French mezzo Marianne Crebassa’s debut disc makes a stylish calling card that should raise the stock of this fine artist. Her characteristic French tang, tight vibrato and tasteful use of portamento harks back to an earlier style but her precise intonation and control in passage work is very much of our time. There is a true mezzo quality to her timbre but she doesn’t bellow in chest voice. Her plangent manner recalls a young Frederica von Stade. The programme alternates 19th-century French arias with Mozart’s seria plums for castrati but, while it may be a celebration of trouser roles, she sounds resolutely feminine. From the impish cover shot, I suspect she is convincingly boyish on stage, so thankfully she doesn’t resort to arch guying; the inevitable Cherubino numbers are refreshingly straight. Flashy numbers show off her immaculate legato fiorature with no nasty aspirants: Il tenero momento from Lucio Silla is a showstopper. The bravura aria from Gluck’s Berliozed Orphée with its cadenza padded out by Saint-Saëns might horrify purists but Crebassa’s elegant poise channels the spirit of Pauline Viadot. The number from Chabrier’s L’Étoile is a sensuous delight as is Sommeil, ami des dieux from Thomas’ Psyché…. Continue reading Get…

I have long admired and respected Natalie Dessay so it saddened me to hear of her retirement from the opera stage. Her fearless tackling of daunting coloratura repertoire and the searing intensity of her stage presence proved too much for such a slight physique. Having built a fine discography with Warners she has jumped ship to Sony Classical France – this lavishly presented first release may be a success in the home market but I suspect the critical response elsewhere may cause some executives to lose sleep. Graciane Finzi’s Scénographies d’Edward Hopper is a melologue with texts by Claude Esteban spoken over a string orchestra. As a preface, Dessay has selected songs from the American Songbook matching each to a specific Hopper painting. Finzi’s tone painting is effective if unmemorable and Esteban’s texts left me out in the cold – my basic French couldn’t keep up with the semantic intricacies. For the songs, Dessay adopts an intimate chanteuse delivery but I have long opined that few classical singers can successfully cross-over to the popular idiom unless they hail from the American continent and Dessay doesn’t convince me otherwise. She tries hard with the language but certain elisions… Continue reading Get…

For its fifth Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour, Opera Australia chose Puccini’s Turandot, set in a fantasy China. Spectacle is a pre-requisite for the stunningly located outdoor event, and Chinese-American director Chen Shi-Zheng delivers striking visual effects without resorting to tacky glitz, while his martial-arts inspired choreography enhances the clear story-telling. Dan Potra’s design is dominated by two set pieces: a giant, fire-breathing dragon and a towering, spiky pagoda, from where the frosty-hearted Princess Turandot looks down on the execution of the suitors who fail to solve her riddles. Scott Zielinski’s imaginative lighting add lashings of colour. Serbian dramatic soprano Dragana Radakovic is an impressive, imperious Turandot with a powerhouse voice, which has a steely glint. As Calaf, Italian tenor Riccardo Massi is a commanding presence. At six foot four he is every inch the romantic hero, giving a passionate, lyrical portrayal, matched by rich, bronzed vocals. Hyeseoung Kwon is very moving as the slave girl Liù. The chorus is also outstanding, while the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra gives a good account of the gorgeous score under Brian Castles-Onion. Fine camera work makes the most of the spectacular location, while close-ups of the performers add to the experience. Continue…

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