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Opera Now, April 2014 |
FM |
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Wagner Gala |
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Dresden
celebrated the Wagner bicentenary last year with Christian Thielemann
conducting a deluxe concert of Wagner overtures, Henze's Fraternité for
orchestra and some vocal contributions from Jonas Kaufmann. It's all
very assured and elegant and purrs along like an extremely expensive and
luxurious car.
Thielemann obviously does his hard work in
rehearsal; his conducting technique here displays stylish brevity.
Kaufmann's contributions are excellent. His voice caresses its way
through Rienzi's Prayer, hits the spiritual heights with the original
version of Lohengrin's Grail Narration and then is fully unleashed for
Tannhäuser's Rome Narration. As ever, the tone is covered and the
distinctively rich, bronze quality is wonderful to hear. The mannerisms
that sometimes affect his Italian singing are thankfully nowhere to be
heard and he sustains the line with no fuss. Ultimately it's a wonderful
concert, enjoyable to watch, though slightly lacking in atmosphere.
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