Best seat in the house with video

Press, 8 March 1989, Page 27

Best seat in the house with video

Is & discs

ALLAN FRANCIS

PUCCINI: Turandot Lorin Maazel conducts the V.S.O. and Chorus with soloists, Eva Marton, Jose Carreras, Katia Ricciarelli. MGM/UA VIDEO C 604161. It has been said that the worst seat in the opera house is preferable to the best in front of television, but this broad comment may not have had prerecorded videos in mind. Apart from the added benefits of stereo sound and the roving eye of the camera there is in fact much to be said for opera on television as opposed to the magic, albeit fixed, of sitting in a hall. Those who have followed the accessible Puccini operas on video will doubtless agree there is much magic here. Turandot is no exception. Indeed, it would have been a dull soul who could resist being drawn into Lorin Maazel’s seductive performance. The little inperfections are noticeable, as they would be in a live performance, but all the passion and power are present too, so small matters of variable sound and off-stage noises are mere trifles. Comparisons are inevitable, especially with Serafin or Molinari-Pradelli, but more especially with Karajan, who shares similar attitudes towards the work. Even more interesting though, is the fact that is is the 1973 production by Zubin Mehta and Joan Sutherland which has survived, to be the only list-

ing in the present catalogue. Moreover, Carreras has to stand comparisons with Placido Domingo in the Karajan set, one of many considerations before embarking on the visual strength of the review set. Eva Marton and Katia Ricciarelli fill out their roles with great skill, although the latter has to work hard at times. None of the principals show the relaxed confidence of Domingo, Caballe or Joan Sutherland. Recording volumes are patchy, but this is easily remedied, otherwise the sound quality is sharp and clear. It might be Maazel’s power in the end which is the main influence and indeed the most

impressive attraction of all. VIVALDI: La Cetra - 12 Concertos 0p.9 played by Simon Standage, violin with the AAM conducted by Christopher Hogwood. L’OISEAU LYRECD 421 366-2 DDD (1989). The academy and Christopher Hogwood make an unbeatable combination after Monica Huggett’s enticing performance in 1987 with a lesser group, the soloist, Simon Standage, has his work cut out here to make convincing competition to Miss Huggett, but does so in style. Vivaldi’s last great set of printed concertos does not stretch the capacity of the soloist as did his Opus 3 or Opus 8 works, but they are even in quality and both violinist and orchestra play them accordingly. The flourish that Simon Standage brings is no less impressive than Monica Huggett’s with the Raglan Baroque Players, though it is obvious that the Academy of Ancient Music is superior in almost every department. For sheer sparkle and total satisfaction the review set is practically unbeatable, and must supersede the 1987 set.

JAMES LEVINE CONDUCTS: Pieces of Mozart, Schubert, Smetena, Dukas. Various orchestras and dates. DGG CD 427 028-2. DDD. This further batch of works is designed primarily to show off the talents of the last (though far from least), of conductors in the series. Generally speaking, James Levine is not a conductor who features over much on New Zealand radio, others such as Karajan, Previn, Abbado or Maazel tend to dominate the modern musical scene locally — perhaps unfairly. Levine veers towards opera above all else, though his orchestral excursions are usually very fine, where he excels is in the excellent sense of rhythm shown to great advantage here. The choice of pieces is uneven, with Schubert’s Rosamunde, Smetana’s Moldau and Dukas’ Scocerer’s Apprentice filling out the balance of the programme. The other error in an otherwise fine concert is the inclusion of Mozart’s overexposed Serenade No. 13 at the expense of the Posthorn Serenade recorded at the same time (1983). This latter was hailed as a rare performance of unique stature. MOZART OVERTURES: Neville Marrinner conducts the ASMF. EMI CD 7 47014 2. DDD. This compilation was

reviewed as an LP when first issued in 1982, and it was impossible to fault the widely held view that it was an issue of top ranking, rich in sound and graced with a fleeting lightness that placed it far ahead of competitors. There is no change to this verdict. The strings, if anything, are even better on CD. “Whether the angels play only Bach in praising God I am not quite sure; I am sure however, that en famille they play Mozart.” — Karl Bath in the “New York Times,” 1968. BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 3 “Eroica” played by the Slovak PO conducted by Zdenek Kosler. NAXOS CD 8.550010. SCHUBERT: Symphonies 5 and 8, same orchestra and conductor. NAXOS CD 8.550029. Both DDD. There is a mid-Euro-pean lilt to the Schubert symphonies here which is most beguiling, Kosler bringing his own nationalistic ideals to the works with very good effect — particularly in the opening movement of the sth. Both symphonies are on a par with a similar coupling of Karajan’s on EMI 29 0572 1, or the livewire Sinopoli account of the Bth on 410 862-1. “Eroica” is a mid-road version in the manner of the German conductor, say Bohm or Klemperer; sane tempos and orthodox views of a work that revolutionise the symphony.