Customer Reviews

Berlioz: Béatrice et Bénédict

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Shakespeare's plays had a profound and lasting effect on Hector Berlioz & his music: 2 major works, the dramatic symphony "Romeo et Juliette" & his last opera, "Beatrice et Benedict," as well as several shorter pieces. "B&B" has been described as "'Much Ado About Nothing' without the ado" -- & indeed Berlioz (who wrote his own libretto, both lyrics & spoken dialogue) eliminated the central intrigue around Hero & Claudio (who become minor characters) & concentrated instead on the battle of wits & evolving love between the volatile title characters. But it's the music rather than the plot that gives this work its irresistible charm & magic: "a caprice written with the fine point of a needle" was the composer's description (I believe), epitomized by the effervescent overture which remained in the repertoire even as the opera suffered neglect, at least until recent years.
We've now had 5 "complete" recordings on CD: that conducted by Daniel Barenboim, not currently available; no less than 3 conducted by Colin Davis; & this fine version from John Nelson, an outstanding Berlioz interpreter. And this is actually the only truly complete version, with ALL the dialogue (spoken largely by acting "doubles" which works better than in most such cases); Davis #1 & #3 have only the musical numbers, Davis #2 (with Janet Baker, etc.) has severely abridged dialogue performed by the singers, & Barenboim uses a narrator. So if you want to hear what Berlioz really intended -- & I recommend that you do -- this is your choice. Fortunately, it's an excellent ensemble effort, with outstanding women, including the young Susan Graham as Beatrice, & fine playing & choral work. Everyone seems to have gotten the scale of the work just right: not inflated to grand opera proportions, but not undercast or trivialized in any way. A fine achievement.

This is a perfect recording of this beautiful opera. Susan Graham is the ideal Beatrice: funny, warm, and impestuous. The highlights of this recording are, without a doubt, the duet of Hero and Ursula at the end of Act I, and the trio of Beatrice, Hero nad Ursula near the beginning of Act II. These are Berlioz at his most lyrical and beautifully sung.

A fantastic recording that I got due to a friend recomendation.It has several facets of Mozart, but handled in a french and particular way. This is Berlioz at his best and the singing of Graham is perfect. The recording is, as with Erato, clear and focused. The french diction is excellent, since they are several dialogues Highly recommended

How long should a famous recording steal the limelight? The choice for Beatrice et Benedict has been locked in since 1977 by a superb recording under Colin Davis (the second of his three sets), with Janet Baker and Robert Tear at their very best as the contentious, witty leads. This was Berlioz's last opera and culminated a lifetime's worship of Shakespeare. Yet what makes Much Ado About Nothing so brilliant is gone; Shakespeare's dialogue is replaced with ho-hum raillery. For that matter, half the plot has also disappeared (along with the villain, Don John), leaving us with Berlioz's rather odd structure. A superfluous low comic, Somarone, has been inserted i place of Dogberry and his men. But for all these bastarsizations, the music is often delightful, with a good deal of work given to the chorus.

In the Gramophone's original 1992 review, an argument was mounted for preferring the new set under John Nelson over the classic Davis, relying on two points. First, there is more dialogue, which gives the work the shape of a true opera comique. Since the dialogue is weak, Davis had excised most of it. The second point was tat the youthful leads in the new recording, Susan Graham and Jean-Luc Viala, sound more age appropriate than Baker and Tear - this last is dubious since Shakespeare's two amorousc combatants are veterans in the duel of the sexes, contrasted with the as-yet-unspoiled romantic couple, Hero and Claudio. (Oddly, even though the Gramophone writer was the reliable, even authoritative John Steane, he refers to Graham as a soprano when she is, of course, a mezzo.)

I hate to say that the good is the enemy of the best, because this is a very good B & B. Being from Lyon, using French actors for the dialogue and a French chorus, it sounds more idiomatic than Davis's recording. Vocally, first place goes to Sylvia McNair's limpid, enchanting Hero - one of the oddities of Berlioz's conception is that the second lead female gets the best aria, along with the scene-stealing Nocturne, a duet that opens Act II.
Graham, along with Von Otter, is probably the best Berlioz singer since Janet Baker (although notice must be taken of the late Lorraine Hunt Lieberson's enthralling Les nuits d'ete, recently released). As a French specialist, Graham brings a lovely voice, sympathy with the idiom, and musical intelligence to her role. But she's relatively undramatic and doesn't give a picture of a witty, cynical woman who longs for love just beneatth the surface. Her Benedict sounds lightweight and French, which is a valid choice, but Robert Tear sounds mroe substantial and more the military veteran - Viala is vivacious but sounds like an aide de camp.

For me, these factors determine the choice, and it still goes to the Davis set. John Nelson keeps the action moving along, but he's not the esteemed Berlioz conductor that Davis is. The recorded sound is appealing and full, with the voices closely placed to the micoophone and the chorus somewhat far back.

Susan Graham (sop) Beatrice; Jean-Luc Viala (ten) Benedict; Sylvia McNair (sop) Hero; Cather- ine Robbin (mez) Ursule; Gilles Cachemaille (bar) Claudio; Gabriel Bacquier (bar) Somarone; Vincent Le Texier (bass) Don Pedro; Philippe Magnant (spkr) Leonato; Lyon Opera Chorus and Orchestra / John Nelson

This has become my favorite opera recording. First of all, the quality of the recording is superb. Second, the performance itself, in all respects, is truly outstanding.
For many years, my only acquaintance with this work was the old Colin Davis recording on L'Oiseau-Lyre (1963!), which included none of the dialogue. Then, last fall, I was fortunate enough to see the Houston Grand Opera presentation of the Opera Australia production. While in many respects this was an excellent performance, I felt the staging of the show was rather slow in spots.
This Nelson recording, with its inclusion of all the original dialogue and taut performance, really brings Berlioz' final work to life. The pacing is great, and one can understand the work as a whole. It also makes it easy to understand why the opera was so well-received when Berlioz premiered it in 1862.
Once again, a really well-paced performance, with nothing overdone. Highly recommended.

This review is not about the performance. I was hopeful that, since reviews stated this recording included all of the spoken dialogue, it would also include a booklet with a complete libretto and translations. That is unfortunately NOT the case. It is hard to understand why not, though, especially for a work with spoken dialogue! Instead, there is a synopsis and feeble statement that the complete French libretto with German translation (only) can be found at a website.

this is a review of the work itself and not the recording, which is generally very well played, sung, etc. i was very curious to listen to b&b since 'much ado...' is my fave shakespeare comedy. after hearing it, i have to admit i'm a little disappointed. berlioz had to cut out the subplots of don jon and his schemes, and hero and her travails to fit this opera into a two hour format. trouble is what he has left, while it can stand on its own, somehow feels naked compared to the bard's story. the subplots not only add contrast and texture but they also extend the story, so that the denouement doesn't come so close on the heels of the deception scene in the garden. berlioz's opera just seems rushed compared to shakespeare's play. this isn't really berlioz's fault, though. it's just the limitation of opera compared to plays. so much time is taken up with the music, lyrics and choruses that you can squeeze less than half a play into the same time. this is the biggest reason opera is generally not as dramatic as theatre: there is never enough time to properly develop the plots and characters. as compensation, you have the music, and that's not a bad tradeoff.