Prior to this recital disc, the only times I had heard soprano Juliane Banse in opera were as Frau Fluth in Nicolai’s Merry Wives of Windsor on CPO and as Marzelline in Fidelio under Simon Rattle. Her CDs of Brahms songs and various oratorio recordings are all impressive–but here, in this varied if unsurprising collection, we can get to hear her in many guises and up close.
The voice is a full lyric and quite beautiful, with plenty of warmth, security at all dynamic levels, and a clear, even line from top to bottom. If I have an over-riding issue with this release, it is with the leadership of conductor Christoph Poppen. Unless you are at the recording sessions, it is difficult to say who sets the tempos–conductor or soloist. I’d like to think it’s a true collaboration, but listening to Juliane Banse’s strong points, I have to believe that it is Poppen who has misjudged a few of these arias.
“Leise, leise” from Der Freischütz is not given quite enough breadth to unfold, and its long melody seems stunted. The brief recit before the aria bodes well but there’s a lack of drama throughout–where are the “dark clouds” when Agathe notes the “gathering storm”? The lack of storytelling is off-putting, and while the finale is accurate and exciting, the high note is taken on the wrong syllable of “entgegen” and lacks ecstasy. Similarly, I can’t believe that a soprano with such creamy beauty of tone would opt to sing Manon’s “Adieu…” so quickly, with no long elisions, no rubato, no meaningful pauses, particularly after the long recit, which she treats as the mini-drama it is.
On the other hand, Marie’s aria from The Bartered Bride (sung in German), a rarity on recital CDs, is sung with just the right sadness and sense of resignation, with the orchestral accompaniment absolutely lovely. “Come scoglio” is notable for its precision and energy, but “E Susanna non vien…Dove sono” somehow goes by without the dramatic profile it requires, perhaps because, again, the recit gives her time to build character and the aria itself is metronomically led.
Banse’s Mimi is sung directly and sweetly and the voice opens nicely on the high As; “O mio babbino caro” is sung full-voice throughout and without a hint of coyness. Her Tatyana is breathless and girlish, and she sounds utterly sincere in every mood change and moment of self-doubt. Micaela’s aria is simply gorgeous, the tone solid, the legato ideal. Marguerite’s Jewel Song has sparkle and somewhat of a trill. Of the four languages sung here, Banse is clearly most comfortable in German. Just to reiterate: the voice itself is gorgeous, but individual traits and moods are given a back seat.
