Tiefland / Zanotelli,

alles Bestens

Superbe , œuvre, voix ,orchestre et qualite sonore. Cette œuvre n est pas très connue et peu jouée, cependant l écriture musicale est de très haut niveau, un mélange de Wagner et de Puccini, avec quelque réminiscences de musique anglaise, bref un compositeur de parents français, ne en Écosse, qui écrit de la musique en allemand dans un style italien sur un sujet dramatique qui se déroule en Espagne. L européen modèle !!

How many operas can you name by D'Albert?-after all he wrote 22! If the answer is 2, then it's one more than I can and 2 more then many.His one major success on the operatic stage was Tiefland, a work which enjoyed great popularity and was frequently staged in the early 20th Century, but which has become a rarity these days.It was held in high regard by a certain German Chancellor in the 1930's, which may not have helped its reputation in the post-war years.Composed in 1903, it is an uneasy mixture of post-Wagnerian chromatic writing applied to the verismo style drama with to my ears rather uneasy results. The plot is a turgid melodrama set in Spain of a wicked local grandee who has adopted a "waif" young girl Marta, but has then compelled her to be his mistress, and whom he machinates to marry off to local goatherd Pedro who has recently inherited a Mill, in order that through her he can gain control of said Mill-while still retaining his amorous rights over his mistress now wife of Pedro. Pedro is so simple he makes Parsifal resemble Don Juan, and all Sebastiano the villain lacks is a set of twirling black moustaches in silent movie villain style! He gets his just desserts-strangled by Pedro, and needless to say Marta really loves Pedro and they flee to freedom and-however unlikely-happiness in the mountains, far from the evil-infested lowlands.There was a very creditable recording released on the Arts label in 1997, a digital recording from Munich Radio in the 1980's with their orchestra conducted by Janowski, and with a stellar cast including Marton, Kollo, Moll and Weikl-and very good it was too, not least because it cost a pittance.All the cast are very committed, the sound is good, the singing is generally very fine, and Janowski conducts well enough. If you own this recording, there is no reason to be disappointed, however the OEHMS release of a live 2003 concert broadcast is superior in just about every respect.The recording is superb, rich and full blooded and giving this superb orchestra a truly Viennese warm and resonant sound. Bertrand de Billy has evidently studied the score well, for he judges not just tempo but ebb and flow of the drama to perfection with a reading that convinces in every way.Much though I admire the cast of the Munich recording, with the exception of Moll they are outclassed by their Vienna counterparts. Lisa Gasteen was at the height of her powers as was Johan Botha and they give us a really thrilling and youthful pair of lovers, this last a quality somewhat lacking with Marton and Kollo. Struckmann is a truly nasty piece of work, more subtle that Weikl's huffing and puffing rather pantomime villain, and Youn nearly matches Moll in sonority. The supporting cast and chorus is top notch. The presentation is beautiful,with very engaging artwork which differs from the packaging shown here, with copious notes and a libretto-but only in German sadly, but this is one step up from the Arts set.The truth is that while this work is not without interest, and it has its moments, it is not truly memorable and it is not one I hunger to hear often-but it will be to this set that I return when I do feel the pangs.If you admire this work more than perhaps I do, or are curious to hear the strange blend of crypto-Strauss/Wagner composition style in a verismo setting then you will find plenty to enjoy in this set.Excellent singing, beautiful playing, highly dramatic and insightful conducting wrapped up in a beautifully presented and gloriously recorded package combine to make this the top recommendation for this work. Give it a try.5 Stars for artistry and recording-I'll leave others to debate the worth of the work itself. Recommended. Stewart Crowe.

Die Aufnahme scheppert bei jedem Forte, darum muss ich davon abraten. Schade, denn künstlerisch wäre sie sehr gelungen. Die ehemalige DDR (Leipzig 1955) hatte wirklich viele ausgezeichnete Sänger von denen man nie gehört hat, bis man sie 50 Jahre später auf Aufnahmen entdecken kann. Ernst Gruber's (Pedro) kraftvolle Stimme erinnert auffallend an Max Lorenz, während derjenigen von Elisabeth Rose (Marta) vielleicht ein wenig die Schönheit und Verführung fehlt – immerhin sollen sich im Tiefland zwei Männer unsterblich in sie verlieben. Wie so oft entstellen Schnitte im Zweiten Akt den psychologischen Ablauf der Handlung. Der Schlussakkord fehlt.