Customer Reviews

Véronique Gens ~ Berlioz - Les Nuits d'été · La mort de Cléopatre

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4 star:		(2)
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Two hundred years ago today, Louis-Hector Berlioz was born. This is a day for me to comment on a few of my favorite performances of his works, some of them "favorites by acclamation" and others simply those in which I find special merit, enough so that they are frequently in my CD players.

Some might think that, at just a hair over 61 minutes, this CD is small measure. Not so! These are some of Hector Berlioz's most important non-operatic vocal writings.

And they are gems as sung here by Véronique Gens. While normally thought of as a Baroque specialist (and I have a recording of Rameau's "Dardanus" which testifies to her expertise in that repertoire), Gens is more than "reasonably close to perfection" in these Berlioz works.

The two main works on this CD - Les nuits d'été and La mort de Cléopatre - are hardly strangers to the vocal repertoire. Neither has lacked recordings that many Berlioz lovers treasure. For Les nuits d'été alone, I number at least three - by Regine Crespin, Janet Baker and Jan DeGaetani - among such "treasures."

Gens, a lyric soprano, brings a sense of lightness and air to this song cycle that is, while different than, say, Baker's or DeGaetani's approach, nonetheless effective in its own right. Her relative lightness works very well in "Vilanelle," but she has more than enough vocal range and "adaptability" so that the more poignant songs in the cycle, such as "Le Spectre de la rose," are suitably captured as well: her expressive range, and her perfect knowledge of the language, are just fine for singing a song cycle for which Berlioz's directions as to voice-casting were not exactly cast in stone.

La mort de Cléopatre is an early Berlioz work, one of four such cantatas that he had submitted for the Prix de Rome competition. Put simply, he was too original for the competition committee to deal with him, and this cantata (the third of the four) was the one for which he simply threw his arms up in the air and wrote what he felt like. (Only on the fourth try, with a by-now almost forgotten cantata named Sardanapale, did he "play by the rules" and win.)

This cantata is every bit as revolutionary - and as bold - as Berlioz' most famous work, Symphonie fantastique, which shares approximate date of creation with it. It is full of original touches both harmonic and rhythmic (touches, in fact, that would contribute to labeling him as "wayward," "undisciplined" and even "untrained"). Gens readily shifts gears here, demonstrating a dramatic and tragic side not present in Les nuits d'été. The closing pages - as Cléopatre lays dying from the asp's bite - are rendered with chilling and moving effectiveness.

The remaining three songs, originally for voice and piano, are skillfully orchestrated by this most innovative orchestrator (who literally "wrote the book" on the subject). Particularly appealing is "Zaïde": with its castanets and its Spanish flair, it looks forward to Bizet and the Carmen that was yet to come, decades later.

There is a minor mislabeling error on my copy of this recording. "Zaïde," actually the final (10th) track (and properly identified in the booklet), is listed as track 8 on the package and on the disc as well. But no one will have any difficulty identifying "Zaïde" from the brief description above.

Gens shows a real affinity for this music, despite her French Baroque repertoire background. I'm not sure that any of the singers earlier mentioned, with the obvious exception of Regine Crespin, could have done as fine a job overall. Truly "Gens gems." And the orchestral support, with Louis Langrée leading the Lyon Opera Orchestra, is superb, as are the recorded sonics. Finally, the package is topped off with excellent and detailed booklet notes.

Bon anniversaire, M. Berlioz!

Bob Zeidler

In the last decade a number of French sopranos rose to international prominence and Gens is right at the top of this estimable group. She just keeps getting better and better -- already known in the early '90's for her work in Baroque music, her more recent ventures in later repertoire have revealed a lyric voice with an astonishing color palette and dramatic instinct. Gens' performance of "La mort de Cleopatre," especially, has to be heard to be believed.

The British musical public do not seem to have warmed greatly to Nuits d'Ete. When Jessye Norman, no less, sang it with the Halle a good few years ago the turnout was pitiful from a Manchester audience who will reliably fill the hall to hear their umptieth Messiah. Nevertheless there are a lot of versions of Nuits d'Ete around seemingly arousing considerable interest in America. As nobody over here seems to have much to say about about these heavenly songs, it may be worth putting in a word from das Land ohne Musik about this lovely disc.

