Customer Reviews

Gluck: Orphée et Eurydice (Berlioz version) / Larmore, Upshaw, Hagley, Runnicles

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Over the past 240 years, Gluck's Orpheus had experienced many variations. Original Orfeo ed Euridice in 1762 was in Italian and Orfeo was in the voice of an alto castrato. In 1774 during Gluck's five-year sojourn in Paris, much due to the Parisian's disapproval of castrati, he rewrote the opera and recast the protagonist as a French haute-contre - a particular kind of light and high tenor, along with expanding the opera into a full three acts, adding some numbers and a ballet. This Paris version and also the best version Orph'e et Eurydice, which has provided the base for the other versions to follow, is brilliant in every aspect provided that a French haute-contre is available to tackle the higher-than-regular-tenor (about one third higher) music range of Orph'e's, for which the chance has always been rare. Almost a century later, in 1859, Berlioz, a Gluck devotee, transposed Orph'e of 1774 Paris version into mezzo-soprano's range. The revival has renewed the life of Gluck's Orph'e et Eurydice by making it a great showpiece for mezzos and contralti, but at the same time, has totally deprived Orpheus of his masculinity. When Orph'e is sung by mezzo or contralto, his/her lamentation at the loss of his/her lover Eurydice is more of an illusion than anything to be affecting, and as one can imagine, watching a mezzo Orph'e on stage could get worse.

Having said all these, this recording of Berlioz version is yet wonderful in terms of its artistic crafting and sound quality. Being the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, the opera is more of Orpheus' show with Orpheus getting the lion's share in singing. Jennifer Larmore has an amazing mezzo voice, sturdy and strong. "Amour, viens rendre ' mon 'me", with much more cadenza than one would expect from Gluck, has showcased her excellent vocal ability. Dawn Upshaw's light soprano is much needed for Eurydice in order to distinguish her in the duet with Orph'e as well as in all-female trios. Her sweet voice delivers a most beautiful "Cet asile aimable et tranquille". L'Amour, who did more work in going-between the lovers than in singing, is but wonderfully sung by Alison Hagley. Chorus and Orchestra of San Francisco Opera, conducted by Donald Runnicles, are distinctive in bringing out the beauty and power and of the music.

I love this work since I heard this recording. I had Solti's with Horne and Lorengar in italian and Gardiner's with Von Otter and Hendricks but it didn't call my attention. When I heard Jennifer Larmore singing Orphee I fell in love instantly and since then this is one of my favourites works, in french, and one of my favourites recordings. Larmore's voice is... wow!!! full of vitality and you can feel Orphee woes and happinesses.

I love the voices on this CD. The extraordinary light lyric soprano of Dawn Upshaw and the beautiful sound of mezzo Jennifer Larmore are very recognizable. The leggiero soprano Alison Hagley is excellent as Amour (probably the best I've heard in the role). They all sing quite well, tho I wonder a bit about Larmore's bottom notes. O.. and quite excellent French diction by all parties.

To my ears, much more care is taken to the melodies than to the message the melodies are supposed to convey. The orchestration doesn't help either. And I find the tempo of this production a bit off. Sometimes it seems a tad slow except for the Amour's arias and duets in the 1st act (thank you, Ms. Hagley!). And then just when the tempo should be slow at the intro to 'J'ai perdue mon Eurydice', Runnicles has the it up so much (and the pacing instruments so loud)that the piece sounds upbeat!! And what the heck is so upbeat about Orphee losing Eurydice the 2nd time anyway? That transgression alone makes me wish I can give this a 3 1/2 rating instead of a 4... (the 4 is by the grace of the singers and not the conductor, since the tempo does slow down after Larmore enters the aria). Also I wish the choir could sing a bit louder and sound more jubilant in the closing 'Le Dieu de Paphos et de Gnide'.

Anyhow, this is still an above average production of Orphee et Eurydice.

I am a huge fan of Jennifer Larmore's luscious mezzo-soprano and this Orphée is the perfect vehicle for showing it off at its most touching and plangent. All three voices here are perfect for their parts: Alison Hagley is charming and sprightly as l'Amour and although for me Dawn Upshaw's rather breathy, winsome soprano with its expressively "squeezed" emphases on top notes has always been something of an acquired taste which I have not acquired, the characteristics of her voice make it instantly distinguishable from the other two singers and thus compensate for the lack of variety provided by either a castrato (hard to find these days), a counter-tenor, or an "haute-contre" tenor, as per arrangements made by Gluck previous to this re-scoring by Berlioz.

My only reservation about this recording derives perhaps from the conductor responding to the more Romantic flavour imparted by Berlioz's loving treatment - and I note that a previous reviewer on Amazon.com has made a similar observation, despite the plethora of five-star opinions. I have always admired and enjoyed Runnicles' work, but he has definitely here taken some of the starch out of the proceedings; tempi are just that bit too relaxed and placid and the psychological drama suffers. I find myself admiring the singing more than I am involved Orphée's plight; for real tension I turn to the old Fasano set in Italian with Shirley Verrett giving the part "a bit of Welly" (as we say in the UK). When the lovely Larmore laments "J'ai perdu mon Eurydice" she seems no more disturbed than if she had lost her book-mark - but the sound she makes is wondrous.

