Customer Reviews

Bellini: I Capuleti e i Montecchi

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4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(3)

 

 

EMI has just released Bellini's opera "I Capuleti E i Montechi" (Capulets and Montagues) an opera that is overshadowed by the more famous Charles Gounod French opera Romeo et Juliette. This Italian bel canto work is rarely staged and even rarely recorded. It's a pity really because this is a terrific opera, even if highly edited and even if Bellini tinkered with the play. It's a geme of bel canto opera, full of beautiful melodies, dramatic passions and arias and ensembles that are linked together like a chain of gold. It is a glorious opera when it is performed by the right singers. Recorded in the late 60's, it stars soprano Beverly Sills and mezzo soprano Janet Baker, both at the height of their powers as singers. In the tenor role (not that of Romeo, but either County Paris or Tybalt I forget who) is Nicolai Gedda. So we have three great operatic talents- Sills, Baker and Gedda, reason enough to get this opera, for each singer provides dramatic integrity and passion and beautiful vocal color to their roles. Janet Baker as Romeo is a great performance. Baker had a dramatic and inner power, with a religious zeal and spirituality and passion. I don't care that its a woman playing the role of the male Romeo. Her voice is "masculine" in its mezzo richness, and even her energy. Baker is a goddess of the opera, able to sing both like a woman and like man! Who else can do that ? Her arias here are all taxing and amazing. No one will ever do what she has done for opera. I love Janet Baker in everything she did- Julius Caesar, Werther, Verdi Requiem, Lieder, Ariodante, and the list goes on. Opposite the more elegant Sills, they are a tour de force.

Beverly Sills championed rare operas and was a bel canto specialist. As Juliet (Giuletta) she is the archetypical tragic heroine- dying for love, a vulnerable, dreamy, passionate and suffering heroine. Her arias are full of opportunities to display long-winded, long-breathed pianissimi and lyric passages, as well as radiant coloratura whoops and roulades. Beverly Sills was the soprano that hooked me into opera. She may not be the fierce, lioness and diva assoluta that was Maria Callas or the soprano she is eternally compared to- Joan Sutherland- but she had a magic, seductive, powerful and passionate grandeur that so few sopranos have. To date, she has no successor. No other soprano has filled her shoes. He repoire and connection with the audience has been lost even in today's Vogue supermodel type sopranos (Anna Netrebko, Renee Fleming, etc)who are detached and distant goddess. Not so with Sills, who was a singer who never had issues with her weight and who seemed to boldly say "Take me as I am, even if I dont have the killer voice". She had the most angelic voice, which to this day, still haunts my dreams. Patane conducts the New Philharmonia orchestra, with much dramatic power underlying the sweet bel canto flavor. Those closing bars are the best final portions of opera I've ever heard for bel canto operas. Thank you, EMI for releasing this album I've longed for. But there is still something I long for even more. All I ask now is that EMI do us, the fans of Beverly Sills and fans of those stars who sang with her in her recordings, to release and remaster the LP of Bellini's Norma, which she sang opposite Shirley Verrett and under the baton of James Levine.

This opera is wonderfully alive in this recording --- vocally and in the vibrant conducting by Patane. For the first time I really understood why it is said that the essence of the drama in bel canto lies in the melody. It is, in the end, through the singing and its shaping and modulation that the opera succeeds or fails as theater. Though other musical elements (harmony, rhythm, contrast)are combined in very pleasing way, it is melody that expresses the individuality and specificity of the dramatic moment. In this respect, Janet Baker's supreme artistic gifts rise to meet a very difficult technical challenge as Romeo. Her sculpting of melody, the richness and evenness of vocal emission across a tremendous vocal range, and the dramatic thrust and sweep of her characterisation render her the outstanding Romeo on record (listen to 'Se Romeo t'uccise suo figlio' for an example of melody providing all the dramatic propulsion). Sills is interpretatively very fine, bright-voiced and agile --- one only misses firmness of tone (particularly on high) and more variety of color. But the two wonderful mezzo/soprano duets are exquisite: Baker sings a stanza, and then Sills mirrors with exactly the same phrasing and feeling --- a poignant effect. All in all, for me, this outclasses the newer competition (RCA, Teldec) which seem to all have a strange vividness, like an object under a very bright, but artificial, light.

Here, on the other hand, the lyric shadings of the tragedy are as much in evidence as the underlying passion, but the beauty is expressed completely in and of itself, not by an obvious attempt to foreshadow Verdi. The excellent sound of this superbly balanced reading enables it to radiate the warmth and fragility of the brief era of bel canto itself.

