Saint-Saëns Les Barbares

[mjmosca]

I have been listening to my new recording of Les Barbares and it is a superb work! Every time that I listen to it I discover new and beautiful ideas in the music. May I add that "symphonically conceived" (in my opinion) is that the orchestra and voices are all employed in delineating the action and bringing the characters to life, with the voice first among equals; using musical processes that one would hear in symphonic music. With Saint-Saens, Liszt's concept of transformation of themes is always a vital component, and this seems to be characteristic of all of the Saint-Saens operas that I have heard so far. Saint-Saens bristled at being called a Wagnerian since he knew and understood Wagner, but was not swept away by him as so many French composers were (Chabrier probably the most notable example). I can understand that the first audience for Les Barbares would have been somewhat baffled, but this is a serious, even gloomy work but very strong. I am so glad that it has been recorded and very well presented, with the disks set in a small book. The soprano is superb; the mezzo a little too much vibrato for me, but everyone seems to be able to handle their assignments well. May I suggest that Premieropera Italy is a great source for operas of Saint-Saens (I have just ordered Etienne Marcel and Phryne- the latter from 1960 which is on Youtube; they have both recordings of Henry VIII too) and many other Unsung Composers.

[Aramiarz]

Mjmosca, altogether agree with you!! It's wonderful music!! Very important discovery!! In what link I can to buy Etienne Marcel and Henry VIII??

[edurban]

Dear Aramiarz...if I may take the liberty of responding:

For Henri viii:
http://premiereopera.net/product/henry-viii-by-saint-saens-montpellier-1989/

For Etienne Marcel:
http://premiereopera.net/product/etienne-marcel-by-saint-saens-montpellier-1994-mono/

Henri viii is much the better of the two, a great French music drama.  Marcel, as Tchaikovsky complained, lacks really good tunes...It's still fun, though.

Best, David

[Aramiarz]

Dear David!
   Thank You!

One question, between three operas, what do You like more?

[edurban]

Henri viii, by a mile.  There are so many great things, just about all of Act 1: Henry's aria "Qui donc command" all the way through the first act finale where Henry creepily makes love to Ann as Buckingham is led to the block...Act 2's scene for Ann and the tenor (a former love...not historical) and Henry's love duet with Ann (his lust vs her ambition)  Act 3 is the climax, really, with the great synod scene where Henry breaks with Rome & Queen Catherine (the Synod march may be the greatest 8 minutes of music Saint-Saens ever wrote)  The end of the Act is thrilling and at the performance at Bard a few years back, the audience roared!  Finally, the last act with a great scene for Catherine of Aragon and the final quartet, a stunning and truly refined bit of cruelty: Henry passionately and insincerely sings of his love for Ann in the hope that a jealous (and dying) Catherine will be stung to produce an incriminating letter of Ann's, so he can have Ann executed for infidelity.  All this in inspired melody and orchestration...Saint-Saens at a peak he did not always let himself achieve...the influence of his friend Tchaikovsky appears from time to time and all to the good.  There's even a cracking Scottish ballet.

Here's link to the New York Times review of the Bard Festival performance:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/21/arts/music/leon-botstein-conducts-henry-viii-at-bard-festival.html?_r=0
Best, David

[Aramiarz]

Dear David, you are very kind for your comments!! I like very much "Les barbares"!! Surely Henry is one master work! I NEED Listen it soon!!

[mjmosca]

I agree- Henry VIII is a top flight masterpiece! I love it. As Saint-Saens once said, he could not understand how it was not played everywhere. A great opera. We really need a first rate studio recording- Renee Fleming would be an excellent Catherine- the ideal Henry existed in the person of Alain Fondary, happily captured opposite the equally perfect Francoise Pollet as Catherine-in 1989. I believe that they have both retired.

[Revilod]

I agree too. It is a great opera and should be performed all the time. Perhaps the fact that it is a psychological drama rather than a spectacle counted against it in France.

[mjmosca]

Etienne Marcel, however, is also beautiful music- clearly more lyrical than the impressive Les Barbares. The problems may be with the libretto, but there is much highly melodic music- an ecstatic duet for the soprano and tenor, fine ensembles and great choruses. Tchaikovsky's criticism is, frankly, preposterous. I am listening the Etienne Marcel now, the cast in the 1994 recording is very good- again Alain Fondary with Michele Legrand as Etienne's daughter, Beatrice. I think that once we have a first rate recording of Henry VIII that Etienne Marcel should be next in line! But, Henry VIII has the better libretto, permitting the development of real characters- splendidly achieved by Saint-Saens.

[Alan Howe]

How good is the sound quality on the Etienne Marcel recording?

[mjmosca]

The 1994 Etienne Marcel recorded quality is somewhat variable, not as good as the recording of Henry VIII of 1989, but completely listenable. The tenor's voice suffers somewhat as certain notes tend to blast. I guess serviceable would be the best description. I find that the shortcomings of the recording does not impede enjoyment of the music.

[Alan Howe]

Les Barbares, alas and alack, is not great Saint-Saëns. It certainly has some rousing orchestral writing, but is almost devoid of the sort of memorable melodic inspiration that the composer was famous for. Of course, he was probably aiming for something more through-composed, but one simply longs for a juicy tune.

Of course, I may have been on bad listening form. However, I can recognise a good tenor when I hear one - and the Lithuanian Edgaras Montvidas...
http://www.edgarasmontvidas.com/en/biography
...is absolutely superb. He almost rescues the opera. But not quite...

[Mark Thomas]

Although I like Les Barbares very much, after repeated hearings I must agree that overall it is certainly not up to the very high standard of Samson et Dalila or Henry VIII, but I have to disagree with Alan about the lack of melody. Of course, there isn't a stand out big tune like Dalila's "Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix", but I know that's not what Alan means. I think that Les Barbares easily gives the impression he complains of because it is, as we have discussed earlier, very consciously through composed and so the material quickly moves on and is developed. Sometimes Saint-Saëns throws away a strong melodic idea in the interests of development, which I find a mite frustrating. I guess that he was just trying out something different.

[Alan Howe]

...and. although I like Henry VIII a lot more, I'm not convinced that's top-flight Saint-Saëns either. A case of the great (Samson et Dalila) being the enemy of the good, maybe...

[eschiss1]

... I should go listen to Les Barbares, because I'm beginning to conjecture that another possibility, is that Saint-Saëns wanted to try his hand at being more than one kind of composer, over his life... (and succeeded, on the evidence of some of his last works- while maybe- maybe- a little less melodically instantly memorable- are often memorable, distinctive, even tenacious for sheer quality and beauty in the sum of their parts...)