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Isabelle Philippe -
A Star is Born
Fromental HALÉVY
(1799–1862) Charles VI (1843)
1. act 2: Gloire au maïtre et
gloire aux Chanteurs … Daignez vous faire
entendre encore (Duet Isabeau de Bavière–Bedford)
[16:02]
2. act 1: C’est votre fille … Oui Reine
(Duet Isabeau de Bavière–Odette)
[10:30]
Giacomo MEYERBEER
(1791–1864) Dinorah (1859)
3. act 2: Me voici, me voici … Ombre
légère (Dinorah’s romance
and aria) [14:11]
4. act 2: Sombre destine, âme
condamnée … J’ai déjà,
il me semble, entendu cela (Air du
val maudit) [3:22]
5. act 3: Ma maison? ma maison? … Oui,
c’était un rêve (duet
Dinorah–Hoël) [3:53]
Daniel François
Esprit AUBER (1782–1871) Haÿdée (1847)
6. Overture [1:49]
7. act 1: Tu ne me diras pas ton secret
… Il en donc un! (Haÿdée’s
couplets) [6:11]
8. act 2: A toi Domenico, chante nous
une chanson (Couplets and chorus.
Corvette’s aria) [3:50]
9. act 3: Je suis dans son palais!
A Venise … chez lui … Pour punir pareille
offense (Entr’acte and Haÿdée’s
aria [9:36]
Isabelle Philippe (soprano)
Armando Noguera (1); Anne-Sophie Schmidt
(2); Armand Arapian (5) and others; Orchestre
Français Albéric Magnard/Miquel
Ortega (Charles VI), Olivier Opdebeeck
(Dinorah), Michel Swierczewski
(Haÿdée)
rec. live, Théâtre Impérial
de Compiègne, 2004 (Dinorah
and Haÿdée); 2005
(Charles VI)
Artistic direction: Pierre Jourdan
Isabelle Philippe (soprano)
CASCAVELLE VEL 3105 [69: 28]
I would think that
most readers browsing through the heading
will mumble ‘never heard of it’ to most
titles. On the other hand there’ll be
a smile of recognition at the sight
of Ombre légère,
the Shadow Song from Dinorah.
It should prompt memories of recordings
by the great coloratura sopranos: Melba,
Galli-Curci, Callas, Sutherland to mention
a few. The rest of the music has led
a life in shadow for a very long time,
even though the composers should be
well-known to opera lovers. Other works
by them are occasionally seen and heard.
Halévy’s greatest opera, La
juive, was revived by the Vienna
State Opera at the beginning of this
decade with Neil Shicoff as Eleázar
– also recorded by BMG – and there was
an earlier recording on Philips with
José Carreras. Meyerbeer’s spectacular
grand opera Les Huguenots has
also been up and Decca made a recording
around 1970 with Joan Sutherland. Even
L’Africaine with its famous tenor
aria O Paradis is sometimes produced.
Of Auber’s many operas at least some
stirring overtures can be heard from
time to time. His comic masterpiece
Fra Diavolo has had a couple
of recordings, one of them with Nicolai
Gedda in the title role.
Performing and recording
several longer scenes and not just a
‘string of pearls’ aria sequence was
a good idea from Cascavelle – or probably
the artistic director Pierre Jourdan.
The disc is a vehicle for coloratura
soprano Isabelle Philippe, and she is
good. Unfortunately everyone is recorded
very close, which lessens the impact
when the singers literally creep into
your lap while the orchestra is somewhere
next door. One automatically adjusts
to the perspective and there is a certain
thrill in being face to face with the
artists. Let me also say that the singing
is very accomplished. Isabelle Philippe
has an agreeable, beautiful voice, impeccable
technique and she also brings out the
nuances admirably. Her high notes are
spot-on – no question of sliding up
to them, and she has obvious dramatic
instinct. Whether she is a good actor
with the voice is another matter: on
this hearing there is little differentiation
between the characters. This doesn’t
matter that much, nor do we know what
they really sing about. According to
a note in the booklet texts in French
and English should be available on www.theatre-imperial.com
but I couldn’t find them.
The reason why these
operas fell into oblivion may very well
be that they were not good enough musically,
that the librettos were weak or just
that the stories and/or the musical
style went out of fashion. Today it
is welcome that we have this music in
such committed performances. There may
be no hidden masterpieces here but even
the ‘merely’ good has an intrinsic value.
Mademoiselle Philippe’s various colleagues
sing well in duets and ensembles but
it is Mademoiselle herself that should
be the main reason for acquiring this
disc. The enthusiastic audiences also
seem to think so, since there are bouts
of copious and even furious applause.
I regret though that the booklet doesn’t
have anything to say about the music.
I am pretty sure that it has nothing
to but I cannot be absolutely certain
as the minuscule text (white against
dark) is of the kind that demands a
magnifying-glass.
Don’t let this deter
you from lending this disc an ear; both
Isabelle Philippe and the music deserve
it.
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