One may regret that Beverly Sills and Nicolai Gedda did not
record this opera earlier in their careers (1975) yet still
be glad they did. Though there are some audible signs of vo-
cal wear their artistry and commitment are never in doubt and
they offer memorable performances. Janet Baker is on the other
hand in splendid voice and sings superbly - she portrays a
somber Romeo and is supremely moving in the tomb scene.
Robert Lloyd and Raimund Herincx offer excellent support.
Very well recorded and beautifully conducted by Maestro
Patane - a very welcome release !

Just before the releas of this CD version, I was thinking back to how much I enjoyed my old LP version of this Sill/Baker/Gedda recording. I was ecstatic to see the announcement of its comback. EMI was so wise to pair the legendary Janet Baker with their "new" girl Sills in this moving love-story. There is no rushing the tempo when these gals bring the music to life. Gedda seems to have been the hands down choice for Sills leading man in most of her recordings, but in spite of his mature sound, he is as always the consumate artist in this nonlover role. I enjoy my RCA recording for it's own merits, but the EMI is in a class by itself shining as a prime example of the bel canto era. Oh, if Bellini had lived just a few more years . . . Oh, let's be greedy--can you imagine if he had lived another thirty years? He would no-doubt have been a rival for Verdi as the Italian king of opera. Having said that, let's have the Sills Norma.

Back in the 1970's I was a very intense fan of both La Sills and La Baker. The very idea of both of them coming together for an opera recording sent this rapid fan into a severe swoon! Therefore, this recording sent me into a state of ecstasy! I along with other Sills and Baker fans would gather around my stereo listening to this recording with Baker and Sills weaving their vocal magic which always elicited from us many tears and bravos.
At the time Beverly was a known commodity in Bell Canto operas; however, Janet was mainly known as a song recitalist. Nevertheless, Janet Baker, in this opera, proves that she could sing opera with the best of them showing her great operatic credentials-she is up to every vocal challenge Bellini throws at her. She tackles the role with great artistry and beauty of tone. Her last scene STILL dissolves me to copious tears.
In this recording Beverly sings a little cautiously not throwing out high E's with abandon as before; however, her years of experience being a sublime singer of Bell Canto operas comes through. Her singing is gorgeous, sweet and touching to the highest degree, I truly believe that this recording was one of her best.
It truly is great to hear this recording again-ah the memories. Time has NOT diminished its appeal!

This isn't the Shakespearean version, in case you get disappointed, but is based on an Italian source. In spite of the obvious fact the Sills and Gedda were already past their prime by the time of this recording, they still have plenty to give us, and their musical insight makes this recording better than other well-sung performances recorded in the studio. Baker is absolutely fantastic throughout and gave a very satisfying performance both musically and artistically.

Now coming to the comparison made by a reviewer between Bellini and Verdi. Well, even if Bellini had lived to 80, it would not be his aim to write like Verdi. Bellini stood alone amongst the great opera composers of Italy. Even his contemporaries recognized it and called his music 'filosofico'. Bellini's aim was not to create dramas with music like Donizetti or Verdi, but rather music drama - a fact which Wagner recognized. Only that Bellini's aim was to realize it via the voice (think Norma), while Wagner did it with the orchestra. It is note-worthy that Wagner spared Bellini the usual bashing he gave to the Italians. Not only that - he admitted to Cosima that the love duet from Capuleti was the source of his inspiration for his own in Tristan. In his old age, he was proud to say that he learned from 'these pages' what Messrs Brahms etc had failed to learn. One should approach a Bellini opera as one does a Chopin Ballade or Wagner's Tristan, not Verdi. That is not to say that Verdi is inferior, but just different.

And regarding Bellini's orchestration, Wagner and Bizet were on separate occasions, were tasked to 'improve' the orchestration of Norma. Both eventually gave up the job as impossible and concluded that the orchestration written by Bellini was the most suitable. Comparing the orchestration between the early Il Pirata (with its almost Wagnerian finale!) with Norma, it dawns upon one that the decision to thin out the orchestra by Bellini was deliberate, in line with his purpose of using the voice as the primary tool to express the drama.

So far as stage works go, this bel canto opera by Bellini is staged way less than, say, Norma. Other of the composer's works are noted for their vocalism, if we nowadays find the plots less than engaging. Think of Il Pirata, La Sonnambula, I Puritani, Beatrice di Tenda, La Straniera, Bianca e Fernando, Zaira, Adelson e Salvini. A sense of familiarity drops off pretty quickly after Norma.

All the clues here are that EMI intended this set to be a major milestone. It is, in fact, to my ears. The band is New Philharmonia of London - surely a splurge for a lesser known Bellini outing, if there every was one. The cast splurges, too. Our Romeo star is Janet Baker. Our Guilietta star is Beverly Sills. Teobaldo is sung by Nicolai Gedda. Robert Lloyd takes Capellio. Raimund Herincz, Lorenzo. If anybody takes a back seat in these efforts, the opera chorus is most likely to fade, seemingly transformed into an afterthought. Yet here we get the John Alldis Choir, singing well beyond the average stage chorus we would find in a decent regional opera house. Or even a major one.

