Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Recent transcendent classical music performances: Lise Davidsen ravishes in ARIADNE AUF NAXOS and Yannick Nézet-Séguin completes his BEETHOVEN CYCLE

• By drediman
• March 4, 2022
• No Comments

Over the last few weeks, I found myself in awe of the power of live classical music. In particular, I found two transcendent performances to be ones for the ages. I’ll be sure to safely tuck both experiences away in my memory vaults.

ARIADNE AUF NAXOS
The Metropolitan Opera
In repertory through March 17

Although the Met started up performances again this past Monday with a new production of Verdi’s Don Carlos, I’d argue that the main event this first week back (after the company’s monthlong hiatus in February) is the chance for New York opera fans to catch 35-year-old Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen in the title role of Richard Strauss’s ingeniously conceived Ariadne auf Naxos (in a superb 1993 production by Elijah Moshinsky) (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED). Although the fast-rising star doesn’t unleash her full vocal firepower during the opera’s charming “backstage” prologue, it’s worth the wait when she finally does during the work’s latter opera-within-an-opera segment. In short, Ms. Davidsen’s performance of Strauss’s ravishing score was one of the most stunning vocal displays I’ve yet witnessed – in volume, richness, and interpretation. There’s a tinge of steeliness to her voice that adds additional excitement to her singing, making her an ideal candidate to eventually tackle Wagner’s daunting repertoire. Unsurprisingly, her onstage colleagues weren’t quite able to match the magnificence of Ms. Davidsen’s thrilling performance (coming closest was soprano Isabel Leonard, whose warmly acted performance as the Composer in the prologue charmed). Indeed, not even her own fantastic previous performances at the Met (in Tchaikovsky’s Queen of Spades, as well as earlier this season in Wagner’s Die Meistersinger) could have prepared me for what I experienced from her this week. There are only four more chances to catch Ms. Davidsen in this run of Ariadne auf Naxos (which is conducted transparently by Marek Janowski). I highly suggest that you catch one of them to see what the fuss is all about.

THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA
Carnegie Hall
Closed

Then over at Carnegie Hall, maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin led the Philadelphia Orchestra (where he is music director) in its conclusion of playing the full cycle of Beethoven’s nine symphonies (the monumental undertaking commemorated the composer’s 250th birthday). In the final concert (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED), the Philadelphia forces paired Beethoven’s first and ninth symphonies. The artistic disparity between the two works couldn’t be more pronounced – the first basks in the classical symphonic form, whereas the sprawling ninth philosophically strives to evoke the triumph of humanity over adversity. One of the more novel aspects of this particular cycle is how it puts these revolutionary symphonies in dialogue with the works of contemporary composers. In last week’s concert, the world premiere of Gabriela Frank’s “Pachamama Meets an Ode” preceded the ninth. The new piece echoed Beethoven’s existential concerns, particularly in its mulling over of the fate of humanity at our current juncture. Throughout, Nézet-Séguin’s conducting was inspired and utterly present. The first simply sparkled as it basked in the perfection of its classical structure. In the ninth, the impossibly busy conductor (he’s also the music director of the Metropolitan Opera; additionally, he subbed in for the now-cancelled Valery Gergiev when the Vienna Philharmonic came to town) shined, particularly in his incisive reading of the second movement and the heroic way he wielded the players and singers in the iconic “Ode to Joy” movement. Of the soloists, bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green stood out for the sheer size of his voice. The chorus was also excellent, although they sounded a bit muffled singing behind masks.