Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice
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CHRISTOPH WILLIBALD GLUCK
Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice
Iestyn Davies, Sophie Bevan, Rebecca Bottone / La Nuova Musica, Davis Bates
[ Pentatone / CD ]
Release Date: Friday 4 October 2019
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La Nuova Musica presents a new live recording of Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice, with countertenor star Iestyn Davies singing the title role. Once created to reinstate the "noble simplicity and calm grandeur" of ancient Greek culture, the opera continues to delight audiences with its direct and unpretentious appeal, epitomized by the world-famous aria Che farò senza Euridice. This live recording presents the original 1762 Vienna premiere version of the opera, with Gluck's exquisite evocation of the Elysian Fields from his 1774 Paris version as a small addition.
La Nuova Musica and its artistic director David Bates are among the most exciting young Baroque ensembles of our times. For their first Pentatone recording, they work together with three exceptional vocalists: countertenor Iestyn Davies and sopranos Sophie Bevan and Rebecca Bottone.
"… a subtle, vivid and detailed performance of Gluck's original 1762 Orfeo ed Euridice at St John's by David Bates and La Nuova Musica was just as intense and pleasurable - and a reminder how under-performed Gluck is. This was all about sounds and textures, a physical enjoyment of the half-hidden, frisson-inducing details of a passing discord or suspension, a drawn-out cadence, a viola line." OPERA NOW
"Bates is, like Gluck, wonderfully radical. Where other directors smooth over disjunctions, he revels in rupture…This is directorship at its most alert, and aiding Bates is an optimal cast…Davies radiates Orfeo's impassioned tenderness, changing vocal colours as the drama demands. Sophie Bevan's Euridice swings, with blazing bravura and increasing intensity, from anguish to narcissism…It's the stuff of Gluck's dreams." Five Stars BBC Music
"Soprano Sophie Bevan and countertenor Iestyn Davies match each other in purity of tone and sensitive interpretation. Soprano Rebecca Bottone has rather less to do, but she has a clear and distinctive voice that fits the limited role well. The orchestral performance of La Nuova Musica is finely balanced, and each of the instrumental textures emerges with no muddiness or intonation issues. The tempos are, under David Bates's capable direction, all perfect for this opera." Fanfare
"The chorus has much to do, and I lost count of the number of times it ravished the ear… The orchestra, too, is extremely accomplished… The soloists are magnificent. Iestyn Davies sings smoothly throughout… Sophie Bevan comes across powerfully, getting more and more stroppy as she rails at Orfeo for not looking at her. Rebecca Bottone has a perfect voice for Amore (Cupid), light and bright… High praise, then, for David Bates and his ensemble." Gramophone Awards 2020 Short List - Opera
Tracks:
Christoph Willibald von Gluck (1714-1787): Orfeo ed Euridice (1762 Vienna Version), Act I
1) Overture 3.10
2) Ah! se intorno a quest'urna funesta (Coro) 2.29
3) Basta, basta, o compagni (Orfeo) 0.49
4) Ballo. Larghetto 2.11
5) Ah! se intorno a quest'urna funesta (Coro) 1.53
6) Chiamo il mio ben così (Orfeo) 1.11
7) Euridice! (Orfeo) 1.10
8) Cerco il mio ben così (Orfeo) 1.13
9) Euridice! (Orfeo) 1.10
10) Piango il mio ben così (Orfeo) 1.08
11) Numi! barbari numi! (Orfeo) 0.52
12) T'assiste Amore (Amore/Orfeo) 1.49
13) Gli sguardi trattieni (Amore) 2.42
14) Che disse! che ascoltai! (Orfeo) 1.46
15) Presto 0.38
Christoph Willibald von Gluck (1714-1787): Orfeo ed Euridice (1762 Vienna Version), Act II
16) Ballo 1.16
17) Chi mai dell' Erebo (Coro) 0.26
18) Ballo 0.45
19) Chi mai dell' Erebo (Coro) 1.01
20) Ballo 1.12
21) Deh! placatevi con me (Orfeo/Coro) 2.19
22) Misero giovane! (Coro) 0.56
23) Mille pene (Orfeo) 0.46
24) Ah, quale incognito affetto flebile (Coro) 0.43
25) Men tiranne, ah! voi sareste (Orfeo) 0.39
26) Ah, quale incognito affetto flebile (Coro) 1.20
27) Ballo 1.59
28) Ballo 3.43
29) Che puro ciel (Orfeo/Coro) 4.59
30) Vieni a'regni del riposo (Coro) 1.16
31) Ballo 2.27
32) Anime avventurose (Orfeo/Coro) 0.41
33) Torna, o bella, al tuo consorte (Coro) 1.18
Christoph Willibald von Gluck (1714-1787): Orfeo ed Euridice (1762 Vienna Version), Act III
34) Vieni: segui i miei passi (Orfeo/Euridice) 6.00
35) Vieni: appaga il tuo consorte (Orfeo/Euridice) 2.56
36) Qual vita è questa mai (Euridice) 2.02
37) Che fiero momento! (Euridice) 2.55
38) Ecco un nuovo tormento! (Orfeo/Euridice) 2.28
39) Ahimè! dove trascorsi! (Orfeo) 1.11
40) Che farò senza Euridice! 3.42
41) Ma finisca, e per sempre, co' la vita il dolor! (Orfeo) 1.11
42) Orfeo, che fai? (Amore/Orfeo) 1.53
43) Scena ultima: Ballo - Trionfi Amore (Orfeo/Coro/Amore/Euridice)
