Lisa Larsson, Antonello Manacorda - Berlioz: La Captive (2014) [SACD]

Swedish soprano Lisa Larsson is among the most versatile singers on the European scene, with a repertory stretching from the Baroque to contemporary music. This coherent and innovative program features two cantatas and a song composed by Berlioz between 1828 and 1830. One of the stars of today singing, Lisa Larsson finally approaches French romantic repertoire.

Before winning the Prix de Rome in 1830 with the fairly scholastic cantata La mort de Sardanapale, Berlioz had already submitted attempts in the form of La mort d’Orphée (1827), Herminie (1828) and La mort de Cléopâtre (1829). Herminie was outstripped by the submission made by Ross-Despréaux and only came second. The cantata Herminie would survive, however, not least because Berlioz derived the idée fixe from his Symphonie Fantastique. The cantata, to a text by Pierre-Ange Vieillard, was inspired by Tasso’s ‘Gerusalemme liberata’, an epic set during the Crusades. And then, following the failures of Orphée and Herminie, came the third attempt. In that particular year, the jury decided not to award any first prize. It was only the next year that he succeeded in satisfying the jury, when he obediently followed the advice he had been given with the less colourful and much shorter cantata La mort de Sardanapale. Winning the Prix de Rome allowed the victor to spend two years in the Eternal City. Berlioz complained about all manner of things in Italy, from the demise of sacred music to the general ignorance of music in the country. All that I could produce for the Académie was confined to three or four pieces.’ One of these pieces was the song La captive, whose success he could not have predicted.

Tracks:

Herminie – Scène lyrique, H29 (1828)
01. Récit: Quel trouble te poursuit 3:39
02. Air: Ah! Si de la tendresse 3:33
03. Récit: Que dis-je? 1:15
04. Air: Arrête! Arrête! Cher Tancrède 5:09
05. Air: Venez, venez, terribles armes! 1:54
06. Prière: Dieu des chrétiens 5:35
07. La captive (1832) 7:27

La Mort de Cléopâtre – Scène lyrique, H36 (1829)
08. Allegro vivace con impeto – Récit. C’en est donc fait! 3:16
09. Lento cantabile. Ah! qu’ils sont loin ces jours, tourment de ma mémoire 6:07
10. Méditation. Largo misterioso. Grands Pharaons, nobles Lagides 3:57
11. Allegro assai agitato. Non!… non, de vos demeures funèbres 6:42

Personnel:

Lisa Larsson, soprano
Het Gelders Orkest
Antonello Manacorda, conductor