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Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Bryn and Alison Together Again

I first heard Alison Hagley (and, for that matter, the presently preeminent Bryn Terfel) on an original Laserdisc of Le Nozze Di Figaro under John Gardiner’s baton. Terfel was a properly conniving Figaro (Though in his youth he embellished a bit with long draws and coloraturas and, in my youth, I loved it.) and Hagley a comely and wifely Susanna with neither the sauciness of an older diva nor the subservience of meeker sopranos. Needless to say, I adored the young duo—the performance moved me to write my college admission essay about it.

Since that early nineties production, Terfel, the quintessential Welsh star, has been everywhere and anywhere. His name guarantees a full house and an empty shelf. My local classical radio station, WQXR-FM recently interviewed him here.

Alison Hagley, bless her, has had fewer recording gigs. I listened to her narrate and sing Benjamin Britten’s very Benjamin Britten-esque series of tone poems The Rescue of Penelope, but it was a very limited part and—I can’t resist a Britten jab—a limited piece of music. Shortly after Figaro, she recorded Così fan tutte with Simon Rattle and that studio favorite Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. I haven’t a copy of that yet.

But with what pleasure did I regard two semi-recent releases. This Decca compilation of British pieces includes Sir Edward Elgar operatic play Starlight Express, and singing the leads are dear Ms. Hagley and Mr. Terfel. A wonderful choice indeed. This compilation is actually a re-release, but I hadn’t even heard of the original 1990 recording, probably because Decca stopped pressing it.

There is also this Deutsche Grammophon disc, of the Cleveland Orchestra under Boulez doing a series of delightful French works. (Delightful, that is, unless you are a Sheherazade hater.) I recently purchased it as a gift for a friend and, entirely by coincidence, my girlfriend bought it for me last week. The ensemble sounds much brighter and fuller than its earlier Sony recordings, and Alison Hagley sings some wonderful ballads of Claude Debussy’s: the Francois Villon trio. The Jet d’eau is also on the disc, and it makes good listening for a rainy day.

Posted on October 25, 2005 11:07 AM. Permalink