Finally, as if all those clues were not telling, we also get the conductor as star. Giuseppe Patane was recorded far less often than his merits indicated. I first came across him as leader in a Puccini Butterfly on vinyl Eurodisc, starring Maria Chiara. Then again in a second Butterfly where Veronica Kincses took Butterfly. Hard to miss how Patane brought higher polish and discipline to his work, hard not to notice his amazing results with the second set's Hungarian band. Then I ran across a disc of Rossini overtures, again with the conductor raising performance levels in Bamberg. Immediately I recalled Walter Legge of EMI saying, A first-rate conductor takes a fifth rate band and gets them playing like a second rate band.

Patane was committed, not a flash in the pan leading opera on the side as he schmoozed his way up the global big names ladders. He offered a brilliant combination of elusive musical qualities. In opera, Patane could breathe with the singers without in the least compromising his strong grasp of the tempo and the harmonic structures. This yields amazing narrative strength in, say, Verdi or Puccini. It is also amazing to hear in Bellini. Suddenly Bellini sounds like he was doing more than just giving his singers support in hackneyed accompaniments, chock full of old-fashioned melodramatic band gestures. This particular Bellini opera, then, though much less familiar on the stage, hangs all together. Under Patane all the music sounds like Bellini really meant what he wrote. No filler.

With such a firm frame set for his star singers, the cast shines in various constellations, all uncommonly brilliant and beautiful and besotted with the excellence that Patane engendered in performance.

Now, oddly enough, these days our choices in this opera have multiplied. Romeos with Juliets are still less numerous than Normas with Adalgisas. Still. Very nice readings are also available under Ricardo Muti at Covent Garden, Roberto Abbado in Munich, and Donald Runnicles in Scotland (of all things ..). Then add in a smattering of performance recordings with representative casts of changing eras, and then recall how Bellini is included on innumerable aria collections with a cornucopia of differently blessed voices.

And yet. Did Dame Janet Baker ever really make a bad recording? Certainly not this time around. Ditto, Beverly Sills. (I still hear her as a tad less than utterly engaged in her Verdi Traviata on EMI, but not here, not at all. In this set we are right back, in the same compelling vocal territory as her nearly unique Donizetti Lucia under Schippers, or her Donizetti Three Queen opera sets.) Nicolai Gedda shows off unexpected bel canto chops, especially for fans who know him mainly in Puccini or Bizet or Verdi. And Robert Lloyd and Raimund Herincx manager the lower range characters without making Bellini sound too much like Verdi. The duets between Romeo (Baker) and Guilietta (Sills) are - as the saying goes - to die for. One belatedly rather wishes that Baker and Sills had gotten the studio time that was devoted to Sutherland and Horne?

In this two-disc set offered so inexpensively, a libretto is not included. Yet interested listeners may go to the EMI Classics web site on the internet to download those materials as needed. Anybody generally familiar with the Rome and Juliet plot can probably manage to sit through the whole opera, minus the libretto study. Bellini did simplify the Shakespeare cast of characters, streamlining the plot. But this story has stayed evergreen, unlike the small village rumor mill about a sleepwalking Amina in La Sonnambula. Plot aside, though not too far aside in this one - the music is the thing.

What glorious music, what singing. No question, five stars. Probably a classic of the recorded arts. I put this one right up there with Sills in Lucia under Schippers. Glad I got around to it, and now I wonder why ever in the world did I delay? I just wasn't enough over my love affair with Donizetti to get back to Bellini. Don't hesitate, don't even go slow on this one.

Source: Studio recording made at Abbey Road Studio, London, June 16-25, 1975.

Sound: Analog stereo. The engineering is competent, I suppose, but as a matter of personal taste I do not care for the distant and echo-y soundscape. It sounds as though the opera were taking place at the far end of a Gothic cathedral.

Documentation: No printed libretto, although there is a reference to an on-line libretto available at the EMI Classics website, (which failed to download in five tries over two days) just in case I want to listen to this opera while I am working at my computer. The accompanying essay by James Harding is the most useless I have ever found in a CD case--and that is by no means an easily earned distinction. Harding is vitally interested in Bellini's lame love life but indifferent to such trifles as the plot of the opera he is supposed to be writing about.

Format: Disk 1, Act I, Scenes 1 and 2; 60:42. Disk 2, Act I, Scene 3; Act II, Scenes 1-3; 74:23.

