Sutherland sags under pressure

Press, 25 November 1981, Page 22

Sutherland sags under pressure

Classical records review

ALLAN FRANCIS

VERDI. II Trovagre Highlights) Sutherland. Pavarotti. Horne. Wixell. Ghiarov. National Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Richard Bonynge. Decca SET 631 released by Polygram from original recording on DB2D3. At the risk of offending the host of Joan Sutherland fans I must point out that the soprano, who has been guilty many times in the past of muddy diction, poor head notes and less than perfect technique in many quarters, fails somewhere below all these levels in this Decca release. Occasionally she has

scooped up to her notes and has been unsteady in moments of stress, but here she turns these lapses into a regular fetish. Pavarotti, as Manrico, shines in the expected fashion; his tone and high notes generate the excitement the role calls for — equally as much as the rival Domingo, if not more so. Here is the sparking force of the whole opera.

An unaccustomed slow tempo from the conductor, Richard Bonynge. is also unexpected. Normally, his brisk approach adds lustre to these swash buckling Verdi works but with this one he appears to over-accentuate the emotion at the expense of the action.

The rich, dark voice of Marilyn Horne seems to be as fine as ever and the strength of the fine baritone, Ingar Wixell is quite superlative as Bi Luna. The only other soloist heard on this sampler is Nicolai Ghiaurov, bass, and these would tempt the listener to go in the deep end and get the set.

• The Decca sound is pretty much the same as being in the theatre; forward when the singer is close to the audience and the impression of distance is given ample depth. On side 2 the Soldiers’ Chorus has a stern, rugged quality and purposeful enough to be convincing. All told, the only qualification is the less than perfect performance from Miss Sutherland, but a mature and exciting result from the rest of the cast. ANDRE PREVIN SHOWCASE. Andre Previn conducting the LSO. Classical Symphony, Prokofiev. Gymnopedie No. 1, Satie. Ruy Blas, Mendelssohn. Wasps Overture, Vaughan Wiliams. Rosenkavalier Waltzes, R. Strauss. Scheherazade segment, Rimsky Korsakov. World Records VVKI 7114 from RCA catalogue (cassette). These mixed bags are tricky lots to attract enough people to make it all worth while, but Andre Previn seems to hold the key to popular appeal almost as much as Colin Davis has done in the past with his selections of completely unrelated works. Who, for instance, wouldn’t already own at least one version of Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony? Yet Previn manages to give it a face-lift that adds fresh appeal.

Only the rather muffled sound (at least on cassette) detracts from the value of the performance. For a work which demands crispness and all the clarity the composer intended this one sounds too fruity on Dolby. Sometimes a flick’of the switch fixes this, but not always possible. Previn woos his listeners with the not so well known Gymnopedie before retreating to firmer ground with Mendelssohn’s Ruy Blas. Even the endless Flight of the Bumble Bee is tolerable enough under these circumstances. The seductive charm of the Young Prince and Princess from Scheherazade is graphically portrayed by the conductor, who rounds off the session with a glittering shower of Rosenkavalier Waltzes, equal to that of any of Willi Boskovsky. By, any other name these would be just as enticing for those less serious listening days. STRAVINSKY. Rite of Spring. Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Muti on World Records WI 3901 from HMV ASD 3807. The Philadelphia Orchestra had the honour of running Stravinsky’s own version off its feet in the 1920 s and this is a worthy successor to that far-off version. Muti has stayed very much with the Philadelphia tradition with all its full-blooded power and vitality. Stokowski had the courage of his convictions which possibly pointed the way for Muti, but the younger man has showed enough strength already to be credited with accolades in his own right. Obviously great care and research has gone into this one so that the composer’s intentions have been fully observed as well as all his written comments made separately. Muti has done his homework. The tempos are fast, the attack is almost savage in its intensity and the power generated is quite breath-taking. Some may quibble over the impressive timpani vividness, but one must hand it to the youthful conductor for his justifiable boldness.