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Cherubini’s operas
deserve reappraisal. His command of
instrumental sonority was considerable
and his influence on successive generations
of composers widespread (a treatise
could be written on his effect on Weber’s
instrumentation – and probably has).
His flair for the dramatic is also marked
and this, allied to colourful and characterful
mood setting, subtle control of rhythm
and instinct for the dramatic curve
of an operatic structure give spine
and significance to his works. It has
fallen to smaller companies and off-air
performances to keep alive such works,
if we exclude Médée.
One such example is the restoration
of this famous 1947 Beecham radio production
with French principals.
This has made an appearance
before several times. Readers may have
come across various LP incarnations
on Voce and Cetra and, more recently,
a CD appearance on Intaglio. Nevertheless
there is now another entrant in the
form of Malibran’s recent release which
provides just shy of eighty-minutes’
worth of music.
The Overture is full
of pregnant introspection and drama,
from the black basses and bass clarinet
up; the horns, led one assumes by Dennis
Brain, announce their presence with
initially baleful portent. The ensuing
Allegro section is full of gusto and
vigour. All are prime components of
Beecham’s idiomatic control. Giannotti’s
tenor is eloquent and youthful though
not outstandingly personalised whilst
amongst the other men the bass Charles
Paul is attractively bluff. Jeanine
Micheau proves an attractive Constanza.
Of course in the recitativo or spoken
dialogue one can hear that Marion Davies
and Donald Munro can’t match their French
counterparts when it comes to pronunciation
– but they have good voices and use
them musically. Much of the string writing
is exceptionally clever and prescient
of orchestral developments, whilst there
are also reminiscences of Mozart in
the Trio O mon liberateur. The
Chorus is reserved for dramatically
powerful and climactic moments, such
as the Chorus of Soldiers that opens
Act II.
There is a ration of
acetate swish on the 1947 sides but
more worrying there are little dropouts
in the first act that prove disconcerting
and unwelcome. Comparison with Intaglio’s
transfer also shows two further things;
that this Malibran is cut and that the
sound is decidedly murky in comparison
with the earlier CD incarnation. Malibran
have cut some of the dialogue (altogether
there are some 13 minutes’ worth of
cuts) to fit onto a single CD whereas
the two CD Intaglio set lasted some
ninety-one minutes. Given these problems,
and the fact that the Intaglio is now
long out of print I would hope a company
like Guild might investigate the position.
In the meantime I’d offer no more than
a cautious welcome to this one.
Jonathan Woolf
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir Thomas Beecham
