This live-in-concert recording uses the 1852 version of Benvenuto Cellini, the version used when Franz Liszt convinced the Weimar opera of the work’s worthiness 14 years after its failed Paris premiere. The preferred version remains the “reconstructed” 1838 Paris version that was recorded under Colin Davis in 1972.
Roger Norrington leads this exciting performance with an icy accuracy that almost sinks it. We are dazzled by how clear Berlioz’s complex rhythmic and orchestral lines are, and how impeccably Norrington keeps the ensembles together. The thwapping sounds of the hard sticks on the timpani are most welcome; the very rarely used vibrato on the modern strings less so. If ever there were an opera filled with emotions it is Cellini, and the frosty string playing takes all the life out of it. Berlioz, I’m sure, would have preferred passion as hot as Cellini’s molten lead.
The cast is, with a crucial exception, top-notch. The exception is tenor Bruce Ford in the title role. Certainly one of the most superb bel canto tenors of the last 25 years, Ford is sounding a bit leathery, stressed, and long-in-the-tooth, and his French is awkward. He is certainly heroic enough, but Gedda, for Davis, has the style and all the notes. Laura Claycomb’s Teresa is both well sung and well inflected–a charming performance. Christopher Maltman’s Fieramosca is an elegant figure who seems almost worthy of Teresa’s hand, and Franz Hawlata’s Balducci is grumpy enough. Ralf Lukas’ Pope is impressive, and Monica Groop, though sounding less fresh than usual, is a fine Ascanio. The rest of the cast is colorful and in the spirit of the piece. As suggested above, chorus and orchestra are superb.
What can I say? Norrington’s monochrome brilliance shines with a white light, but there are many more colors in Berlioz’s score. Some might not object. I’ll stick with Colin Davis on Philips.
