Search - Francesco Cilea, Charles Gounod, Leos Janacek :: HOMAGE: The Age of the Diva

A God-given voice - if only she would simply let the voice s

Ingrid Heyn | Melbourne, Australia | 11/06/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There really should be no question on the quality of Renee Fleming's voice - it's unequivocally beautiful. It is a glorious cream-and-gold sound, and her technique is formidable.



Why, then, am I frequently not transported or moved when I hear her sing?



The answer lies in HOW Ms Fleming uses her miraculous voice. I feel that her early experience in jazz singing has permanently affected her idea of interpretation - i.e., not subtle. The frequent interspersions of breathiness and sobs simply detract from the beauty of her voice, and the terribly annoying thing for me is that she does not need to do this. Her voice is in itself a beautifully coloured thing, sufficiently expressive in its timbre not to require the ham-and-glam touch. Who can deny the sheer glory of the voice itself? But equally, who can deny that inappropriate and thoughtless bathos is detracting from the perfection that could be hers?



Ms Fleming's German pronunciation is good. Her Italian is not. (In fact, in "Taccea la notte", there's a quite unforgivable space in "notte" which any Italian coach would have forbidden. Why was this not picked up?) The Russian is accented, but that's more understandable than the Italian errors. But above all, I increasingly have the sense that Renee Fleming is not sufficiently master of the meaning of what she is singing to interpret it correctly. She inserts sobs and sighs into the most INAPPROPRIATE words (such as "and", "or", "the", etc.). So in terms of interpretation, I am disappointed... but once again, listening to this recording I am in awe at the sheer natural beauty of the voice itself.



The arias on this recording are all familiar to me - so it's not as though any of them needed "rescuing" from an oblivion of which I was aware. Certainly some of these arias are LESS familiar to some listeners, and I am glad to see that the eclectic collection chosen here will remind listeners today of some of the glorious works that are not often performed now, but which deserve to be.



The more familiar arias on the recording are the most disappointing, perhaps. "Vissi d'arte" has been performed (and is being performed) by singers with exactly the right tonal colour for the role of Tosca, so Ms Fleming's rather self-indulgent version does not add anything, really. But the Rimsky-Korsakoff is lovely, and the Korngold arias are almost perfect (the sob-and-sigh stuff took the edge off my pleasure, but oh, these are glorious arias and absolutely right for Ms Fleming's voice). I am still waiting for Ms Fleming to perform Strauss as she should be performing it - because her voice is a perfect vehicle for Strauss, yet I still feel something missing. Strauss sung in her wonderful voice should make me WEEP with pleasure.



Fans of Renee Fleming will love this recording, and will probably hear no wrong in it. They are right to love the beauty of this immensely gifted woman's voice. They will be more forgiving than I of the swoops and sobs and sighs that really affect my enjoyment of Ms Fleming's singing.



Opera lovers who find Renee Fleming's singing exasperating will probably not be converted by this recording. In terms of self-discipline, it's a continuation along the road of self-indulgence, and not a return to the discipline that made her Schubert Lieder album so marvellously good and her early bel canto singing phenomenally stunning.



Other singers that I can recommend singing this repertoire include: Gabriela Benackova (superb Janacek and Dvorak - I cannot praise this wonderful singer highly enough); Angela Georghiu (is there a better Tosca singing today, or a better Verdi soprano singing today? I doubt it); Karita Mattila (also so very, very good in both Verdi and Janacek); Callas (in my opinion and the opinion of many others, the best Tosca - and an outstanding Leonora); Leontyne Price (perhaps the most ideal Leonora who's ever lived, but get the earlier recordings for preference, when the bloom is well and truly there); Mireille Delunsch (who's doing fantastic things with French and other repertoire); and so on.



To sum up: there is no denying Renee Fleming's superb voice. The breadth of roles she is suited to singing is vast. I am increasingly dissatisfied with Ms Fleming's interpretative approach because it marrs the vocal line and does not add meaning. I will continue to listen to her recordings with the hope that a thoroughly good conductor or accompanist will guide Ms Fleming's interpretation and style.



Gergiev's conducting of the orchestra is superb in this recording, as expected, and the tone colours of the orchestra are magical. But he clearly didn't have enough clout to prevent the indulgent and inappropriately held note in Vissi d'arte, interestingly... It's clear who had the final say musically in this recording."

Rare Gems

Bruce Varner | Chicago area, USA | 01/09/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"American soprano Renee Fleming and Decca hit this one out of the park. This is a wonderful CD that deserves a place in the collection of every opera lover and Renee Fleming fan.



The concept of this CD makes it special, and Renee's singing makes it a must-have. Renee Fleming clearly respects the art and those who have gone before her. She pays loving tribute to great sopranos of the past by singing their signature arias. Other than "Vissi d'arte", "Poveri fiori", and the scene from "Jenufa", the CD has content that is probably unfamiliar to even long time opera fans. The chance to hear these rare arias performed by Fleming is reason enough to own this CD



While many of these arias may be unfamiliar, they will strike you as similar to seeing an old friend. You can plainly discern the composer, particularly in the cases of Strauss, Korngold, and Gounod. The final aria on the CD, "Ich sol ihn niemals, niemals mehr sehn" quotes a motif from Korngold's aria "Marietta's Lied".



I must respectfully disagree with some of the criticisms of Renee's interpretations and choices. I think the "Vissi d'arte" was very well done. The way of Callas isn't the only way. As another critic noted regarding this aria, the extremely long sustained note in the penultimate phrase was awesome. Showy? Perhaps. Nonetheless, what a bold artistic choice and incredible display of breath control.



I also respectfully disagree with those who quibble with the selections; her voice is too light for "Tosca", too heavy for Gounod, etc. Let's remember that in the so-called "golden age", and even into our time, sopranos sang a much broader rep. Pigeonholing is a more recent practice. You saw lyric sopranos singing roles that are now sung by coloraturas. Heck, they even sang mezzo roles such as Rosina and Carmen! I'll give you the assertion that "Tosca" on stage would not be a good choice for Renee in this day and age. But "Mireille"? Why not? Yes, Gounod's Juliette role is normally sung by a coloratura, but his Marguerite is normally sung by a lyric. Take your pick.



The program order also really works here. My favorite sequence is "Ich ging zu ihm" followed by "La ciel rayonne, l'oiseau chante", followed by the Strauss. Later, the Massenet coming in the wake of the Verdi provided wonderful contrast.



If you could only buy one compilation disk by a soprano this year, you should buy this one. Highly recommended."