Theo Alcántara - Leonarda Balada: Cristóbal Colón (2009)

Opera in two acts
Libretto by Antonio Gala (b. 1930)
Premièred at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, on 24 September 1989

Cristóbal Colón - José Carreras, Tenor
Queen Isabella - Montserrat Caballé, Soprano
Martín Alonso Pinzón - Carlos Chausson, Baritone
Padre Fray Antonio de Marchena - Luis Álvarez, Baritone
King Fernando - Stefano Palatchi, Bass
Advisor - Miguel Solá, Baritone
Treasurer - Juan Pedro García Márquez, Bass
General - Jesús Sanz Remiro, Bass
Scientist - Gregorio Poblador, Bass
Bishop - Miguel López Galindo, Bass
Beatriz Enríquez - Victoria Vergara, Mezzo-soprano
Rodrigo de Triana - Antonio Lluch, Tenor
Sailors, Judeans, Neighbours, Men, Women and Children of Palos, Indians

Orchestra and Chorus of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona

Cristobal Colon (1984-1986) is the first of Spanish-American composer Leonardo Balada's two operas based on the life of the explorer. (The second, La Muerte de Colon [1992-1993], is also available on the Naxos label.) The recording of the first work comes from its premiere production in 1989 at Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, and boasts two international superstars, Jose Carreras and Montserrat Caballe, in the leading roles of Columbus and Queen Isabella. Balada's musical style had been conventionally modernist until the mid-'70s, when he adopted melody into his compositional arsenal, and since then a significant part of his output has been operatic. Cristobal Colon is an eclectic piece, combining lyrical vocal gestures with inventive orchestration, a broad palette of modernist techniques, and suggestions of traditional Spanish folk music. Balada is a skilled composer, and his approach here is one that might well succeed in producing a compelling opera. There's almost always something interesting going on, but in spite of many striking moments, the piece fails to hang together either musically or dramatically, and not much sticks in the memory when it's over. The ending is effective, though -- a magical depiction of the first sighting of the New World -- mysterious, exotic, volatile, and richly textured. The episodic libretto, by Antonio Gala, fails to avoid the pitfalls that hobble so many historical operas; too many events and characters get conflated, and the principals don't emerge as flesh and blood individuals who inspire us to care about their fate. Having Caballe and Carreras available as the leads obviously caused the creators to maximize their interactions, and they have a number of romantic-sounding duets, but neither is in top form. Carreras is often pushed uncomfortably into his upper range, and Caballe starts off sounding strained, although her voice becomes more relaxed and warm as the opera progresses. Baritone Carlos Chausson stands out as impressively resonant in the key role of Pinzon. The Orchestra and Chorus of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, led by Theo Alcantara, get quite a workout with the challenging score, and they perform admirably. The sound of the live recording, with some caveats, is acceptable; the singers and orchestra are always clearly audible. Unfortunately, so is the prompter. In one scene with spoken dialogue, the singers are miked with the volume grotesquely cranked up, to disastrous effect. While Cristobal Colon isn't likely to enter the repertoire, this recording may be of sufficient interest to merit the attention of devotees of modern opera. -- Stephen Eddins