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Arthur Sullivan's Ivanhoe is among the most prominent works on the list of operas that almost everyone has heard of, but that almost no one has heard. Historically, Ivanhoe has almost universally been regarded as a failure, proof that Sullivan's gift was limited to the brilliant, but "light" music he wrote for the operettas he created with W.S. Gilbert. In fact, it received a phenomenal 155 performances in its initial production in London in 1891, but it has received a mere handful of performances since. The initiative to record it for Chandos came from Richard Hickox, who died before it could be begun, and this recording is dedicated to his memory. David Lloyd-Jones leads a large cast of soloists, the Adrian Partington Singers, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in a first-rate performance that makes a strong case for opera. While Ivanhoe is certainly not going to find a place in, or even at the fringes of the standard repertoire, this recording should go a way toward putting to rest the platitude that England was an arid operatic wasteland between Dido and Aeneas and Peter Grimes.
Sullivan was determined to write a nationalist opera independent of French, German, or Italian trends, and he succeeds to a surprising degree, because Ivanhoe doesn't quite sound like anything else. There are relatively few arias or set pieces, and the opera is carried largely by lyrical arioso, which works well because Sullivan was a master of setting the English language. He was also a sure dramatic composer. If he had been able to sustain the level of melodic inspiration, only sporadically evident here, that he conjured for The Mikado, Ivanhoe might have been a contender. There are numerous memorable musical moments nonetheless. The chorus "Plantagenesta!" has such melodic elegance and punch that it might have been written by Bizet. Various arias, including "The wind blows cold across the moor," "Her southern splendor, like the Syrian Moon," "Whet the keen axes," and "Lord of our chosen race," are terrifically engaging.
Lloyd-Jones leads the opera with loving attention to detail and to its dramatic arc, drawing committed performances from the orchestra and chorus. All of the soloists are very fine and several are exceptional. Soprano Geraldine McGreevy sings with purity and thrillingly soars over the orchestra. Baritone Neal Davies is darkly eloquent as the villain. In the title role, tenor Toby Spence doesn't quite have the instrument or consistency to be in their league, but almost, and when he stays around his warmly lyrical middle register, he sounds fabulous. Chandos' sound is clean and present, but the stereo separation is sometimes awkward and unconvincing. Ivanhoe should be of strong interest to fans of late Romantic opera.
© TiVo
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Ivanhoe
BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Peter Rose, bass (Cedric the Saxon) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Peter Rose, bass (Cedric the Saxon) - Andrew Staples, tenor (The Squire) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Peter Wedd, tenor (Maurice de Bracy) - James Rutherford, bass-baritone (Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert) - Leigh Melrose, baritone (Isaac, the Jew of York) - Janice Watson, soprano (The Lady Rowena) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Peter Wedd, tenor (Maurice de Bracy) - James Rutherford, bass-baritone (Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert) - Janice Watson, soprano (The Lady Rowena) - Toby Spence, tenor (Wilfred, Knight of Ivanhoe) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Toby Spence, tenor (Wilfred, Knight of Ivanhoe) - Peter Rose, bass (Cedric the Saxon) - James Rutherford, bass-baritone (Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert) - Janice Watson, soprano (The Lady Rowena) - Peter Wedd, tenor (Maurice de Bracy) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
James Rutherford, bass-baritone (Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Janice Watson, soprano (The Lady Rowena) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Janice Watson, soprano (The Lady Rowena) - Toby Spence, tenor (Wilfred, Knight of Ivanhoe) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Toby Spence, tenor (Wilfred, Knight of Ivanhoe) - Leigh Melrose, baritone (Isaac, the Jew of York) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Neal Davies, baritone (Richard Cœur-de-Lion) - Matthew Brook, bass-baritone (Friar Tuck) - Adrian Partington Singers - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Adrian Partington Singers - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Stephen Gadd, baritone (Prince John) - Peter Rose, bass (Cedric the Saxon) - Peter Wedd, tenor (Maurice de Bracy) - Geraldine McGreevy, soprano (Rebecca) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Stephen Gadd, baritone (Prince John) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Matthew Brook, bass-baritone (Friar Tuck) - Andrew Staples, tenor (Locksley) - Stephen Gadd, baritone (Prince John) - Janice Watson, soprano (The Lady Rowena) - Peter Rose, bass (Cedric the Saxon) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
DISC 2
Matthew Brook, bass-baritone (Friar Tuck) - Neal Davies, baritone (Richard Cœur-de-Lion) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Matthew Brook, bass-baritone (Friar Tuck) - Neal Davies, baritone (Richard Cœur-de-Lion) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Neal Davies, baritone (Richard Cœur-de-Lion) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Matthew Brook, bass-baritone (Friar Tuck) - Neal Davies, baritone (Richard Cœur-de-Lion) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Matthew Brook, bass-baritone (Friar Tuck) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Matthew Brook, bass-baritone (Friar Tuck) - Neal Davies, baritone (Richard Cœur-de-Lion) - Andrew Staples, tenor (Locksley) - Adrian Partington Singers - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Peter Rose, bass (Cedric the Saxon) - Peter Wedd, tenor (Maurice de Bracy) - Janice Watson, soprano (The Lady Rowena) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Peter Wedd, tenor (Maurice de Bracy) - James Rutherford, bass-baritone (Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
