| French Opera Arias | |
|---|---|
 Columbia LP, M 34206 | |
| Studio album by | |
| Released | 1976 |
| Studio | Henry Wood Hall, London |
| Genre | Opera and classical orchestral |
| Length | 51:33 |
| Language | French |
| Label | Columbia |
| Producer | Paul Walter Myers |
| French Opera Arias | |
 Sony CD, SMK-60527 | |
French Opera Arias is a 51-minute studio album of music performed by Frederica von Stade and the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of John Pritchard. It was released in 1976. [1]
The album was recorded using analogue technology on 4, 8 and 10 January 1976 in the Henry Wood Hall, London. [1]
The LP version of the album, designed under the art direction of Allen Weinberg, features a photograph of von Stade by Clive Barda on the front of the sleeve and an image of Paris's Palais Garnier on the back. [1] The cover of the CD version features a photograph of von Stade by Valerie Clement. [2]
J. B. Steane reviewed the album on LP in Gramophone in July 1976. Frederica von Stade, he wrote, was one of an elite group of artists about whom critics never seemed to say a negative word. "The problem is simply how to convey her excellence in temperate language". It had been a long time since he had heard a debut solo recital disc as thrilling as her French anthology. It was likely to "take its place among that select number of solo operatic recitals on record that are to be cherished, learnt by heart, and used as a touchstone." [3]
Some singers who called themselves mezzo-sopranos were actually just sopranos with missing top notes, or contraltos singing higher than was natural for them. Von Stade was not one of these interlopers. Her upper register was comfortable and strong, and her lower had "depth and richness" without anything "plummy or chesty" about it. Her timbre was youthful, and unmarred by vibrato, shrillness or any tendency to spread at moments of stress. Her technical skill was remarkable. Whether singing above the stave or below, whether singing crescendo or decrescendo, her tone retained its evenness. She negotiated trills, triplets, leaps and staccato notes with clean, tidy precision. Her breath control allowed her to shape her phrases more than satisfactorily. And "her style is charming, aristocratic and imaginative, her diction clear, her expression vivid and sensitive." [3]
The first few bars of the album were enough to demonstrate von Stade's quality. The "nobles seigneurs" of Les Huguenots would be impressed indeed by a salutation like hers, "so firm in enunciation and so brilliant in courtly flourishes". For once, the aria's repetitions of "no, no, no" did not seem pert or ridiculous, and its waltz went with a refined, appealing lilt. "Depuis hier je cherche en vain" from Roméo et Juliette was a rather similar piece, another aria from a charmer of a page boy, strikingly different from the Berlioz item that followed it. "Dieu! Que viens-je d'entendre?" from Beatrice et Bénédict was sung with "serious tenderness and urgency", and was just as affecting as the better known Berlioz aria on the B side of the record, Marguerite's Romance from La damnation de Faust. "Both are sung with admirable sensitivity to the changing feelings, as well as with ravishing tone." [3]
In the woe of "Va! Laisse couler mes larmes" from Werther, von Stade found the happy mean between inflecting her line with too little emotion and allowing feeling to disfigure it. The aria exemplified her tasteful deployment of portamento. As Mignon and Cendrillon, she seemed to become the roles that she was assuming. Her reading of "Connais-tu le pays" was as beautiful as Lucrezia Bori's, and it was impossible to imagine that even the first Lucette, Julia Guiraudon, could have made a more spellbinding scene out of Cinderella's wondering whether her Fairy Godmother would deal with her mercifully. And then there were two jeux d'esprit from Offenbach to end matters with a smile: "the Périchole swaying dangerously with her champagne and spilling never a drop, the Grande-Duchesse going about her indiscretions with irresistible style." [3]
In sum, the album was simply perfect. The London Philharmonic Orchestra were in especially good form under John Pritchard, and Columbia's engineers had provided an audio quality that was bright, but not unpleasantly so. "No doubt everybody in the studio responded to something in the enchantment of the singer's art." [3]
Steane revisited the album in Gramophone in October 1976. It "endears itself further with every playing", he wrote. Von Stade had a miraculously firm grasp of her composers' different styles, portraying the Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein in absolute accord with Offenbach's idiom and "achieving a fine intensity of passion and grief in 'D'amour l'ardente flamme'." [4]
George Jellinek reviewed the album on LP in Stereo Review in February 1977. It was phenomenal, he wrote, how Frederica von Stade had gone from the Metropolitan Opera auditions to global stardom in a mere seven years, despite rationing her public appearances and limiting herself to a relatively narrow repertoire. In part, this was because of her "good looks and winning stage presence", but it was mainly the result of the excellence of her work. Like Teresa Berganza, she had begun her recording career when already "a mature artist, blessed with innate musicianship and sensitivity as well as undeniable flair". [5]
Von Stade's voice was "a bright mezzo, fresh and lovely in tone quality", for the time being more powerful at the upper end of her range than further down. She had no difficulty in rising to a high C. Her lucid diction made French music a good choice for her, and her interpretation of all the items on her album was well nigh impeccable. [5]
Marguerite's dismay, Mignon's yearning, Urbain's aristocratic playfulness and the sentiments of two of Offenbach's leading ladies were all conveyed with equal success. Beatrice's aria too, while not the most dramatic piece that Berlioz ever wrote, was put across with "fine shading and expressivity". [5]
