Twenty-five years ago, Johann Mayr was known primarily as Donizetti’s teacher; with the bel canto revival no longer concentrating on the better-known of the genre, we now have recordings of his Ginevra di Scozia, Medea in Corinto, Che Originali!, L’amor coniugale, and a collection of arias and scenes from five other operas, including one from the complete work under consideration here, Fedra.
Briefly, the plot revolves around Fedra, the miserably unhappy second wife of Theseus, with whose son, Ippolito, she has fallen in love. Theseus is believed dead, so Fedra confesses her love to Ippolito; he repulses her. Meanwhile Fedra’s confidante, Atide, trying to head trouble off at the pass, tells the king (upon his surprise return) that Ippolito has tried to seduce Fedra. The king condemns his son to death and Fedra reprimands Atide, who commits suicide. Theseus, doubting his own judgment, is about to pardon Ippolito when the latter’s horses, frightened by a bull, bolt and trample Ippolito to death (sadly, offstage). Fedra takes poison and goes to see Ippolito’s body; she and Theseus blame each other. She dies, cursed by the local men and pitied by the women.
Mayr’s reputation as a great orchestrator is everywhere in evidence in this opera, with woodwinds used prominently and sometimes alone, not necessarily as obbligato instruments but as the carriers of melodies or chordal underpinnings. And while about half of the music is formulaic and somewhat predictable (but still enjoyable, especially for bel canto fans), there is a marvelous duet for Fedra and Ippolito (a trouser role), a superb 12-minute finale to the first act, a nice tenor/soprano duet in Act 2, and a superb, rueful, enraged, tragic final scene for Fedra.
None of the singers in this live performance from the State Theatre, Braunschweig, recorded in March and April 2008, is familiar. In the title role is a dark-hued soprano, Capucine Chiaudani, with a very expressive voice and fairly good technique (a few pitch issues aside), if not a very lovely sound–but she properly dominates the action and tears into her music with great clarity and sense of purpose. Tenor Thomas Zagorski is a credible, emotionally torn Teseo, with some fluid coloratura and an appealing sound. Rebecca Nelson is the Ippolito–clearly meant to be a truly young man–whose pretty, agile voice could use only a bit more weight. As Teramene, a higher-up at Theseus’ court, bass Dae-Bum Lee delivers his music authoritatively. Hyo-Jin Shin as Atide shines in the first-act ensemble, and Jörn Lindemann as Filocle (a messenger) handles his recit-only role well. Gerd Schaller keeps everything moving and gives the singers the room they require; only his handling of the secco recitatives is lifeless. Chorus and orchestra are fine.
This is a recommended rarity, perhaps not in a class with the composer’s Medea or Ginevra, but worthy nonetheless. The live recording is very good, but there is plenty of stage movement. A full libretto, in Italian only, and poor synopsis accompanies the CDs, and there is no information offered about the singers. Tacky, Mr Oehms, tacky.
