United Kingdom Bernstein, Barber, Schubert: Nicky Spence (tenor), Welsh National Opera Orchestra / Carlo Rizzi (conductor). Dora Stoutzker Hall, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff, 9.11.2024. (PCG)
Bernstein – Candide Overture
Barber – Knoxville: Summer of 1915
Schubert – Symphony No.9
Ever since its first performances and recording, conducted by the composer with Eleanor Steber as soloist, Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 has been regarded as the exclusive property of the soprano voice. It spans the whole range of sounds from child-like innocence and simplicity to the full-bodied operatic diva assumption of Leontyne Price. But there is really no reason why the words of this beautiful idyll could not be equally appropriate to a tenor; Barber merely described the work as written for ‘high voice’. James Agee’s nostalgic poem describes the experiences of his own childhood on a summer night in a small American town. The sentiments are quite appropriate to a young unbroken voice; but at the same the maturity of some of the writing could well suggest the thoughts of a teenage boy such as Agee himself, or of Barber who so closely identifies himself with the meditations of an adolescent mind. Nicky Spence in this performance fully justified the notion that the assignment of the solo role to a tenor is a valid and well-matched response to the music.
There were other advantages, too. With the best will in the world, a soprano voice may have difficulty in getting the full effect of the words across, when the lyrical effusions of the music require an expansion of tone into the soaring lines of Barber’s music. A tenor has more opportunity to point the text meaningfully, especially in the lighter passages such as the description of the passing streetcar in the road outside the twilit garden. And Barber’s sometimes heavy orchestration (he is quite prepared to allow the relatively small forces full rein in the more richly scored passages) can better withstand the increased acuity of a male voice, even when the lyrical unison of soprano and strings may be sacrificed.
In fact, Nicky Spence had already recorded Knoxville in a piano reduction by his husband Dylan Perez (available in a complete survey of Barber’s songs on Resonus). Spence sang here without a copy, and with impeccable diction. He communicated the text directly to the audience in a manner which almost rendered superfluous the lyrics supplied in the excellent programme (complete with Welsh translation). And he thoroughly engaged with Barber’s lyrical writing – the manner in which he floated the phrase ‘now is the night one blue dew’ was absolutely ravishing. In the hands of Carlo Rizzi, the accompaniment was also superlatively delicate, and properly lush where romantic expansion was called for. We really need an orchestral recording of this marvellous piece sung by a tenor voice, and these performers would be ideal candidates to undertake it! The applause from the audience was prolonged and enthusiastic.
The work with which Rizzi preceded Barber’s nostalgic meditation could not have afforded a greater contrast. Leonard Bernstein may have tinkered incessantly with his score for Candide, converting it successively from a Broadway operetta into a cabaret musical and finally into a full-scale opera. But throughout these Protean transformations the overture remained untouched as a sparkling curtain-raiser in the traditional form. It highlights a number of tunes from the opening scenes (albeit ignoring the later scenes, more extensively revised over the years – no I am easily assimilated or Make our garden grow). Rizzi set a spanking pace at the outset, and he never allowed the tension and excitement to flag for a second. The orchestra at full stretch responded with a fizzing performance.
Fizzing, too, was the delivery of Franz Schubert’s Great C major Symphony which followed the interval. Rizzi allowed the excitement of Schubert’s proto-minimalist figurations and the hints of Brucknerian repetitions to achieve a fully involving resolution. Even the return of the slow opening theme at the end of the first movement (complete with exposition repeat) slotted neatly into place without the need for excessive adjustment of the tempo. The second movement had a delightfully insouciant flavour, with even a hint of cheekiness from the oboist Amy Till. The Scherzo, with its abrupt Schubertian changes of key, had a properly earthy feel; it is in this movement that the anticipations of Bruckner are at their clearest. The Finale charged along on its blithely merry way – the lengthy exposition repeat properly excised – to enthusiastic cheers from the audience.
The orchestra, currently in dispute with Welsh National Opera management over proposals to cut their numbers and amend their contracts, played throughout the evening in T-shirts adorned with slogans protesting against the threats to their situation. They were supported by a brief statement from the conductor at the end of the performance; he was at pains to emphasise that his concerns were artistic rather than political. It was indeed gratifying that WNO had managed to mount this concert at all, since their usual venue at St David’s Hall remains closed for repairs. The Dora Stoutzker Hall at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama has a smaller auditorium (the programme ran on two successive nights to accommodate the audience) but there is excellent resonant sound quality. The works on this programme were also well suited to the more intimate venue. I look forward with relish to later concerts during the season. Venues in December will include events that feature Bryn Terfel in London, Swansea, Manchester and Bristol.
Paul Corfield Godfrey