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British composer Jonathan Dove (born 1959) is best known internationally for his 1998 opera Flight and has written 20 other operas. Siren Song is a chamber opera about a personals ad scam: Davey, a British seaman looking for a girlfriend, answers an ad that leads him deeply into love with a woman who turns out to be imaginary, the creation of a con man who takes him for thousands of pounds. The libretto by Nick Dear, based on a book by Gordon Honeycombe, which was in turn based on a true story, is well constructed, and while being simple and predictable, it packs an emotional wallop. Dove is exceptionally skilled in writing for the theater; he has a sure dramatic sense for illuminating a situation and shaping a scene. He avoids the trap that dooms so many new operas that use a tonal idiom: a meandering lyricism unsupported by any purposeful, coherent musical logic. Dove creates meaningful musical structures that are clear and direct, and that move the action forward. His instrumentation, using a chamber ensemble, is inventive and colorful. He knows how to build to soaring lyrical climaxes, and it's easy so see why his operas have had such popular success. The simplicity and conventionality of his language -- its harmonic movement, use of repetition, and triadic melodies -- come close to being simplistic, though. The listener is left with the impression that if Dove were more adventurous -- incorporating more changes into his repetitive patterns, expanding the variety of his harmonic progressions, and occasionally allowing himself to break into a more chromatic language -- his work would be even more powerful. His theatrical sense is so astute that in spite of the fairly circumscribed musical parameters in which he works, his opera is strongly effective. It receives a superb performance in this recording of a production from the 2007 Grachtenfestival in the Netherlands. Principals Brad Cooper, Mattijs van de Woerd, and Amaryllis Dieltiens sing with warm, full-bodied lyricism. Henk Guittart leads the 10-member Siren Ensemble in a performance notable for its clarity and expressiveness. The sound of Chandos' live recording is crisp and immediate.
© TiVo
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Siren Song (Jonathan Dove)
Brad Cooper, ténor (Davey Palmer) - Siren Ensemble - Henk Guittart, direction
2000 Chandos 2000 Chandos
Amaryllis Dieltiens, soprano (Diana Reed) - Brad Cooper, ténor (Davey Palmer) - Siren Ensemble - Henk Guittart, direction
2000 Chandos 2000 Chandos
Amaryllis Dieltiens, soprano (Diana Reed) - Brad Cooper, ténor (Davey Palmer) - Siren Ensemble - Henk Guittart, direction
2000 Chandos 2000 Chandos
Amaryllis Dieltiens, soprano (Diana Reed) - Brad Cooper, ténor (Davey Palmer) - Siren Ensemble - Henk Guittart, direction
2000 Chandos 2000 Chandos
Brad Cooper, ténor (Davey Palmer) - Mattijs van de Woerd, baryton (Jonathan Reed) - Siren Ensemble - Henk Guittart, direction
2000 Chandos 2000 Chandos
Amaryllis Dieltiens, soprano (Diana Reed) - Brad Cooper, ténor (Davey Palmer) - Siren Ensemble - Henk Guittart, direction
2000 Chandos 2000 Chandos
Amaryllis Dieltiens, soprano (Diana Reed) - Brad Cooper, ténor (Davey Palmer) - Siren Ensemble - Henk Guittart, direction
2000 Chandos 2000 Chandos
Amaryllis Dieltiens, soprano (Diana Reed) - Siren Ensemble - Henk Guittart, direction
2000 Chandos 2000 Chandos
Amaryllis Dieltiens, soprano (Diana Reed) - Brad Cooper, ténor (Davey Palmer) - Siren Ensemble - Henk Guittart, direction
2000 Chandos 2000 Chandos
Brad Cooper, ténor (Davey Palmer) - Mattijs van de Woerd, baryton (Jonathan Reed) - John Edward Serrano, narrateur (Wireless Operator) - Siren Ensemble - Henk Guittart, direction
2000 Chandos 2000 Chandos
Brad Cooper, ténor (Davey Palmer) - Mattijs van de Woerd, baryton (Jonathan Reed) - Siren Ensemble - Henk Guittart, direction
2000 Chandos 2000 Chandos
Brad Cooper, ténor (Davey Palmer) - Mattijs van de Woerd, baryton (Jonathan Reed) - Siren Ensemble - Henk Guittart, direction
2000 Chandos 2000 Chandos
Brad Cooper, ténor (Davey Palmer) - Mattijs van de Woerd, baryton (Jonathan Reed) - Mark Omvlee, ténor (Regulator) - Siren Ensemble - Henk Guittart, direction
2000 Chandos 2000 Chandos
Brad Cooper, ténor (Davey Palmer) - Mattijs van de Woerd, baryton (Jonathan Reed) - Siren Ensemble - Henk Guittart, direction
2000 Chandos 2000 Chandos
Brad Cooper, ténor (Davey Palmer) - Mattijs van de Woerd, baryton (Jonathan Reed) - Siren Ensemble - Henk Guittart, direction
