Customer Reviews

Moments to make grown men weep... - By: 221b, 03 Mar 2008
This is a live performance from Barcelonain 2007 featuring two of the hottest namesin opera at the moment - Natalie Dessay & Rolando Villazon - as the young lovers. It is a somewhat uneven performance, & the two are rather mismatched, but there are moments of absolute wonder which make this recording worth repeated viewing.

Dessay is a natural French speaker, Villazon is obviously not, & at times it sounds like they are almost singingin different languages, & his Italianate sound is sometimes too strong to overlook. And yet, his rendition of "En fermant les yeux" is so stunningly beautiful it could make grown men weep, & is the best moment on the whole disc. Just watch Dessay as she "acts"in response to his singing during this aria, & for a moment you can believein them! Dessay is very athletic & physicalin her performances, & this one is no different; her singing is very good, but sometimes I was too conscious of her acting for effect, rather than inhabiting the role.
The production by David McVicar isin a static set, the chorus as audiencein galleries behind the stage, with a few propsin each scene to suggest the setting; but rather than focus attention on the performers, I found it a little dull & unimaginative. The St Sulpice scene, for example, is set on a bare stage with a few chairs, which is perhaps meant to represent a church, but the power of Des Grieux' downfall before his God is somewhat diluted by this non-commital staging. The orchestral playing is fine under Victor Pablo Perez, & the supporting cast are satisfactory but not memorable (including Sam Rameyin unfortunate vocal decline).

So why watch this recording? Ultimately, for the opera itself - one of Massenet's finest achievements - & for the performances of Dessay & Villazon who deliver moments of greatness, it's just unfortunate that they cannot sustain the whole eveningin such coruscating form.