I suggest that any lover of this opera enjoy it in this rather over-refined French form but also have recourse to one of the several good, and rather more sinewy, Italian versions, such as the Fasano I mentioned, Janet Baker or even Ewa Podles.

I have to admit that I am quite surprised at how much I like this whole work. I only knew (woe to my ignorance) some highlights of this work (the famous flute solo, the despair aria of Orfeo in Italian and the dance of the Furies). And I did not know that Berlioz rearranged this opera to accomodate 3 female voices as the three, and only characters of the opera. This to the French version of Gluck himself, considered by some more complete and interesting than the Italian. This work is opera ambiguity at its best. Opera artificiality at its best. Thinking of the excellent Jennifer Larmore (Orpheus) longing for the charming Dawn Upshaw (Eurydice) is certainly an interesting experience. But I will not go into the diverse sexual and gender interpretations, and misinterpretations, that one can come up with. I will rather extoll the virtues of the recording, the greatness of the voices, the artistry of all, including even the cover art, the exhalting music, how all that ambiguity forces us to suspend belief and just enjoy, to let us be carried by emotion.... It is indeed a divine surprise to see how a 200+ year work can still sound so fresh and so present. A must!

Jennifer Larmore and Dawn Upshaw, contemporary American opera divas, complement one another so well here... I get lost in the music and the melodic sounds of their voices.

I love opera but am a complete novice and am slowly teaching myself about it. Many times you hear some piece of music and it is like an epiphany. I bought a CD of Jennifer Larmore doing different pieces from different operas as a general overview, and on the strength of her "J'ai perdu mon Eurydice" (from this opera) I bought this version of the entire opera, and it is most definitely a pleasure and culturally enriching to listen to it. This was like an epiphany for me, opening the doors to opera wide open!

"orfeo and euridice" is such a lovely opera, filled with
delightful melodies. This recording is one of the best.
Dawn upshaw is the euridice of my dreams, Alison hagley
is a sweet and charming amor. I'm not a fan of Larmore's voice, but she is a fine Orfeo.
The orchestra playing is light and charming, and the
sound is very good as one would expect of a modern recording.

This recording of Orphee et Eurydice is by far the best I have ever heard. The full, rich voice of Jennifer Larmore, the delicate and sweet sound of Dawn Upshaw and the simply extraordinary clarity of Allison Hagley put together render this baroque opera one you will want to listen to over and over. The conducting of Runnicles is beautiful. I have in my operatic library a recording of this opera in Italian with Marilyn Horne. This French version is absolutely ravishing. The depth and clarity will astound you. This is also the version by Berlioz with the ballet music included. A must for all opera lovers!

This is the french version of Gluck's masterpiece with arrangements by Hector Berlioz. The recording is as pure and crystalline as they come. The voices are sweetly modulated and there is a very pleasant balance and consistence of harmony throughout.

SO MANY VERSIONS OF THIS LEGEND EXIST; SOMEBODY OUGHT TO MAKE A LIST!

The legend of Orpheus and Eurydice has given rise to 65 known operas, but only one that has remained constant in the repertory,Gluck's "Orfeo and Eurydice". This continuity dates from the historic 1762 Vienna premiere of Gluck's work (in Italian)that was given a second life in 1774 when the French version he had made for Paris triumphed, and really launched the opera's success. Berlioz, working from this version, came up with his revision, but was faithful to Gluck, and it is the Berlioz version that is on this recording.

It is scored for 3 treble voices, which vary from recording to recording. In fact, I favor the versions that cast Orpheo as a countertenor, Eurydice as a soprano and Amour as a boy soprano. I do think it contributes more to the reality of the opera and also the enjoyment. This, of course, is my own feeling on it.

The opera opens with a mourning scene for Eurydice who has died from a serpent's bite. Orpheus is so distraught, that the gods take pity on him and will allow him to attempt to appease the gaurdians of the underworld an win his beloved back, providing that he does not look back at her to explain his behaviour. Ultimately, she ruins the whole rescue scene by begging him to look at her, and he does, whereupon she dies a 2nd time. Orpheus prepares to take his own life, but Cupid prevents him and tells him that such steadfast love demands a reward. So (you guessed it) she is restored to life, and they live happily ever after.
Except for my personal dislike for casting 3 like voices, this is an excellent production, and worthy of Gluck's music.

My favorite recording of this is the disc made in 1991, by Kammerchor Stuttgart, Tafelmusik and conductor Friedor Bernius on Sony Vivarte Label. It features Michael Chance -countertenor as Orpheus; Nancy Argenta-soprano as Euuydice and Stefan Beckerbauer-boy soprano as Amore.