James Rutherford, bass-baritone (Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Catherine Wyn-Rogers, mezzo-soprano (Ulrica) - Geraldine McGreevy, soprano (Rebecca) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Geraldine McGreevy, soprano (Rebecca) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Geraldine McGreevy, soprano (Rebecca) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Geraldine McGreevy, soprano (Rebecca) - James Rutherford, bass-baritone (Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Geraldine McGreevy, soprano (Rebecca) - James Rutherford, bass-baritone (Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
DISC 3
Toby Spence, tenor (Wilfred, Knight of Ivanhoe) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Catherine Wyn-Rogers, mezzo-soprano (Ulrica) - Geraldine McGreevy, soprano (Rebecca) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Geraldine McGreevy, soprano (Rebecca) - Toby Spence, tenor (Wilfred, Knight of Ivanhoe) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Geraldine McGreevy, soprano (Rebecca) - Toby Spence, tenor (Wilfred, Knight of Ivanhoe) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Geraldine McGreevy, soprano (Rebecca) - Toby Spence, tenor (Wilfred, Knight of Ivanhoe) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Toby Spence, tenor (Wilfred, Knight of Ivanhoe) - James Rutherford, bass-baritone (Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert) - Catherine Wyn-Rogers, mezzo-soprano (Ulrica) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Neal Davies, baritone (Richard Cœur-de-Lion) - Toby Spence, tenor (Wilfred, Knight of Ivanhoe) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Neal Davies, baritone (Richard Cœur-de-Lion) - Peter Wedd, tenor (Maurice de Bracy) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Neal Davies, baritone (Richard Cœur-de-Lion) - Peter Rose, bass (Cedric the Saxon) - Toby Spence, tenor (Wilfred, Knight of Ivanhoe) - Janice Watson, soprano (The Lady Rowena) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Toby Spence, tenor (Wilfred, Knight of Ivanhoe) - Janice Watson, soprano (The Lady Rowena) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Leigh Melrose, baritone (Isaac, the Jew of York) - Toby Spence, tenor (Wilfred, Knight of Ivanhoe) - Janice Watson, soprano (The Lady Rowena) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Adrian Partington Singers - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Geraldine McGreevy, soprano (Rebecca) - Stephen Gadd, baritone (Lucas de Beaumanoir) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Geraldine McGreevy, soprano (Rebecca) - Stephen Gadd, baritone (Lucas de Beaumanoir) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Toby Spence, tenor (Wilfred, Knight of Ivanhoe) - Geraldine McGreevy, soprano (Rebecca) - James Rutherford, bass-baritone (Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert) - Adrian Partington Singers - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Stephen Gadd, baritone (Lucas de Beaumanoir) - Neal Davies, baritone (Richard Cœur-de-Lion) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Geraldine McGreevy, soprano (Rebecca) - Janice Watson, soprano (The Lady Rowena) - Peter Rose, bass (Cedric the Saxon) - Toby Spence, tenor (Wilfred, Knight of Ivanhoe) - BBC National Orchestra of Wales - David Lloyd-Jones, conductor
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
Albumbeschreibung
Arthur Sullivan's Ivanhoe is among the most prominent works on the list of operas that almost everyone has heard of, but that almost no one has heard. Historically, Ivanhoe has almost universally been regarded as a failure, proof that Sullivan's gift was limited to the brilliant, but "light" music he wrote for the operettas he created with W.S. Gilbert. In fact, it received a phenomenal 155 performances in its initial production in London in 1891, but it has received a mere handful of performances since. The initiative to record it for Chandos came from Richard Hickox, who died before it could be begun, and this recording is dedicated to his memory. David Lloyd-Jones leads a large cast of soloists, the Adrian Partington Singers, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in a first-rate performance that makes a strong case for opera. While Ivanhoe is certainly not going to find a place in, or even at the fringes of the standard repertoire, this recording should go a way toward putting to rest the platitude that England was an arid operatic wasteland between Dido and Aeneas and Peter Grimes.
Sullivan was determined to write a nationalist opera independent of French, German, or Italian trends, and he succeeds to a surprising degree, because Ivanhoe doesn't quite sound like anything else. There are relatively few arias or set pieces, and the opera is carried largely by lyrical arioso, which works well because Sullivan was a master of setting the English language. He was also a sure dramatic composer. If he had been able to sustain the level of melodic inspiration, only sporadically evident here, that he conjured for The Mikado, Ivanhoe might have been a contender. There are numerous memorable musical moments nonetheless. The chorus "Plantagenesta!" has such melodic elegance and punch that it might have been written by Bizet. Various arias, including "The wind blows cold across the moor," "Her southern splendor, like the Syrian Moon," "Whet the keen axes," and "Lord of our chosen race," are terrifically engaging.
Lloyd-Jones leads the opera with loving attention to detail and to its dramatic arc, drawing committed performances from the orchestra and chorus. All of the soloists are very fine and several are exceptional. Soprano Geraldine McGreevy sings with purity and thrillingly soars over the orchestra. Baritone Neal Davies is darkly eloquent as the villain. In the title role, tenor Toby Spence doesn't quite have the instrument or consistency to be in their league, but almost, and when he stays around his warmly lyrical middle register, he sounds fabulous. Chandos' sound is clean and present, but the stereo separation is sometimes awkward and unconvincing. Ivanhoe should be of strong interest to fans of late Romantic opera.
© TiVo
Details of original recording : 59:01 - 52:08 - 54:24 - DDD - Enregistré du 24 au 28 juin 2009 au BBC Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff (Pays de Galles) - Notes en français, anglais et allemand avec les textes chantés en anglais
About the album
- 3 disc(s) - 46 track(s)
- Total length: 02:45:15
- 1 Digital booklet
- Main artists: David Lloyd-Jones
- Composer: Sir Arthur Sullivan
- Label: Chandos
- Area: Angleterre
- Genre: Klassiek Opera Volledige opera's
- Period: Romantic Music
2010 Chandos 2010 Chandos
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