Search - Giovanni Simone Mayr, David Parry, Jane Eaglen :: Mayr - Medea in Corinto / Eaglen · Kenny · Ford · Giménez · Miles · Mason · Nilon · Archer · PO · Parry

Not Cherubini, but the romantic version by Mayr

The Cultural Observer | 03/14/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When I intended to buy this recording, I was expecting the animalistic version written by Beethoven's favorite composer, Luigi Cherubini. How wrong I was! I wasn't disappointed though. Although Cherubini's Medea was brutally honest in every sense of the drama, the opera never covered the romantic side of the Medea legend the way Mayr's version did. And how fortunate we are to have this version (with the beautiful libretto written by none other than Felice Romani, my favorite librettist) done in the bel canto style. It is very honest, very moving music, and requires a great soprano with good dramatic sense such as Jane Eaglen to execute this role. Her singing is very tender and moving, and unlike the Medea of Luigi Cherubini, she does not scream, spit, or hurl her lines. The creator of this role was Giuditta Pasta, and how unfortunate is was for us that Callas did not touch the part, for she was the modern Giuditta Pasta. This is good, however, for Jane Eaglen because she wouldn't have to suffer the same "this diva is better" war that so many Callas-role touchers are experiencing today! However, this is an excellent recording. As always, Opera Rara presents an excellent cast along with a booklet that serves to impress. The sound is phenomenal, and I would recommend this recording to anyone who wants to understand the romance of the Medea legend."

An interesting version of the Euripides masterpiece

F. Behrens | Keene, NH USA | 02/27/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There have been two great operas that tell the story of Medea and her faithless Jason: Charpentier's in 1693 and Cherubini's in 1797. The latter is more often done in a somewhat butchered Italian version, but it has held the stage as long as there are singers like Callas to portray the title role. But now we have from the excellent Opera Rara people a version on 3 CDs that can easily hold its own against the other two. Premiering in 1813, it has a libretto by Felice Romani (who would go on to supply libretti for such operas as "The Elixir of Love") and music by Giovanni Simone Mayr (a German who wrote Italian operas). It is titled (ORC 11) and stars the now very much in demand soprano Jean Eaglen, whom you might be seeing or have seen as Isolde on a PBS telecast. The Euripides story remains pretty much intact, the only real change being that the King of Athens is a rival for the hand of Creusa, Jason's intended--because the Italians did love their triangles. There is some lovely music along the way, especially when Creusa is on stage; and some powerful stuff when Medea is in charge. Yet it is in those scenes that I find Ms. Eaglen not quite chewing up the scenery as I hoped she would. It might be my imagination, but somehow I do not find her deep enough into the role, especially into her invocation to the powers of hell and in her agonies over the killing of the children. Note also that this work is composed "in the French style," which means the dry recites to harpsichord are absent and we have a through-composed piece that is more satisfying to the audience but the original singers complained it taxed their voices. David Parry leads the Philharmonia Orchestra and the rest of the cast with conviction. As always, Opera Rara is most painstaking in its packaging. A long essay precedes the libretto, the text of which is only in Italian with English translation, and there are good photos of every major singer: Alastair Miles, Raul Gimenez, Bruce Ford, Yvonne Kenny, and the rest. For those who would be content with selections from this complete recording, there is (ORR 214) on a single disc."

An excellent Recording

BDSinC | Calgary, Alberta, Canada | 10/02/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a very excellent recording of this work, and is well worth the price. It is not Cherubini nor Charpentier, it is a very romantic version of this story. Like the previous reviewer stated, the basic story as written in the Greek play is in tact. However, there are some interesting differences in the way this opera is written verses the old French style of Charpentier or the "opera comique" style of Cherubini (also recorded and available; very different from the Italian version with Callas). It reflects the orchestration, and the vocal writing more akin to what one would hear with Donizetti (and that is no surprise, as Mayr was his teacher). This was the version of Medea that reigned during the romantic age (Cherubini's was enjoyed in Germany and in German, but didn't do well in other countries, and was not really performed much in Italy until Tullio Seraphin created the edition that later Callas would make famous). Pasta sang this opera numerous times and made a real hit with it. Critics of the day praised this opera and compared the "Incantation Scene" of Act 2 as equal to the geniuse of Mozart and Gluck. Eaglen, for some reason, to me always sounds so "flat" in every recording she makes. She is in pitch, that is not what I mean, the voice just sound like it is old and tired, and this recording is no exception. She doesn't quite make the character of Medea come alive. Yet, when one hears her in person, one is really very much blown away with the excitement of her voice. I really think this is a problem of the recording and not of the singer. She has a monsterously huge voice, and huge voices don't record well, not even in our "perfect digital age." The core of her voice, the central focus, which in real life is very profoundly noticeable, seems to be lacking. That robs her voice of the "personality" it needs to make this role work. The other singers (especially the tenors) are excellent, and they record well and give life and excitement to their roles. This opera is very lyrical, and it doesn't have all the animal thrust of the "Italian Media" (which had all it recitatives written by a German organist in the 1850's) that Callas sings, but it does have quite a bit of power of its own. The closing scene of the opera is very powerful, and it is in this scene in particular, one wishes that Eaglen's voice was recorded more true to her sound. The real thrust she gives this music, and the drama one hears if you were hearing her in person, simply isn't there. Why did I rate it so highly if it seems I wasn't impressed? Well, I loved the recording, it is excellent. It isn't the performers that failed, nor the orchestra, there was just something about the way the recording masters record big voices, and we are all the losers in some way. Perhaps they should do with Eaglen like they do with Dimitrova -- have her stand behind the orchestra (while all the other singers are in front of it) which puts her far enough away from the microphones you get the real theatrical focus of the voice, as her voice is powerful enough to drown out everything and everyone. As a historical aside, this is considered Mayr's masterpiece, however (and this recording is of the Naples version), when he had the opera performed in various places he had to use the secco recitatives (ones to piano, not harpsicord -- the harpsicord wasn't even used by Mozart, even though that is often what is done in modern performances). The entire thrust of the work is lost in those versions. Fortunately, no one has interest to record them. The creator of the role of "Medea" was Rossini's first wife, Isabella Colbran, a singer noted for her rich LOWER voice, and the ability (which was rare then) of singing ascending scales as easily as descending ones. This opera is quite "modern", as I said before, like what one would expect from Donizetti. One thing that makes it so, and you will notice this listening to this recording, is that entire scenes seem to have been created as entire entities. The various arias, recitatives, and choruses that make up the scene work so closely together it seems impossible to separate them out if one were going to sing "concert numbers" from this opera. This recording maintains the dramatic continuity. There is another recording of this work (one which I own, and bought a long time ago, and I believe it was the first recording ever made of the work) which is far more satisfying than this one, sadly I have to say that. I have no clue if it is still available. It was published by Vanguard/Cardinal Series withMarisa Galvany singing Medea (and she is every bit as powerful as Callas, but with a more beautiful voice; she could have matched Callas in the Cherubini version of this story in every detail; having seen her in performance, it was a shame Galvany was never much noticed by many), Allen Cathcart singing Giasone, nad Creonte sung by Thomas Palmer. This recording is riviting to the extreme. The conductor is Newell Jenkins. Until you can locate this older recording, this new one I am reviewing is what you will have to accept, but never fear, it is not a painful chore to do so. As I said, it is an excellent recording, and well worth the money, and this verion of this opera is just as good as Cherubini, and in many ways, superior to it."