The London Philharmonic Orchestra played beautifully, although John Pritchard's tempos were perhaps sometimes a little too relaxed. Columbia's audio quality was "ideally balanced [and] rich". Von Stade and her producer deserved to be applauded for devising such an "refreshingly imaginative programme". [5]
Music Magazine reported that the album was "a bestseller and elicited enthusiastic response internationally". [6] According to an unnamed reporter profiling von Stade for Time on 13 December 1976, the album showcased "a lustrous amber mezzo-soprano voice with an unusually sweet crystalline top and seemingly effortless agility". [7]
David Shengold mentioned the album in Opera News in December 2016, reviewing a box set of von Stade's Columbia CDs in which it had been reissued. He thought that "the elegant French Opera Arias with John Pritchard" was a "must-have": "even Gounod's Stéphano sounds stellar". [8]
The album was awarded a Grand Prix du Disque in 1976, [9] and first prize in the High Fidelity/International Record Critics Awards of 1977. [10] Stereo Review rated the album as one of the best of the month, [5] and J. B. Steane included the album in his 1976 Gramophone Critics' Choice list of the best recordings of the year. [11]
Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864)
Les Huguenots (Paris, 1836), with a libretto by Eugène Scribe (1791-1861) and Émile Deschamps (1791-1871)
Charles Gounod (1818-1893)
Roméo et Juliette (Paris, 1867), with a libretto by Jules Barbier (1825-1901) and Michel Carré (1821-1872) after Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)
Béatrice et Bénédict (Baden-Baden, 1862), with a libretto by Berlioz after Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
Jules Massenet (1842-1912)
Werther (Geneva, 1892), with a libretto by Édouard Blau (1836-1906), Paul Milliet (1848-1924) and Georges Hartmann (1843-1900) (writing as Henri Grémont) after Die Leiden des jungen Werthers ("The Sorrows of Young Werther", 1774) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880)
La Périchole ("The Peruvienne", Paris, 1868), with a libretto by Henri Meilhac (1830-1897) and Ludovic Halévy (1834-1908) after Le carrosse de Saint-Sacrement (1829) by Prosper Mérimée (1803-1871)
Jules Massenet
Cendrillon ("Cinderella", Paris, 1899), with a libretto by Henri Caïn (1857-1937) after Cendrillon (1698) by Charles Perrault (1628-1703)
Hector Berlioz
La damnation de Faust (Paris, 1846), with a libretto by Berlioz and Almire Gandonnière (1814-1863) after a translation by Gérard de Nerval (1808-1855) of Faust, eine Tragödie ("Faust, a tragedy", 1808) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Ambroise Thomas (1811-1896)
Mignon (Paris. 1866), with a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré after Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre ("Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship", 1795-1796) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Jacques Offenbach
La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein (Paris, 1867), with a libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy
On 4 October 1976, Columbia released the album on LP (catalogue numbers M-76522 in Britain, M-34206 in the US) with an insert with notes, texts and translations. [1] [3] [5] The album was also issued on cassette (catalogue number 40-76522 in Britain). [3]
In 1998, Sony issued the album on CD (catalogue number SMK-60527) with a 20-page booklet including texts and translations and a memoir by von Stade recalling how her recording was made. [2] In 2012, Sony reissued the album on CD in their 2-CD collection Frederica von Stade: Musique Française (catalogue number 88691932202). [12] In 2016, Sony again reissued the album on CD (in a miniature replica of the sleeve of the original LP) with a 52-page booklet in their 18-CD collection Frederica von Stade: The Complete Columbia Recital Albums (catalogue number 88875183412). [1]
Strictly speaking, this album's aria from La damnation de Faust should not be described as operatic. Although Berlioz's work has been adapted for the stage, he intended his légende dramatique for the concert hall, not the theatre. [13]
Frederica von Stade is a semi-retired American classical singer. Best known for her work in opera, she was also a recitalist and concert artist, and she recorded more than a hundred albums and videos. She is especially associated with operas by Mozart and Rossini, and also with music by French and American composers, most notably Jake Heggie. A Chevalier of France's Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, twice the winner of a Grand Prix du Disque and nominated nine times for a Grammy award, she is widely regarded as the pre-eminent lyric mezzo-soprano of her generation.
Antonio de Almeida was a French conductor and musicologist of Portuguese-American descent.
Mahler Songs is a 40-minute studio album on which Gustav Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, his Rückert-Lieder and two of the songs from his Lieder aus "Des Knaben Wunderhorn" are performed by Frederica von Stade and the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Andrew Davis. It was released in 1979.
Song Recital is a 54-minute studio album of Lieder, mélodies and English and American songs performed by Frederica von Stade with piano accompaniment by Martin Katz. It was released in 1978.
Shéhérazade is a 40-minute studio album of art songs by Maurice Ravel performed by Frederica von Stade. In the Chansons madécasses, she is accompanied by the flautist Doriot Anthony Dwyer, the cellist Jules Eskin and the pianist Martin Katz. In two of the Cinq mélodies populaires grecques, the Deux mélodies hébraïques and Shéhérazade itself, she is accompanied by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Seiji Ozawa. The album was released in 1981.
