| Frederica von Stade Live! | |
|---|---|
 CBS Masterworks LP, IM-37231 | |
| Live album by | |
| Released | 1982 |
| Venue | Alice Tully Hall, New York City |
| Genre | Classical vocal |
| Length | 46:37 |
| Language | Italian, French, Occitan and English |
| Label | CBS Masterworks |
| Producer | David Mottley |
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. [1]
The album was compiled from digital recordings of a recital programme performed on 5 and 8 April 1981 at the Alice Tully Hall, New York City. [1] The engineers used Neumann U-87 and KM-84 microphones, a Sony UMATIC recorder and a Sony PCM 1600 system. [1] The album was mastered using CBS's DisComputer system. [1]
The LP and cassette versions of the album share the same cover art, designed by Peter A. Alfieri, featuring a photograph of von Stade taken by Valerie Clement. [1]
J. B. Steane reviewed the album on LP in Gramophone in June 1982. It was, he thought, an engaging, vivacious recital, but rather like a sandwich that was missing its proper slice of ham. The last track on the A side of the disc was "Tanti affetti" from Rossini's La donna del lago. It was a climactic end to the first half of the record in that it showed off Frederica von Stade's virtuoso technique, but, although not a shallow composition, it was not the substantial kind of piece that a recitalist should programme before her interval. [2]
The B side of the disc began with Maurice Ravel's Cinq mélodies populaires grecques, "the nearest we come to the provision of a major work". The absence of more ambitious music was not the only reason that the disc felt slightly disappointing. "Good song recitals", Steane wrote, "have some meat, and then... jam!" Nothing in von Stade's album quite supplied the requisite sugar rush. [2]
Her American songs did not have a particularly high glycaemic index, and even her encore somehow failed to hit the mark. With its refrain of "the fairy was laughing too", "The leprechaun" had merely "the kind of charm that coaxes smiles and a somewhat cautious laugh". Von Stade's American songs evoked "an interest, a curiosity, an expectation of pleasure", but none of them was truly thrilling. Aaron Copland's "Why do they shut me out of heaven?", Richard Hundley's "The astronomers" and Virgil Thomson's "A prayer to St Catherine" were too quirky to be really exciting, and Hundley's "Come ready and see me", although engaging, was too gentle to be the right kind of song with which to bring down the curtain. [2]
That the programming of the disc was not as well judged as it might have been did not mean that the album was lacking in delectable ingredients. Durante's "Danza, danza, fanciulla gentile", taken at a very sprightly pace, had a "gaiety [that was] delightful and infectious". The Rossini aria had "brilliant flourishes". Joseph Canteloube's "Brezairola" had a "dreamy beauty". Ravel's "Chanson de cueilleuses de lentisques" had a "quiet joy". Most cherishable of all were those songs that drew upon von Stade's special gift of wistfulness. Alessandro Scarlatti's "Se tu della mia morte" had an "indrawn sadness", and in Hundley's "Come ready and see me", "she has a song that might have been written for her, so well does it suit her voice and art." [2]
The album was well engineered, with "clear, natural and well-balanced" sound. Applause was included, but the LP was mercifully free from the type of intrusions perpetrated by audiences on some other live recordings. In sum, it was regrettable that the disc lacked "a particular sense of occasion" - the author of its sleeve notes had not even thought to mention where or when it had been recorded. But the album nevertheless deserved a warm welcome. It was one to be dipped into "for this song and that, rather than for the recital [as a whole], be it never so 'Live!'." [2]
George Jellinek reviewed the album on LP in Stereo Review in November 1982. Frederica von Stade's rendition of Rossini's "Tanti affetti in tal momento", he wrote, was somewhat put in the shade by the "unforgettable bravura" of the version of the aria recorded by Marilyn Horne. [3] It suffered, too, from being accompanied by a piano instead of by a chorus and orchestra. But there was nothing negative that could be said about her recital's other selections. [4]
It was refreshing that, as was her wont, she had sought out music that many listeners would be unfamiliar with. Even when choosing from the well-thumbed scores of Italian arie antiche, she mad managed to find some that few of us would have heard before. And her twentieth-century American songs were "all worth knowing" too. [4]
Her performances were "wonderful ... in her own exquisite style". She brought "her customary and much-praised musicality, lovely tone and sensitive control of dynamics to just about everything in this latest programme". Her American songs in particular were sung with "great charm and excellent diction". In some of her earlier records, the sheer beauty of her vocalism had not always been matched by the quality of her interpretations. But there was now "a certain intensity in her singing that is most welcome". [4]
As usual, Martin Katz was an excellent partner at the piano, and the audio quality of CBS's digital recording was exceptionally good. [4]
David Shengold wrote about the album in Opera News in 2016, reviewing a box set of von Stade CDs in which it was included. [1] He praised her performance of Alessandro Scarlatti's "Se tu della mia morte" as "particularly exquisite" and her version of Ravel's Cinq mélodies populaires grecques as "affectingly done". [5]
The album was also reviewed in The complete Penguin stereo record and cassette guide, which described it as "taken from a live recital with von Stade vivacious and characterful in generally lightweight repertory". Its sound quality, the book said, was "kind to the voice and naturally balanced". [6]
The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for the best classical solo vocal performance of 1982. [7]
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Cantata, RV 672
Francesco Durante (1684-1755), arranged by Martin Katz
Solfèges d'Italie
Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725)
La caduta de' Decemviri ("The fall of the decemvirs", Naples, 1697, R345.33)
Benedetto Marcello (1686-1739), arranged by Martin Katz
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
La donna del lago ("The lady of the lake", Naples, 1819, with a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola (?-1831) after The Lady of the Lake (1810) by Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832))
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Cinq mélodies populaires grecques (1904-1906, from traditional texts, translated by Michel-Dimitri Calvocoressi (1877-1944))
Joseph Canteloube (1879-1957), collector and arranger
Chants d'Auvergne (1923-1930)
Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson (1950)
Richard Hundley (1931-2018)
Virgil Thomson (1896-1989)
Mostly About Love: Four Songs for Alice Estey (1959, texts by Kenneth Koch (1925-2002))
Traditional, arranged by Herbert Hughes (1882-1937)
On 4 February 1982, CBS Masterworks released the album on LP (catalogue numbers M-37231 in Britain, IM-37231 in the US), with sleeve notes by Peter G. Davis and an insert with texts and translations. [1] [2] [4] It was also issued on cassette (catalogue numbers 40-37231 in Britain, HMT-37231 in the US). [2] [4]
In 2016, Sony released the album on CD (in a miniature replica of its original LP sleeve) with a 52-page booklet in their 18-CD compilation Frederica von Stade: The Complete Columbia Recital Albums (catalogue number 88875183412). [1] The album has never been issued on CD otherwise.
