More Epic Berlioz from John Nelson in Strasbourg

from the Amazon.com product page for the album being discussed

Almost exactly two years ago the Erato division of Warner Classics released a four-CD recording of Hector Berlioz’ epic five-act opera Les Troyens (the Trojans). This involved a massive array of resources all conducted by John Nelson. The instrumental ensemble was the Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg joined by three different choruses. There were also, for all intents and purposes, two independent casts, one for the first two acts, which accounts for the capture of the city of Troy by the Greek army, and one for the Trojans finding refuge in Carthage and the romance that unfolds between the Trojan leader Énée (Aeneas) and the Carthaginian queen Dido. Those roles were sung, respectively, by tenor Michael Spyres and mezzo Joyce DiDonato.

One week from today Erato will release another Nelson-Berlioz project, La Damnation de Faust (the damnation of Faust). While Les Troyens was based primarily on Virgil’s Aeneid, the Faust legend has a wider diversity of sources; but the two-part play by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe seems to have held pride of place in Berlioz’ plans (particularly the first part). Once again Nelson is working with the full resources of his Strasbourg ensemble, along with the Coro Gulbenkian and a children’s chorus, Les Petits Chanteurs de Strasbourg. Both Spyres and DiDonato again contribute to Nelson’s resources in their respective roles as Faust and Marguerite. The role of Méphistophélès is sung by bass Nicolas Courjal, who sang the role of Dido’s advisor Narbal in Les Troyens. As expected, Amazon.com has already prepared a product page for pre-ordering this new release.

In writing about Les Troyens two years ago, I made it clear that listening to the opera in a single sitting runs the risk of fatigue associated with too much of a good thing. La Damnation de Faust is about half as long as Les Troyens, but fatigue may still be an issue that needs to be confronted. While the score has been given staged performances (I have seen performances by the San Francisco Opera and the Metropolitan Opera), the libretto is not, strictly speaking, a narrative. Berlioz himself called it a “légende dramatique” (dramatic legend); but the libretto itself tends to oscillate between giving an account of that legend and reflecting on the legend itself.

As a result, many may feel disoriented by the lack of an “even flow” that will convey the listener along a well-defined path from beginning to end. On the other hand, had the account been more direct, listeners would have been deprived of much of the reflective vocal music that is given such a polished account by Spyres, Courjal, and particularly DiDonato. The fact is that there is no shortage of moments to relish, and a few of them do not even involve any vocal resources at all. Nevertheless, Berlioz does tend to go on at length. The overall listening experience may be less demanding than that of Les Troyens; but that ghost of Too Much of a Good Thing still haunts the Faust score.

Once again the packaging includes a “Bonus DVD” of video highlights from a concert performance that took place on April 25, 2019. Once again, no subtitles are provided; so the listener is advised to keep the libretto booklet close at hand. Unfortunately, the camera work frequently leaves much to be desired. While I seldom tire of watching DiDonato at work, I am easily annoyed by a technical team that always seems to direct cameras to point in the wrong place at the wrong time. Those who tend to share that annoyance may wish to ignore the DVD altogether.