Frederica von Stade Live! is a 46-minute live album of arias, art songs and folk songs from America, France, Ireland and Italy, performed by von Stade with piano accompaniment by Martin Katz. It was released in 1982.
Nuits d'été & La damoiselle élue is a 51-minute studio album of songs by Hector Berlioz and a cantata by Claude Debussy performed by Frederica von Stade, Susanne Mentzer, the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Seiji Ozawa. It was released in 1984.
Frederica von Stade: Chants d'Auvergne, Vol. 1 is a 51-minute studio album presenting seventeen of the thirty traditional Auvergnat songs collected and arranged by Joseph Canteloube, performed by von Stade and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Antonio de Almeida. It was released in 1982. The same artists recorded the rest of Canteloube's Auvergne songs and three mélodies of his own composition for a sequel album, Frederica von Stade: Chants d'Auvergne, Vol. 2, released in 1986.
Frederica von Stade sings Mozart & Rossini Arias is a 52-minute studio album of operatic arias performed by von Stade and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Edo de Waart. It was released in 1976. A second, 69-minute version of the album, Frederica von Stade: Haydn, Mozart & Rossini Arias, released by Philips on CD, adds bonus tracks derived from von Stade's contributions to Antal Doráti's recordings of Joseph Haydn's operas La fedeltà premiata and Il mondo della luna. A third, 52-minute version released on SACD by PentaTone in 2005 reverts to the contents of the first version, but presents the music in quadraphonic surround sound.
La damnation de Faust is a 126-minute studio album of Hector Berlioz's légende dramatique, performed by José van Dam, Malcolm King, Kenneth Riegel, Frederica von Stade and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus under the direction of Georg Solti. It was released in 1982.
Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria is a 166-minute studio album of Claudio Monteverdi's opera, performed by a cast of singers headed by Ann Murray, Patrick Power, Frederica von Stade and Richard Stilwell with the Glyndebourne Chorus and the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Raymond Leppard. It was released in 1980.
Offenbach Arias and Overtures is a 65-minute studio album of excerpts from operettas by Jacques Offenbach performed by the American mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Antonio de Almeida. It was released in 1995.
Judith Blegen & Frederica von Stade: Songs, Arias & Duets is a 42-minute studio album of art songs, art duets and operatic arias performed by Blegen and von Stade with members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. It was released in 1975.
Cendrillon is a 136-minute studio album of Jules Massenet's opera, performed by a cast led by Elizabeth Bainbridge, Jules Bastin, Jane Berbié, Teresa Cahill, Nicolai Gedda, Frederica von Stade and Ruth Welting with the Ambrosian Opera Chorus and the Philharmonia Orchestra under the direction of Julius Rudel. It was released in 1979.
Chérubin is a 115-minute studio album of Jules Massenet's comic opera, performed by a cast headed by June Anderson, Samuel Ramey, Frederica von Stade and Dawn Upshaw with the Chorus of the Bavarian State Opera and the Munich Radio Orchestra under the direction of Pinchas Steinberg. It was released in 1992.
Hänsel und Gretel is a 107-minute studio album of Engelbert Humperdinck's 1893 opera of the same name, performed by Ileana Cotrubaș, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Christa Ludwig, Siegmund Nimsgern, Elisabeth Söderström, Frederica von Stade and Ruth Welting with the Children's Chorus of Cologne Opera and the Gürzenich Orchestra under the direction of Sir John Pritchard. It was released in 1979.
The Rossini Bicentennial Birthday Gala is a live album of operatic and sacred music by Gioachino Rossini, performed by Rockwell Blake, Craig Estep, Maria Fortuna, Thomas Hampson, George Hogan, Marilyn Horne, Kathleen Kuhlmann, Mimi Lerner, Chris Merritt, Jan Opalach, Samuel Ramey, Henry Runey, Frederica von Stade, Deborah Voigt, the Concert Chorale of New York and the Orchestra of St. Luke's under the direction of Sir Roger Norrington. It was released in 1993 as a 119-minute video album and in 1994 as a 78-minute CD.
Mignon is a 194-minute studio album of Ambroise Thomas's opera, performed by André Battedou, Marilyn Horne, Paul Hudson, Claude Méloni, Frederica von Stade, Alain Vanzo, Ruth Welting and Nicola Zaccaria with the Ambrosian Opera Chorus and the Philharmonia Orchestra under the direction of Antonio de Almeida. It was released in 1978.
Le nozze di Figaro is a 169-minute studio album of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera, performed by Christiane Barbaux, Jules Bastin, Jane Berbié, Ileana Cotrubas, José van Dam, Zoltan Kélémén, Tom Krause, Marjon Lambriks, Frederica von Stade, Anna Tomowa-Sintow and Heinz Zednik with the Chorus of the Vienna State Opera and the Vienna Philharmonic under the direction of Herbert von Karajan. It was recorded in April 1978 and released in 1979.
Claude Méloni is a French baritone of the Paris Opera.
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