Guest reviewer: Berlioz would be dazzled!

Warner Classics/Erato graciously provided me with a copy of Hector Berlioz’s Les Troyens, which they released November 24, Since the works are Berlioz are far from my field of expertise, I entrusted dear Bocca L. Lupo (Bucky to his friends), who has graced these pages before as guest blogger, with the happy task of listening to and evaluating the recording:



This fine recording is drawn from two concert performances that took place in April 2017 in Strasbourg, France. Under the inspired leadership of conductor John Nelson, the magnificent cast includes Joyce DiDonato as Didon (Dido), Marie-Nicole Lemieux as Cassandre (Cassandra), and Michael Spyres as Énée (Aeneas).

Joyce DiDonato
Photo:  Paul Dukovic

Berlioz based Les Troyens on Books II and IV of Virgil’s Aeneid, and its creation was a labor of love for the composer. Any performance of Berlioz’s magnum opus is a significant event, not only because of the extraordinary resources required, but also because of the quality of the opera as a work of art. Poor Berlioz never saw or heard his extraordinary dramatic creation in its entirety: in his memoirs, he laments the atrocities performed against the score by the producers and directors who gave only a truncated outing of part two (Les Troyens à Carthage). This recording is, for all intents and purposes, complete: only 16 measures of a repeat in the Act IV Danse des Esclaves are cut.

John Nelson is an acknowledged master of Berlioz’s music and of Les Troyens in particular, having conducted the opera more frequently than anyone else during the past 40 years, including performances at the Metropolitan Opera in 1974. Nelson brings us Berlioz’s score with well-judged tempi and clear care for his singers. His attention to detail allows the fine Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg to bring out the myriad felicities in the orchestration, whether it be the stopped horns accompanying Hector’s ghost or the six harps supporting the women of Troy in the Act II finale. The Chasse Royale et Orage is an atmospheric tour de force for Nelson and his fine band. Nelson employs judicious, unwritten ritardandi fully in keeping with French style and Berlioz’s intentions. Just as it should be, Nelson’s performance is all about Berlioz.

Marie-Nicole Lemieux
Photo:  Denis Rouvre/Naive

The Choeurs de l’Opéra national du Rhin, the Badisher Staatsopernchor, and the Choeur philharmonique de Strasbourg perform their complex parts admirably. They are somewhat recessed in the overall sound picture, but the distinction between full-and semi-chorus in the Chant National, “Gloire à Didon,” is clearly drawn. En masse, their sound is indeed thrilling.

Marie-Nicole Lemieux is excellent as Cassandra. At first I wondered how her rich, plumy contralto voice would manage the higher range outbursts in her demanding part, but she proved more than equal to the task, giving a highly musical performance using clear, perfect French diction and thoroughly integrated registers. Lemieux's Cassandra is not possessed from the start: only as the disaster for Troy becomes apparent does she express despair. A very satisfying performance.

It should be no surprise that Joyce DiDonato, in her debut as Didon, gives an outstanding performance. She employs her creamy tone, smooth and intergrated throughout the registers, to express Dido’s initial regal repose and, as her relationship with Énée develops, her desperate attraction to the man who must leave her behind. Her French is clear and elegant: no libretto is necessary to understand every word. Her performance of the final scene is moving. She truly lives the role of Didon.

Michael Spyres is a revelation as Énée. Many previous performances and recordings have filled the role with heroic tenors or heldentenors, who often seemed to struggle with the role’s requirements for flexibility. Spyres makes everything seem easy, with a lyrical voice of even emission and subtlety of expression that nevertheless has the metal to make climaxes ring with passion. This is a voice Berlioz would have welcomed in the role.

Not surprisingly, the performance by DiDonato and Spyres of the Nuit d’ivresse duet at the conclusion of Act IV is outstanding. Nelson and the orchestra provide a subtle but passionate accompaniment.

Warner Classics provides this video about the making of the recording:

Complementing these marvelous artists is a cast of singers almost without a weak link. Stéphane Degout as Chorèbe and Marianne Crebassa as Ascagne provide focused voices and strong dramatic involvement. Cyrille Dubois as Iopas and Stanislas de Barbeyrac as Hylas have beautiful tenor voices perfectly suited to their roles, and each of their solos is a highlight. The voices of Hanna Hipp as Anna and Nicolas Courjal as Narbal both lack a clear center to the tone, so their performances do not rise to the level of the rest of the cast, but their commitment to the drama and their roles shines through. In the smaller parts, there is no weak link.

The performance is presented on 4 compact discs, with Acts II and III on CD 2. A full libretto in French and English is provided, along with an extensive background essay in French, English, and German. Also included is an 85-minute bonus DVD of video highlights of the concert performance on April 15, 2017, an opportunity to see all these dedicated, amazing artists at work.

There have been previous, excellent recordings of Les Troyens (Davis on Philips, Dutoit on Decca, Gardiner on Opus Arte DVD, and Levine with the Metropolitan Opera), and I would not choose to be without them, but this new recording, with its outstanding cast and inspired conducting, would now be my first choice. Highly recommended. If you care about Les Troyens, about Berlioz (who would be dazzled by this performance), about fine singing, about first-quality performance, about French opera, about opera itself, don’t hesitate.

--Bocca L. Lupo