Search - Pietro Mascagni, Giuseppe Patanè, Plácido Domingo :: Mascagni: Iris / Patanè, Domingo

An Operatic Amber Alert in the Making

Ed Flaspoehler | Dallas, TX USA | 07/23/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a recording with a very fresh sounding Placido Domingo and good supporting cast, including Ileana Tokody as a lush, though hardly 15, Iris.The music is gorgeous, evocative, and colorful. There is a lot of Hymn to the Sun stuff and Japanese local color, all of which is unable to cover up the fact that there is very little actual plot. In a nutshell: Iris is a young teenage girl who is the only support of her blind father. A rich young man from the city is lustfully attracted to her, so he hires a local brothel owner to kidnap her. In exchange, they leave a note for the old man, and a bit of money. Back in the city, the rich young man is unable to interest Iris in the joys of love, since she is too young, so he rejects her. The brothel owner then decides to dress her up and put her on display for other customers. Just then, her blind father reappears. He is horrified, rejects Iris, and throws mud on her. In dismay, she runs and falls headlong into a benjo ditch. As the innocent Iris dies wallowing in the ditch, she hears hallucinations of the three selfish men: the father complaining he has no one to look after him, the lover complaining about the inconstancy of women, and the brothel owner bemoaning the loss of his investment. Iris finally dies during an Apotheosis to the Sun. This whole thing is clothed in gorgeous music, but is essentially an operatic Amber Alert in the making. The libretto was written by Luigi Illica, an overly ripe Italian poet, playwright and author of the late 19th century. Among other things, he is responsible for the libretto to Puccini's Tosca. In this case, he was reacting to the late 19th century European craze for things Japanese, which was a result of the opening of Japan to the West by Admiral Perry. A famous result of this craze is The Mikado by G&S. In the case of Iris, Illica consulted a lot of Japanese sources to concoct his libretto, which is based on realistic situations, but is unfortunately bogged down with a lot of irrelevant symbolism, inflated dialog, implausible events, and cardboard characters. Still, the music is quite beautiful and exotic, so, to a great extent, it is the libretto which prevents this work from having much of a life outside of Italy. That, and the fact that Madame Butterfly, which was written several years later, and covers essentially the same type of situation, (young and innocent girl abused by cad and abandoned by family), is a much better opera both musically and dramatically. This recording is beautifully produced and the recorded sound is wonderful. All the voices are miked to perfection, and the singing is consistently gorgeous. I have heard parts of the newer version of Iris with Jose Cura, and the sound from a live performance is not as good as the studio sound on this recording. Still, as a friend remarked, Cura is committed to the part even though he does not have the right instrument for the role. Nevertheless, I think the Domingo version with Tokady, Pons, and Giaotti a much better choice unless you are a collector who buys everything.Ed Flaspoehler"

Another Work That Should Be Staged More Often

Timothy Kearney | Hull, MA United States | 03/02/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"IRIS is a beautiful opera, and one that many opera aficionados wish were staged more often. The booklet that accompanies this set suggests the reason may be the popularity of MADAMA BUTTERFLY which is considered the Japanese opera. Since the plot is somewhat similar, both involve the exploitation of a young woman and both are set in Japan, this may be possible, but the repertoire could easily handle two operas set in Japan so it's probably not the only reason. I've also heard as a reason that the plot is illogical, but IL TROVATORE is one of the most popular works in opera and its plot is illogical at best. There may not be any one reason, but lack of staging does not eman the work is not worthwhile. IRIS is a wonderful musical experience.



I first became familiar with IRIS after listening to an intermission discussion during a radio broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera. A panelist, if I am not mistaken it was Joanna Fielder, remarked about the beauty of its opening chorus and that it was performed at the Met's Centennial Gala. I thought I remembered the hearing the chorus when the gala was broadcast on television and recalled enjoying it, so I purchased this set. I soon discovered a beautiful opera and was glad I made the purchase.



The story involves the young innocent Iris who takes care of her father Il Cielo (meaning the blind man, perhaps an idea given to him by his teacher Amilcare Ponchielli who has a character in LA GIOCONDA named La Ciela meaning blind woman). She is not wise of the ways of the world. Osaka and Kyoto enter. Ozaka decides he must have Iris and persuades Kyoto to kidnap her. She is deceived and leaves home. Her father finds her, throws mud in her face, which causes her to throw herself into a shaft. The three realize how wrong they have been to Iris as they find her near death. While the plot is contrived, the music is anything but and has both beauty and emotion.



This set is the only studio recording of the work, so by that fact alone it is the best recording available, yet a cast led by Giuseppe Patane and includes Juan Pons and Placido Domingo could easily surpass any cast assembled. The lead role of Iris is beautifully sung by Hungarian soprano Ilona Tokody. While her voice is not light enough to sound like a young and innocent girl, it has an emotional quality that makes the listener believe she is a woman who has been wronged. While it is probably a safe bet that Columbia decided to include Domingo in the cast, hoping his name would boost sales, Domingo fans know he is a first rate musician who always searched for roles that challenged him. Domingo fans will not be disappointed with his performance here. It has all the warmth listeners have come to expect from Domingo. Of course a conniver such as Osaka does not deserve to be vocally portrayed by Domingo, but that's another story. Juan Pons is excellent as Kyoto, who is able to give the character a sinister flavor. Bonaldo Gianotti is the anguished Cielo and he performs the role with passion.



If you love Italian Verismo, the cast and conductor will probably decide to purchase this recording. If you are deciding to take a chance on a recording, as I did when I first encountered this recording about fifteen years ago, you will not be disappointed.

"

Mascagni at his best....

Eric D. Anderson | South Bend, IN United States | 01/24/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Iris is Mascagni at his best. The score is full of melody, beautiful orchestral color, and evokes real emotion. This opera premiered a few years before Butterfly, and shares many qualities with Puccini's masterpiece. But Butterfly is, despite her innocence, a much more realistic and adult character than is Iris. Iris is truly a child--playing with dolls, and talking to the sun. Her abduction and abuse are thus all the more pathetic. It's not as dramatically able a work as Butterfly, but it's also has qualities that Puccini never would have attempted. There's a kind of symbolist feel to the story, and the third act is masterful--full of atmosphere, beauty and sadness over the fate of poor little Iris. Much criticism has been levelled at Illica's flowery libretto, with it's singing sun, etc., but I think it makes this opera special. It's nice to have such a fine recording of such an obscure work, with big stars like Domingo and Tokody. This is a set well worth owning."