Puccini: Edgar
Yoel Levi, various artists
Naive V4957

Music 5 stars; Performance 5 stars; Forget the Silly Plot

'Edgar' is Puccini's second opera and, as in his first opera 'Le Villi,'
it is hampered primarily by its clumsy and outlandish plot.  Nonetheless
it represents a major advance in Puccini's ability to write music that
is apt for the situations depicted by the words and there are ample
evidences of what later came to be considered Puccini's musical
fingerprints--brilliantly illustrative orchestration, frequent pentatonic
melodic outlines and harmonies, underlining of melodies by lush string
writing, memorable arioso-like recitatives, soaring melodies.  One hears
the influence not of Verdi so much as Ponchielli here, although there
is one instrumental passage that sounds for all the world like it was
cribbed from 'Falstaff'; one wonders if it was added in Puccini's 1892
revision of the score.  Possibly the best course of action in listening
to this opera--listening, since one is unlikely ever to see a staged
production--is to let the music wash over you without paying too much
attention to the drama unfolding.  There are simply too many flaws in
the story to give it much credence.  For instance, why does Edgar burn
down his own house?  Why all the sudden and unmotivated changes in the
nature of Edgar's and Frank's characters?  They make the Queen of
the Night look like a Steady Eddie. Why does Edgar stage his own fake
funeral, while appearing on the scene as a mysterious monk who makes
false accusations about the 'dead' Edgar?  We'll never know, but then
we probably won't much care, either.

I'd never heard Edgar before.  But it's been playing repeatedly since I
got this recording; it's that engaging.  I know it had been recorded by
Eve Queler and her opera orchestra in New York, a performance starring
Renata Scotto (Fidelia), Gwendolyn Killebrew (Tigrana) and Carlo Bergonzi
(Edgar), a recording I never came across.  But I was familiar with a
couple of the arias: Fidelia's 'Addio, addio, mio dolce amor' (sung at
the funeral before Fidelia finds out that Edgar is still alive), and
Edgar's 'Orgia, chimera dall'occhio vitreo' (when Edgar has become
disillusioned with the life that the gypsy Tigrana has led him into) and
knew that they were stirring pieces.  I had no idea that the opera is,
musically speaking, delightful from start to finish.

It begins with a brief and delicate prelude that leads into one of
Puccini's patented pentatonic choruses--shades of 'Turandot'!  Then comes
a gorgeous Micaela-esque aria for Fidelia--sung here with youthful ardor
and tonal purity by Julia Varady--'O fior del giorno.' What follows is
a string of soaring melodies, including a dramatic aria for Fidelia's
brother, Frank, 'Questo amor, vergognia mia,' sung here by talented
Dalibor Jenis, a Slovakian baritone who is, I think, headed for big
things.  The requiem sung at the fake funeral is Puccini's rehearsal for
the Te deum in 'Tosca,' in that it advances the plot, and is very effective
in its own right.  And on and on.  There is not a slack moment, musically,
in the whole opera.

This performance originated with an unstaged production from Radio France
in December 2002 and as the director of Radio France, Rene Koering, says
in the introduction to the enclosed booklet, 'Of the dozens of concerts
given by Radio France every season, there are some which deserve to be
preserved for posterity.' I thought that statement a bit self-serving
until I listened to the this 2 CD set.  But M.  Koering was right, this
one's a keeper.

The conductor is the talented Yoel Levi, until recently the conductor
of the Atlanta Symphony and before that an assistant to Lorin Maazel at
the Cleveland Orchestra.  Fidelia is Julia Varady, sounding in exceedingly
fresh voice for someone who has been a major singer for thirty years.
Tigrana, the gypsy tigress, is taken by American Mary Ann McCormick, who
has a rich mezzo suited for this Carmen-like character; she would make
terrific Carmen, I suspect.  Carlo Cigni, basso, sings Fidelia's and
Frank's father, Gualtiero, with a sturdy bass. The real find here is the
tenor Carl Tanner, another American of whom I'd never heard, who sings
the title role.  I can easily imagine him singing the heavier Puccini
roles (Cavaradossi, Dick Johnson) and, of course, the similar role of
Don Jose, to great effect.  The voice has baritonal heft and squillo,
the high notes are there, and he sings with real musicality and dramatic
aptness.  The Orchestre Nationale de France, the Choeur de Radio France,
and the children's chorus, Ma=EEtrise de France, give rock solid support.

A strong recommendation.

CD 1 =3D 53:22
CD 2 =3D 41:29
TT =3D 93:51

Scott Morrison