Okay, a pretty stupid title for a post but I couldn't resist after the previous post those reading by categories please look suitably confused...!
But there were pleasant signs of the imminent arrival of Spring and the evenings becoming lighter as I went out to this concert. Just before the conductor came on the platform the curtains opened in the hall to let the light stream in through stained-glass windows. There is little pleasanter than spending a spring's evening in a sunlight filled concert hall. A chilled glass of white would top it off nicely, but alas, no.
The title of the concert was City of London Sinfonia and Opera Holland Park present Anne-Sophie Duprels singing Strauss's Four Last Songs, timed no doubt to coincide with the opening of public booking for Opera Holland Park's season.
The programme was discussed elsewhere on the internet and I swiftly concluded that I barely knew any of the items on the programme. Such is life, I thought.
Britten: Soirees Musicales
Puccini: Intermezzo from Manon Lescaut
Catalani: Ebben, ne andro lontano from La Wally
Giordano: Intermezzo from Fedora
Tchaikovsky: Overture-fantasy Romeo and Juliet
Weber: Overture Der Freischutz
Strauss: Four Last Songs
(conductor: Peter Robinson)
The concert opened and I remembered I had heard Britten's Soiree's Musicals less than four months ago in the same venue. Except that this evening we only got three of the movements. I considered that a shame because the concert wasn't overlong so we could have had a bit more. And I have to say that it was played better in December than it was this evening. In my humble opinion. But, at the risk of sounding like a stuck record, every time I hear Britten I like him more and more.
I certainly know the intermezzo from Manon Lescaut and I have every intention of booking to see Manon Lescaut this coming summer. It's a bit neglected as far as Puccini goes (but I could recommend a couple of splendid DVDs...!). I love it, I love the music and I find the story absorbing.
Of course I know the aria from La Wally. I was wondering whether the actual opera is ever actually performed. A search on Operabase yielded three performances around the new year in Dusseldorf, but I suspect they are rare. This aria is in the portfolio of every soprano worth her salt, and Anne-Sophie Duprels sung it delightfully.
I then realised that I also know the intermezzo from Fedora, and, especially the quoting of that wonderful tenor aria, Amor ti vieta. I think I will also book to see Fedora at OHP.
The Tchaikovsky had barely begun when I realised that, of course, I am tremendously familiar with it. God, how much I like Tchaikovsky. I presume this was stuck in as a sort of taster for Queen of Spades which I will probably book at OHP in the summer. A wonderful piece of music wonderfully orchestrated that just puts a great big smile on my face. Up until then I had been rather unsure of the orchestra but something happened in this piece, my highlight of the evening On all the occasions I have been to Cadogan Hall I have been sat downstairs; this evening I was in the balcony and I just revelled in a glorious acoustic as the sound of the orchestra swelled around me. Worth the price of the ticket in itself.
After the interval was the overture to Der Freischutz. I enjoyed that, too. I thought 'it's a bit wannabe Wagner', then checking my programme, I realised that Weber predated Wagner. I don't know a great deal of Weber - this opera is sitting in my pile of DVDs 'to be played'. But one of my favourite 'unknown' pieces of music is his Konzertstück for piano and orchestra.
The concert ended with Strauss's four Last Songs, which are beautiful. And they were performed fine. I have a lovely CD at home with Lucia Popp singing them, and, inevitably, one always compares the live performance with the CD. And I prefer the CD. I felt that in this performance the singer's voice was very much part of the orchestra, which was interesting, but I prefer to have the voice over the orchestra. And whilst Anne Duprels has a pleasant voice, with no obvious flaws, it never quite the spot with me.
Overall, I would put this down as a nice and pleasant evening rather than one that necessarily roused my passions. And I do so like Cadogan Hall as a venue. It takes a bit of time to exit, although because the balconies were far from full, it was not a problem. But most importantly, the acoustics are good, and the hall is comfortable. For lovers of legroom, there is loads in the balcony. And it's really easy to escape to the outside world.
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