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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
This release makes one wonder if there is any music John Eliot Gardiner can't conduct well. Here, for what is probably the first time on CD, Gardiner goes for Stravinsky, and while a nitpicker might point out that Rake is Stravinsky's "Mozartean" opera, let's face it--it's real Stravinsky. Gardiner manages the composer's angles and strange rhythms superbly, and he concentrates on the lower instruments as well (the engineers assist nicely throughout), leading a fleet, ironic performance of this tough work while underlining the score's sweetnesses as well. It doesn't hurt that he has the finest cast available: Bryn Terfel's Nick Shadow is amazingly nuanced, and only once or twice does the great bass-baritone do his infamous "whispering act." He's positively chilling in the graveyard scene. And what can one say about Ian Bostridge as the titular rake? When he says, "I wish I had money!" in Act I, he's Everyman; he wins us over and we feel for him no matter how stupid he is. He's a bit stressed at the very top of his range in the one or two forte passages, but considering how clever this artist is, it wouldn't be a surprise if he's doing it on purpose. Deborah York is such a fine Anne--singing with clean, white, innocent tone--that she even outdoes Dawn Upshaw's splendid portrayal. Anne Sofie von Otter sings Baba's music impeccably (and in unaccented English), but, as usual, she seems more distinguished and artistic than moving. This set is now at the top of the pack; if you've been wondering about this opera and were wondering when and where to get your feet wet, go no further. --Robert Levine
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a fun performance!,
By
This review is from: Stravinsky: The Rake's Progress ~ Bostridge · York · Terfel · von Otter · Howells · LSO · Gardiner (Audio CD)
This recording receives an interesting criticism. One of the heresies of the early music / authentic performance practice crowd is that these guys take the score reading TOO LITERALLY. Now, with this recording Gardiner takes it on the chin because some of the notes are not exactly what Stravinsky wrote.Well, I know the score, too. And I am a Stravinsky nut. But I also love to be convinced musically and this performance is full of energy, life, and singing that seems to delight in the music and the music making. The orchestra plays like they are having FUN. One example is Tom's early aria when he sings "The world is so wide" The orchestra plays a descending run purely and cleanly yet we can hear the neighing of horses. Then Tom sings, " Come,wishes be horses; This beggar shall ride!" Great stuff! If you want to learn to love opera and are an english speaker you can really go a long way with this wonderful opera and this wonderful recording. Don't worry about those who take severe stances on this or that point. That is purity as a vice. The point is the music and the music has a lot to do with the notes, but not EVERYTHING to do with the notes. But, by the way, they hit nearly all of them and the times they make alternative choices they aren't making mistakes, they are making choices. And the funny thing is, we know Stravinsky wanted his music performed exactly the way he wrote it, but this piece is modelled on eighteenth century opera where they would expect to make choices and the music as "necessary". Well, what does that mean for this piece? But this is too arcane an argument. The fact is the music is a treasure and this performance is a delight.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rises to the top of the heap,
By Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)
This review is from: Stravinsky: The Rake's Progress ~ Bostridge · York · Terfel · von Otter · Howells · LSO · Gardiner (Audio CD)
I must confess that this is a revised review. I originally had a negative impression of this recording of The Rake's Progress because it seemed flimsy compared to the composer's own recording on Sony, with a wimpy, callow Rake (Ian Bostridge) and a technically under-equipped Anne (Deborah York). But I overlooked some absolute positives: Terfel's definitive Nick Shadow, which really has no competition on disc for charisma and imagination, Gardiner's ultra-clear conducting of detail, which again has no equal and is greatly aided by DG's completely transparent recording. In the end these virtues win out, and even though I like every ohter Anne on disc (Judith Rankin, Dawn Upshaw, and Sylvia McNair come to mind) better than York, she isn't enough of a reason to demote this performance. It's still rather cool and lightweight -- Gardiner keeps his eye on neoclassical precision at the cost of emotional depth -- but that's a perfeclty valid way to interpret Stravinsky's pastiche of 18th-century style.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Enduring Yet Too Infrequently Performed RAKE'S PROGRESS,
By Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Stravinsky: The Rake's Progress ~ Bostridge · York · Terfel · von Otter · Howells · LSO · Gardiner (Audio CD)
Even for the most devoted Stravinsky fans his chief opera THE RAKE'S PROGRESS is too infrequently performed to satisfy the need for familiarity. Happily there are now recorded performances, both on CD and DVD, that assure that this glimmering little masterpiece will remain a staple of the opera repertoire. Having just absorbed a thoroughly engaging (if visually bizarre) production with the San Francisco Opera under the gifted baton of Donald Runnicles, the appetite is whetted enough to listen to the magic at home. And this recording is a strong one as conducted by John Eliot Gardner with the London Symphony Orchestra.
One of the reasons this recording maintains its high standing among aficionados is the diction by the entire cast: WH Auden's libretto is clearly one of the true treasures in the operatic literature and the singers here allow us to understand even those passages where lines overlap. Ian Bostridge carries his sensitively nuanced approach to lieder to the role of Tom Rakewell and his tone is rich and full and his approach makes a credible Rakewell. Bryn Terfel is probably the finest Nick Shadow on the stage today, delivering his wily role with superb singing and flawless diction. Deborah York's very clean and crisp vocal technique is well suited to the constancy of Anne Truelove. The rest of the cast is equally well equipped for their strange roles, but in the end the kudos go to Gardiner and his fine crafting of the both the orchestra and chorus, coaxing an ebullient neoclassical sound from the colorful Stravinsky score. It is a pleasure from beginning to end. Grady Harp, December 07
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