifully synchronized choir of 250, with excellent diction especially
at lower volume levels. Equally important, the Minnesota Orchestra gave
its all in the pleasantly bright acoustic of the Minnesota hall, in
which the vibrations could occasionally be felt coming through the floor.
Choosing tempi generally on the
faster side, Conlon nevertheless elicited much of the ebb and flow that
have made his Zemlinsky interpretations so successful -- and that are
essential for the Mahler to be effective. If Riccardo Chailly’s (somewhat
controversial) slower tempi pay off in greater weight, and Solti’s classic
version rushes headlong (over a cliff, in this writer’s view), Conlon
was somewhere in between, finding considerable sweep in the faster sections,
yet pulling back to allow the many lyrical moments some breathing room.
The first section rocketed to a mighty conclusion that was followed
by almost complete silence, tinged with the electricity of a few hushed
gasps here and there in the audience.
After a well-judged pause, the
orchestra tiptoed into the quiet opening of Part II with an eerie, precise
palette of colors, and their desolate sound made a fine context for
the later rapturous moments. Concertmaster Jorja Fleezanis seemed to
relish her tender, intimate solos, and the strong brass section delivered
all that Mahler requires, both without glare and without the slightest
hesitation. Equally memorable were the percussion effects, with tympani
placed on both sides of the stage.
Special mention must go to mezzo
Stephanie Blythe, whose decisive clarion easily soared over the densest
textures all night, as well as soprano Bridgett Hooks, who after a slightly
shaky opening, then settled in and negotiated the difficult tessitura
of the Magna Peccatrix. From high in the back of the third tier (it
appeared), Youngok Shin made an ethereal Mater Gloriosa.
By the time the combined choruses
reached the final, whisper-soft "Alles Vergangliche ist nur ein
Gleichnis" ("Everything transitory is merely an image."),
Conlon must have sensed that he was in the home stretch of a hauntingly
emotional performance. He seemed to draw even more energy as the evening
drew to a close, with stunning power for "Zieht uns hinan"
("...leads us aloft."), followed by mighty, granitic brass
in the closing bars, punctuated by spine-tingling tam-tam crashes that
brought the piece to its ecstatic conclusion. More than a few listeners
remained in the hall until the performers had left the stage, as if
trying to hold off returning to the outside world as long as possible.
That’s what happens when you taste a bit of paradise.
Bruce Hodges
© 2003
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