Bellini premiered "I Capuleti e i Montecchi" at Teatro La Fenice in Venice exactly one month before his twenty-ninth birthday. It was a success but it was not without critics. In his essay, Harding writes, "It was unfair of Berlioz to denounce I Capuleti e i Montecchi as a travesty of Shakespeare." Berlioz clearly had a point, for where the Bard had twenty characters, the librettist "Romani made do with only five. You will look in vain," Harding gushes on, "for the Nurse and Friar Laurence" and, I must add, for Mercutio, Benvolio and Paris, too. In the opera, Paris and Tybalt become a single character, Tebaldo, to the great detriment of the plot.

"I Capuleti e i Montecchi" came about midway in Bellini's too short career. The really big hits on which his fame rests were yet to come. The music is competent but somehow lacking that indefinable ping that makes "La Sonnambula," "Norma" and "I Puritani" extraordinary.

Overall, the performance is good. Best by far in the cast is Janet Baker. She does not generate overt excitement but she offers an overwhelming sense of rightness when she essays any part in the narrow range that she made her own. This recording is a little late for the best of Sills but she is still very bright and amazingly agile. As always, I feel that her voice is just a little too cool and too thin, but that is purely a matter of personal taste. It is also late for Nicolai Gedda, who sounds unexpectedly baritonal as Tebaldo, a part that any other 19th Century composer would surely have written for a baritone. (I know, I know, Gounod's Tybalt is a tenor. I sang the role, myself, back in college days. But Gounod's Tybalt is markedly different in character from Bellini's Tebaldo-Paris.) Gedda is very good, but I am not at all sure that I would have recognized him if his name had not been on the cover.

"I Capuleti e i Montecchi" is not a great opera, but three famous and very fine singers offer intelligent and entertaining performances. That's worth five stars as far as I'm concerned.

FOR THE HISTORICALLY MINDED: William Shakespeare wrote his "Romeo and Juliet" in the 1590s, in the early days of his career. As was usual for him, he based his play on older materials. The first literary mention of the Montagus and the Capulets is in Dante's "Purgatorio," vi, lines 106-108. The Montagus lived in Verona and the Capulets in Cremona. They were used by Dante as examples of warring factions that had been exterminated. About 1530, Luigi da Porto mistakenly assumed that the Montagus and the Capulets had both resided in Verona and had feuded with one another. He worked up a tale that involved two young members of his warring clans, Giulietta and Romeo. In 1554, Matteo Bandello published a novella called "Romeo e Giulietta" which proved to be an international hit. A French version was adapted from Bandello by Pierre Boaistuau in 1559. This, in turn, was translated into English in 1562 by Arthur Brooke as a "tragical history" in verse form called "Romeus and Juliet," later to be pounced on by Will Shakespeare in search of a popular hit. The only major changes that Shakespeare made in Brooke's plot were to compress the time frame and to introduce Tybalt into the story at an earlier point in order to build him up as a worthy adversary for Romeo. And, oh, yes, he created an array of living characters such as had never been conceived before.

A number of commentators have taken note of the much simplified plot of "I Capuleti e i Montecchi." They have accounted for it by declaring that Shakespeare's version was not yet well-known in the world, so Romani must have based his work on an earlier version of the story, by which I presume they mean by Bandello or even by da Porto. I don't buy that explanation. By 1830, the cult of Bardolatry was firmly established. The standard German translations (that the Germans to this day hold to be superior to the English originals) were well along. Two generations earlier, the tourist industry of Stratford Upon Avon had been given a kick start by the great actor, Garrick (in a bicentennial celebration conceived by David Garrick, written by David Garrick, produced by David Garrick, directed by David Garrick and starring David Garrick--additional dialogue by W. Shakespeare.) Just seventeen years later, Verdi would write his "Macbeth" and make sketches for a "King Lear," that greatest of all operatic might-have-beens. One of the twenty or so books that Verdi kept close to himself until the day he died was an Italian translation of the works of Shakespeare.

No, I do not think that Romani dealt with any obscure 16th Century originals. I think that he exercised a hack's privilege to pillage a respectable source for his convenience. Berlioz was correct. In both the literal and the figurative senses of the word, this is a travesty.

A Kid's Review is wrong. This was NOT recorded in the late 60s, but rather in 1975. I would never have ordered it had I known this is Sills in 1975---- big, big difference in the state of her voice, as she herself acknowledged.

If you're ordering this particular recording based upon a need, want, yearning to have the complete libretto order not. I ordered this recording simply for that fact: it was promoted "as including the 'libretto'" which is exactly what I was looking for. While I'm sure the recording will be lovely, the fact that it marketed itself with expectations it did not deliver makes one weary from ordering online sight unseen.