Frederica von Stade OAL is a semi-retired American opera singer. Since her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1970, she has performed in operas, musicals, concerts and recitals in venues throughout the world, including La Scala, the Paris Opera, the Vienna State Opera, the Salzburger Festspielhaus, Covent Garden, Glyndebourne and Carnegie Hall. Conductors with whom she has worked include Abbado, Bernstein, Boulez, Giulini, Karajan, Levine, Muti, Ozawa, Sinopoli, Solti and Tilson Thomas. She has also been a prolific and eclectic recording artist, attracting nine Grammy nominations for best classical vocalist, and she has made many appearances on television.
Judith Blegen is an American soprano, particularly associated with light lyric roles of the French, Italian and German repertories.
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.
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.
Italian Opera Arias is a 51-minute studio album of music performed by Frederica von Stade, Janice Taylor and the National Arts Centre Orchestra under the direction of Mario Bernardi. It was released in 1979.
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.
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: Chants d'Auvergne, Vol. 2 & Triptyque is a 60-minute studio album containing thirteen of the thirty traditional Auvergnat songs collected and arranged by Joseph Canteloube, together with a song cycle of his own composition, performed by von Stade and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Antonio de Almeida. It was released in 1986. The same artists recorded Canteloube's seventeen other Auvergnat songs for the album's predecessor, Frederica von Stade: Chants d'Auvergne, Vol. 1, released in 1982.
Voyage à Paris is a 70-minute studio album of French art songs performed by Frederica von Stade with piano accompaniment by Martin Katz. It was released in 1995.
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.
Gabriel Fauré: Mélodies is a 54-minute studio album of eighteen of Fauré's art songs performed by the mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade with piano accompaniment by Jean-Philippe Collard. It was released in 1983. A second, 57-minute version of the album, released in 2011, includes a bonus track in which von Stade sings the Chanson de Mélisande from Fauré's incidental music for Maurice Maeterlinck's play Pelléas et Mélisande, accompanied by the Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse under the direction of Michel Plasson.
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.
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.
Frederica von Stade chante Monteverdi & Cavalli is a 48-minute studio album of arias by Francesco Cavalli and songs and arias by Claudio Monteverdi, performed by von Stade with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Raymond Leppard. It was released in 1985. A second, 54-minute version of the album, released in 1995 as Recital: Frederica von Stade: Cavalli, Monteverdi & Mozart Arias, added two bonus arias taken from Erato's 1978 recording of Mozart's Così fan tutte, on which von Stade sang Dorabella with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg under Alain Lombard.
The Three-Cornered Hat is a 42-minute classical studio album in which the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra under André Previn perform the whole of Manuel de Falla's ballet The Three-Cornered Hat and, as a filler, the Ritual Fire Dance from his ballet Love the Magician. The longer work's two brief vocal passages are sung by the American mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade. The album was released in 1983.
Marilyn Horne: Divas in Song: A 60th Birthday Celebration is a 77-minute live album of art and popular songs performed by Olafur Bjarnason, Montserrat Caballé, Helen Donath, Renée Fleming, Samuel Ramey, Frederica von Stade, Ruth Ann Swenson and Marilyn Horne herself, with piano accompaniment by Manuel Burgueras, Klaus Donath, Warren Jones, Martin Katz and James Levine. It was released in 1994.
Otello is a 153-minute studio album of Gioachino Rossini's opera Otello, performed by José Carreras, Nucci Condò, Salvatore Fisichella, Alfonso Leoz, Keith Lewis, Gianfranco Pastine, Samuel Ramey and Frederica von Stade with the Ambrosian Chorus and the Philharmonia Orchestra under the direction of Jesús López Cobos. It was released in 1979.
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.