Do we really need yet another recording of the Strauss’s Vier letzte Lieder (Four Last Songs)? When it comes to the new recording starring Siobhan Stagg and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra under Chief Conductor, Jaime Martín, the answer is a resounding Yes!
Some devotees would have stopped at Elisabeth Schwarzkopf’s reading – possibly the 1953 recording but more likely the 1965 version with George Szell wielding the baton. This supposedly benchmark interpretation is rivalled by the Kirsten Flagstad/Furtwängler version – too bad about the recording quality but the tempi have a claim to being “authentic”. Among the 40-plus recorded versions listeners have their favourites, whether it be Janowitz/von Karajan, Popp/Solti, Della Casa/Böhm, Te Kanawa/Pritchard, Norman/Masur or Fleming/Abado. This Stagg/Martín recording takes a rightful place among these renowned versions, and the MSO itself is well qualified to rank among the elite orchestras featured in these recordings.
Here we have an Australian soprano who is in huge demand on the international stage. Those of us who have followed her career watch in amazement as she chalks up success after success in what seems an exhausting schedule of opera performances, recitals and recordings in various countries. Her musicality, sensitivity to the text and a distinctive vocal quality that many find addictive are all showcased in this recording.
Strauss has given sopranos – and the world – one of the most sumptuous vocal works, and Stagg’s full tone and superb breath control enables her to ride the melodic waves with exhilarating ease in Beim Schlafengehen. These are crucial assets when aiming for the expansive tempo that makes Im Abendrot so striking in its emotional power. There is no swooping around here – or anywhere for that matter; high notes are placed cleanly and any “portamento” is part of a smooth, elastic, and always-tasteful legato line. Just as upper notes are not unnaturally “covered” but free and rounded with resonant “spin”, so are darker lower notes gratifying robust without sounding at all “manufactured”. The orchestral sound is marked by warmth and satisfying richness, with solo passages from violin and horn played with technical expertise and musical sensitivity. Beautiful phrasing is a hallmark of this interpretation.
If the luxuriant lyricism of Strauss’s quartet of songs is not a top priority, then you would be well advised to turn your attention to Debussy’s six. It should be noted that the title of this recordings is Debussy & Strauss, not the other way round. We first heard Brett Dean’s orchestral arrangement of Debussy’s Ariettes oubliées (Forgotten Songs) when Simon Rattle conducted the Australian World Orchestra in 2015. Unfortunately, illness struck down both the conductor and his wife, mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená, so Melbourne had to wait until 2023 to hear a live performance of this magical setting of Paul Verlaine’s six poems when Siobhan Stagg was the MSO’s Soloist-in-Residence. Both Dean and Stagg are thoroughly in tune with Debussy’s atmospheric musical language, making the contrasting moods of the songs tiny impressionistic worlds. The gentle yearning of C’est l’extase langoureuse, the pathos of Il pleure dans mon coeur; the shadowed melancholy of L’ombre des arbre; the vitality of the beginning of Chevaux de bois that subsides to the slower, sadder tone found in Green; and the dramatic emotional contrasts of Spleen, which begins with an almost breathless sense of wonder and encompasses a climactic cry of anguish – all these shifts of mood are captured with a dazzling array of tonal colour and sustained dynamic impulse by a voice peculiarly well suited to Debussy’s style.
Much of the success of this recording comes from Jaime Martín’s sympathetic relationship with the music, the soloist and the orchestra. The balance between the parts is excellent and, especially given Stagg’s clear diction, the text is absolutely clear. The CD comes with an attractive booklet that includes texts in the original languages and English translation – something one can’t take for granted nowadays.
The result of a partnership with the London Symphony Orchestra to launch a new in-house record label to expand the MSO’s international reach, this initial recording is a real celebration of outstanding achievement by Australian artists. Very highly recommended.
Debussy & Strauss will be released on CD (hybrid SACD) and via all major streaming and download services on Friday, May 31, 2024, and will be available in Spatial Audio on supporting platforms.
Photo supplied.
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Heather Leviston reviewed the CD “Debussy & Strauss”, performed by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra with soprano soloist Siobhan Stagg at Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall in February and March, 2023.
