As a piece of fun, this opera gala from Baden-Baden is perfectly acceptable. But the repertoire is largely uninspiring and the execution of it in many cases leaves much to be desired. To present convincing new recordings of these twelve arias and ensembles, eleven of which are amongst the most over-recorded in the first place, you need a team of singers at the height of their powers and preferably a good recording acoustic. Of the four singers on this disc, only Elina Garanca - the young Latvian mezzo-soprano who made a stunning Covent Garden debut as Dorabella in July of this year - is uniformly excellent, though there are glimpses of the others' abilities. Meanwhile, the fact that the CD is a live recording of highlights from a series of concerts given at Baden-Baden's Festspielhaus in July 2007 means that the sound quality is indifferent and there are many vocal flaws throughout.
Ostensibly the star of the recital, Anna Netrebko is a noble enough Norma in Bellini's 'Casta Diva' but her rendition pales next to that of Cecilia Bartoli on the latter's new CD, Maria. I was surprised by the inclusion of Rodolfo and Mimi's duet from La bohčme, 'O soave fanciulla', so soon after Netrebko's recording of it in her album of duets with Rolando Villazón (reviewed here). Her Baden-Baden Rodolfo is Ramón Vargas, whom I have seen and admired in the role on the stage. He sings very well here, too, but the Villazón-Netrebko performance is fresher (not least on the final off-stage note) and the blend of voices more sympathetic.
Netrebko's other major appearance on the disc is in the 'Flower Duet' from Lakmé, where she is joined by Elina Garanca. The mezzo's voice is much better suited to the French sensuality of this piece than the soprano's; Netrebko creates a sublimely beautiful sound, but it can have a slightly hard timbre and lacks the floating quality needed for this evocation of the exotic. Nevertheless, the offstage coda is undoubtedly haunting.
Garanca's contributions are all supremely polished - indeed more than that, for she captures the character of each piece brilliantly. In particular, she is utterly gripping as Saint-Saëns' Dalila in 'Mon coeur s'ouvre ŕ ta voix', which proves that concerts of this sort can be musically satisfying with the right approach. It is the highlight of the disc, though she also shows flair in the Latin number 'Al pensar en el dueńo' from Chapí's Las hijas del Zebedeo and as a splendidly Italianate, seductive Maddalena in the Rigoletto quartet. Having said that, the Chapí appears in Garanca's debut album on Deutsche Grammophon, Aria Cantilena, which is a scorching triumph and a much better overall investment than this Baden-Baden disc.
Ramón Vargas also puts in several committed performances, his warm tenor suiting the Rigoletto quartet, 'Una furtiva lagrima' from L'elisir d'amore and the duet 'Au fond du temple saint' from Les pęcheurs de perles. The problem is that his voice lacks an individual characteristic, something that can't be cultivated or taught. Even his excellent performance of 'Quando le sere al placido' from Luisa Miller, whose recitative is delivered with notable power and drama, fades from the memory very quickly, and it's even a little over-laboured in the cantabile section. This sort of performance can be powerful in the theatre, but on record the listener needs something different, and all of these pieces are available in superior, magical recordings from tenors of previous generations.
Still, Vargas doesn't disappoint, unlike baritone Ludovic Tézier. Though it's good to hear the 'Toreador Song' from Carmen sung in such idiomatic French, more drama and tone is needed; in a way, the occasional intonation problems bother me less than the lack of charisma. He is not assertive enough in 'Bella figlia dell'amore' and although the language is again in his favour, I feel he could have brought more of a wistful quality to the Pearl Fishers duet. His performance of Rodrigo's death scene from Don Carlo is more engaging and draws loud applause from the audience, though again there are some moments of uncertainty and the rendition is tame and unimaginative compared to Cappuccilli, Bruson, Gobbi and others in the same role.
A rendition of the brindisi from La traviata brings the disc to an end, but the singing is nothing special and once more it begs the question, why choose something so obvious? The DVD version (which I have not seen) includes additional numbers that are not included on the CD, such as Garanca performing the final rondó from La Cenerentola and teaming up with Netrebko for the first-act Adalgisa-Norma duet from Norma, both of which would be more welcome than some of the items that are included; Netrebko also sings 'Meine lippen, sie küssen so heiss' from Lehár's operetta Giuditta. Apparently the Carlo-Rodrigo duet is available as an online digital download. One of the more successful aspects of the recording is the playing of the SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg. The orchestra responds well to Marco Armiliato's fantastically responsive conducting, dealing with French, Italian and Spanish repertoire equally well.
In summary, fans of the individual singers may be tempted to this CD, but in general I would recommend looking elsewhere for reliable renditions of most of this material.
The Opera Gala: Live from Baden-Baden, is out now. For more information, visit http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/