2000 Chandos 2000 Chandos
Brad Cooper, ténor (Davey Palmer) - Mark Omvlee, ténor (Regulator) - Siren Ensemble - Henk Guittart, direction
2000 Chandos 2000 Chandos
Brad Cooper, ténor (Davey Palmer) - Mattijs van de Woerd, baryton (Jonathan Reed) - Siren Ensemble - Henk Guittart, direction
2000 Chandos 2000 Chandos
Brad Cooper, ténor (Davey Palmer) - Mattijs van de Woerd, baryton (Jonathan Reed) - Siren Ensemble - Henk Guittart, direction
2000 Chandos 2000 Chandos
Mattijs van de Woerd, baryton (Jonathan Reed) - Mark Omvlee, ténor (Regulator) - Marijn Zwitserlood, baryton (Captain) - Siren Ensemble - Henk Guittart, direction
2000 Chandos 2000 Chandos
Mattijs van de Woerd, baryton (Jonathan Reed) - Mark Omvlee, ténor (Regulator) - Marijn Zwitserlood, baryton (Captain) - Brad Cooper, ténor (Davey Palmer) - Amaryllis Dieltiens, soprano (Diana Reed) - Siren Ensemble - Henk Guittart, direction
2000 Chandos 2000 Chandos
Brad Cooper, ténor (Davey Palmer) - Mattijs van de Woerd, baryton (Jonathan Reed) - Siren Ensemble - Henk Guittart, direction
2000 Chandos 2000 Chandos
Brad Cooper, ténor (Davey Palmer) - Mark Omvlee, ténor (Regulator) - Marijn Zwitserlood, baryton (Captain) - Siren Ensemble - Henk Guittart, direction
2000 Chandos 2000 Chandos
Mattijs van de Woerd, baryton (Jonathan Reed) - Mark Omvlee, ténor (Regulator) - Siren Ensemble - Henk Guittart, direction
2000 Chandos 2000 Chandos
Brad Cooper, ténor (Davey Palmer) - Marijn Zwitserlood, baryton (Captain) - Mark Omvlee, ténor (Regulator) - Mattijs van de Woerd, baryton (Jonathan Reed) - Siren Ensemble - Henk Guittart, direction
2000 Chandos 2000 Chandos
Brad Cooper, ténor (Davey Palmer) - Amaryllis Dieltiens, soprano (Diana Reed) - Siren Ensemble - Henk Guittart, direction
2000 Chandos 2000 Chandos
Album review
British composer Jonathan Dove (born 1959) is best known internationally for his 1998 opera Flight and has written 20 other operas. Siren Song is a chamber opera about a personals ad scam: Davey, a British seaman looking for a girlfriend, answers an ad that leads him deeply into love with a woman who turns out to be imaginary, the creation of a con man who takes him for thousands of pounds. The libretto by Nick Dear, based on a book by Gordon Honeycombe, which was in turn based on a true story, is well constructed, and while being simple and predictable, it packs an emotional wallop. Dove is exceptionally skilled in writing for the theater; he has a sure dramatic sense for illuminating a situation and shaping a scene. He avoids the trap that dooms so many new operas that use a tonal idiom: a meandering lyricism unsupported by any purposeful, coherent musical logic. Dove creates meaningful musical structures that are clear and direct, and that move the action forward. His instrumentation, using a chamber ensemble, is inventive and colorful. He knows how to build to soaring lyrical climaxes, and it's easy so see why his operas have had such popular success. The simplicity and conventionality of his language -- its harmonic movement, use of repetition, and triadic melodies -- come close to being simplistic, though. The listener is left with the impression that if Dove were more adventurous -- incorporating more changes into his repetitive patterns, expanding the variety of his harmonic progressions, and occasionally allowing himself to break into a more chromatic language -- his work would be even more powerful. His theatrical sense is so astute that in spite of the fairly circumscribed musical parameters in which he works, his opera is strongly effective. It receives a superb performance in this recording of a production from the 2007 Grachtenfestival in the Netherlands. Principals Brad Cooper, Mattijs van de Woerd, and Amaryllis Dieltiens sing with warm, full-bodied lyricism. Henk Guittart leads the 10-member Siren Ensemble in a performance notable for its clarity and expressiveness. The sound of Chandos' live recording is crisp and immediate.
© TiVo
Details of original recording : 77:37 - DDD - Enregistré en "live" au Festival de Grachten les 14 & 15 août 2007 - Notes et argument en français, anglais & allemand avec texte de l'opéra en anglais
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 25 track(s)
- Total length: 01:17:25
- 1 Digital booklet
- Main artists: Henk Guittart
- Composer: Jonathan Dove
- Label: Chandos
- Area: Angleterre
- Genre: Classical Opera Full Operas
2000 Chandos 2000 Chandos
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