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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Possibly Jacobs' finest achievement,
This review is from: Telemann - Orpheus / Trekel, Röschmann, Ziesak, Güra, Poulenard, Köhler, Kiehr, Jacobs (Audio CD)
It was a stroke of genius and a labor of love for Rene Jacobs to pore over thousands of yellow pages of old manuscrips in order to prove to the world that Telemann's Orpheus was not a pastiche of pieces from other works but an inventive interpolation of several musical styles (and even languages) in a single masterpiece. The result is this magnificent recording which you should not miss. I would say that this is the greatest Jacobs' achievement to date. His intelligent direction does the greatest justice to Telemann's ingenious musical characterization of the protagonists' actions and moods. Each language, for example, is associated with a particular mood (the opera is sung interchangeably in Italian, German and French). Musical instruments ably depict nature (e.g. the singing of birds) and drama of the unfolding events (e.g. dissonances accompanying Eurydice's death, or the lovely tune portending Orpheus's entry into Pluto's kingdom). The opera even has a couple of comical interludes, very tastefully performed here. Notably, despite the fact that this opera dates from 1728, the main role is given to a baryton, instead of a castrato or haute-contre as was the norm during the period. To me, this highlighted the psychological realism of Telemann's Orpheus. The cast of soloists here is very distinguished. Roman Trekel makes a marvelous Orpheus. His best aria is "Ach, Tod, ach susser Tod!" which he sings with perfect legato and controlled emotion. Dorothea Roschmann as Orasia is one of Jacobs' greatest recent talent discoveries. Her aria "C'est ma plus chere envie" is worthy to stand alongside the most celebrated soprano arias in the known repertory. Ruth Ziesak, Werner Gura, Hanno Muller-Brachmann, Maria Cristina Kiehr and Isabelle Poulenard make smaller, but nevertheless wonderful contributions. The only person I didn't like was Axel Kohler, a countertenor in the role of Ascalax. I think Jacobs "spoils" countertenors who, having gone through his hands, start sounding like Jacobs himself. I won't go into a meandering discussion of why I don't like Kohler or Jacobs, because it's a matter of taste: you might well like them. I like countertenors like David James (or hautes-contre like Mark Padmore), so if you know what those sound like you'll know what's "wrong" with Kohler. But, like I said, that's a matter of idiosyncratic preferences. That aside, this recording of Orpheus is absolutely beyond reproach.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Please reissue,
By
This review is from: Telemann - Orpheus / Trekel, Röschmann, Ziesak, Güra, Poulenard, Köhler, Kiehr, Jacobs (Audio CD)
This opera should be reissued. I was lucky to get a copy before it disappeared. A wonderful performance all around. I do like Rene Jacobs....he sang Gluck's Orpheus years ago with La Petite Bande when his own voice was in its prime.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Dozen Years Later ...,
By Giordano Bruno (Wherever I am, I am.) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)
This review is from: Telemann - Orpheus / Trekel, Röschmann, Ziesak, Güra, Poulenard, Köhler, Kiehr, Jacobs (Audio CD)
... the recovery of Telemann's Opera seria "Orpheus" will be reaching New York:
The struggling New York City Opera, having departed from Lincoln Center, has announced that it will stage Telemann's "Orpheus" in a 600-seat theater next season: Saturday, May 12, 2012 at 7:30pm Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at 7:30pm Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 7:30pm Sunday, May 20, 2012 at 1:30pm Start planning your trip to the Big Apple!. I've been studying the score and listening to a different CD of it, on DHM, with the 'L'Orfeo Barockorchester. It's a revelation, one of the best baroque opera seria compositions I've ever looked at or heard, big enough and original enough to force a re-evaluation of Telemann, especially in comparison to Handel. The music is joyously various and affective, and tightly fitted to the emotions of the arias, more so than any of Handel's or Hasse's operas. The story is 'broader' than the usual Orpheus myth; in fact, the chief character is Orasia, the Queen of Thebes, who causes Eurydice's death out of jealousy. That's Act 1. In Act 2, the usual descent to Hades and sad return. Then in Act 3, Orpheus refuses still to respond to Orasia's passion; she orders him butchered by the Bacchantes (that's part of the original myth), whereupon she suffers a collapse of remorse ... with a further surprise in the outcome. With all due respect for Rene Jacobs and the Akademie für Alte Musik orchestra, the newer recording is better in ever way. It's artful enough to convince anybody of Telemann's plausibility as an opera composer. Dorothee Mields is vocally perfect, and perfectly in control of her voice, in the central role of Orasia. Orpheus is sung by a baritone, Markus Volpert; not only is Vopert exceptionally agile in his lower range, but also I confess that I relish having a male voice in the role of Orpheus for a change, instead of a countertenor, however virtuosic. This is a good opera for lovers of deeper voices; Orpheus's friend Eurimedes is sung, very well, by tenor Christian Zenker, and Pluto is sung with profundity by basso Reinhard Mayr. The smaller coloratura role of Euridiice is carried to the heights by Ulrike Hofbauer. This is effectively an Austrian cast and production, with generous orchestral support conducted by Michi Gaigg. "Orpheus" was surely the most international opera of the 18th Century. The language of the recitativos and many of the arias is German, but several of the most passionate arias are sung in Italian or French, and one of the choruses is also sung in French! Likewise, the musical idiom seamlessly blends German counterpoint a la Bach with Italian and French mannerisms and rhythms. Alas, the North German audience was no longer as receptive to the Italian style as it had been in the heydays of the Hamburg Opera, three decades earlier; the Opera House was failing financially, audiences wanted only comedies, and "Orpheus" was hopelessly beyond their appreciation. Telemann was very good at recitativo, and those wordy passages in this opera sound very much like full arioso. The instrumental writing is brilliant and subtle. The most innovative thing about the whole composition as a unified piece of music is Telemann's use of modulations, of different keys to fit the personae, and of a few 'harsh' keys to underscore the harshest emotions. Honestly, this opera exceeds my wildest hopes and expectations. If it gets any attention in New York, it could go "international" very quickly. The singers on Rene Jacobs's discovery-recording were certainly no slouches. Röschmann, Ziesak, Güra, and Kiehr were baroque artists of the highest skill, and still are. But "historically informed' vocal technique has made strides in the last decade, as has sound-recording technology. Though I respect this CD greatly, I would recommend the newer interpretation without hesitation.
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