Berlioz prepared a number of versions of N d'E to suit different types of voice. It seems to me that the choice of one version over another will likely depend on one's preference in that respect, and my own predisposition is to hear them done by a woman rather than a man (even though most of the poems speak in a man's persona), by a soprano rather than a mezzo, and by a lyric rather than an operatic soprano -- the kind of voice that would suit Schubert rather than Verdi. Veronique Gens fits this bill to perfection.

To me N d'E shows Berlioz the pure musician -- no brass bands, no organs, cannons or weapons of mass destruction. Their lyricism is among the most beautiful in the whole 19th century, and although a full orchestra is used the orchestration is intimate not epic, and to my ears its wonderful detail is heard to best effect when the singer is 'my' type of soprano. If you have a 'bigger' concept of the piece, there is an interesting version by Boulez, with the 6 songs divided between Yvonne Minton and Stuart Burrows, that might suit you. To me Minton's sound-production and diction are a bit suggestive of oratorio to be right for this of all composers, and the recording, though okay, is not as good as on this disc. Between the extremes are several other versions, nearly all by sopranos though there is apparently one by Souzay, and some helpful American reviews.

In Cleopatre I would not be so categorical. This is avowedly a dramatic piece and some of its admirers will likely want a more forceful delivery here and there. On the other hand most of the piece is quiet, and Gens sings with such finesse and sensitivity that I have no complaints. The other three numbers are simply superb from her, and from the Lyons opera orchestra under Langree, indeed the whole disc is superb in my opinion.

The liner notes are a mixture of some really interesting background information with some 'analytical' comment of a rather conventional kind. Whose understanding of what, I wonder, is advanced by being told that 'the rocking triple time of the first strophe gives way in the second to a burst of levity, shared between the voice and the accompaniment, but still on the same theme' and a good deal more on similar lines? The translation from the very French French is so adept and natural that I got to the end without realising that I had been reading a translation at all, although I wish Hugh Graham had not let himself away with 'a wonderful horseman' for 'un cavalier merveilleux' as if we were talking about Ronald Reagan or someone at the Badminton trials. A full text of the poems with English and German translations is provided, and the recorded quality seems to me beyond criticism.

This really is a beautiful disc and needs to be heard! It seems that when the stunning "Mort de Cleopatre" is performed at all, it is taken over by a dramatic soprano and run through as though it was the climax of one of Wagner's epic-operas. This approach is different -- lighter, more lyrical, tender... perhaps more human. Both approaches have their advantages, but I strongly recommend at least listening to this one, particularly if you are more interested in song as opposed to opera heavy-hitting. The actual death is both gripping and moving. The "Nuits" is famous enough and recorded enough that many people will have some set ideas on how it should be sung, the type of voice, etc. Again, I recommend giving this interpretation a try, she has beautiful voice and a keen understanding of the work. This disc should make many friends.

... that Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) was a finer composer than most performances made him sound. Or perhaps I should say that what I saw in the scores of his music seemed more interesting than what I was used to hearing on LPs and in concerts. So I more or less ignored him for decades. Now I find myself listening to more recent interpretations -- particularly John Eliot Gardiner's performances of Les Troyens and Symphonie Fantastique -- and hearing almost the Berlioz of my auditory imagination.

This CD of orchestral songs, however, exceeds anything I'd imagined. The works performed are the six songs of Opus 7, Les Nuits d'Ete; the 19-minute dramatic cantata La Mort de Cleopatre; and three distinct osngs from various periods of Berlioz's career. Les Nuits d"Ete is hardly a discovery; there are a dozen or more performances available on CD. But hearing the six poems sung by Veronique Gens was an epiphany for me; on one side I could hear the Lieder of Schubert echoed in the sensitivity Berlioz showed to French texts similar in mood to those of the German poets set by Schubert. On the far side, the distant future side that is, I could hear the orchestral songs of Gustav Mahler in Berlioz's brilliant orchestration and evanescence of musical mood. La Mort de Cleopatre has also been a stock showpiece for heavier-voiced sopranos, Jessye Norman for instance, and it has always sounded to me like "Wagner à l'orange". Veronique Gens has made her reputation singing the Baroque repertoire along with "historically informed" ensembles, and the aesthetic triumph of "Early Music" is evident in her vocal technique: eschewing vibrato, tuning accurately, staying light and musical throughout, and integrating her voice with the timbres of the instruments, which also maintain lightness and transparency. This is NOT a soprano riding bareback on a herd of instrumental bovines! This is musical unity, i.e. "ensemble" performance.

Credit has to be shared with conductor Louis Langree and the Orchestre de l'Opera National de Lyon, which does not perform on historical instruments but nonetheless achieves the color and transparency of historical performance practices.

Just for fun, before you take my recommendation of this "Must Buy" CD for July 2010, listen to the samples of it in comparison to those of the performance of Anne Sophie von Otter with the Berlin Philharmonic under james Levine. I personally like the sound of Veronique Gens far the better of the two. If you find you prefer von Otter's broader style, eh, you're forgiven. But then, these songs are superb enough to justify two versions in anyone's collection.

I'd characterize this rendition of Berlioz's beautiful Les Nuites d'Ete song cycle as more classical than the traditional interpretation: faster, with less rubato and heart-on-the-sleeve emotion. So the interpretation by Gens and the Lyons orchestra led by Louis Langree represents an interesting new slant on the cycle and one different from the versions I already have by Regine Crespin (the best I have heard, very emotional, musical, less good but OK sound quality) and Anne Sofie von Otter (not particularly musical singing, misunderstood phrasing, audiophile-level sound quality). (I haven't yet heard Janet Baker's, which is supposed to be great.)

What I think needs to be mentioned is that Veronique Gens is in absolutely amazing form technically here. I think this may be the best sung recording from a purely technical point of view that I have ever heard. Note that I am not a singer, but with that proviso, Gens is always on pitch (and never sounds like she is even breaking a sweat to stay on pitch), has a just beautiful voice, has an incredibly large range and effortlessly sails through what is a pretty demanding set of works. Berlioz's early and amazingly visionary La mort de Cleopatre (can you believe this work was written in 1829???) is an early Romantic piece of avant-gardism that makes ferocious demands on the soloist. In a thoroughly accomplished performance, Gens makes it sound pretty easy.

Now is this for me THE great Nuits d'ete? No. It doesn't have the emotional affect of the Crespin recording and I don't feel it is as powerful -- sentimental, passionate, somber -- as the Nuits has the potential to be.

But it is just such a strong recording, with a well-conceived, cohesive artistic approach by a great singer at the peak of her powers, that it is an automatic 5-star recording. If you are an opera fan or interesting in classical songs or soprano singing, you simply must hear this disc.

Sonics are audiophile level.

This is now my favorite recording of the Berlioz Les Nuits d'ete. Not only is Gen's ethereal, yet warm voice enrapturing in this work, but her perfect diction and gossamer touches allow an inspiring interpretation of this often overly-romanticized work.

Berlioz fan or no...GET IT!...gorgeous vocalist, ensemble and performance...you won't be sorry!

Like everyone else here, I admire this CD, which features the lyric voice of Veronique Gens in songs that are usually sung by lower mezzos or heavier sopranos (even a Brunnhilde in the case of Regine Crespin). The other reviewers note Gens' light touch, but none mentions that Langree and his singer eschew rubato and almost any sense of Romantic style, breezing along even under heavy emotional pressure. That would make for a miniaturized, overly cool approach were it not for Gens' natural expressivity, which renders the songs touching even when they move too quickly. I do think there's more depth than we're hearing, as well as a wider dynamic range (Gens keeps pretty much to a mezzo forte throughout, with some lovely floated pianos and an occasional stab at a forte). I am not a fan of La Mort de Cleopatre, so I can't say if Gens is more effective than the classic versions from Jennie Tourel and Janet Baker. Again she and Langree evince a much lighter touch. The three melodies that fill out the CD are charmingly done.