Smetana: Dalibor (complete opera)
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BEDRICH SMETANA
Smetana: Dalibor (complete opera)
Ivan Kusnjer, Richard Samek, Aleš Vorácek, Dana Burašová / BBC Symphony Orchestra & BBC Singers, Jiri Belohlávek
[ Onyx / 2 CD ]
Release Date: Saturday 5 December 2015
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Smetana's tragic opera 'Dalibor' from 1868 is now acknowledged as a masterpiece, containing some of his greatest music. It tells a tale of knightly ideals, chivalry, love and loyalty, with striking echoes of Fidelio, the story transports us to 15th-century Prague, where Dalibor is imprisoned having avenged the death of his musician friend Zdenk. The sister of his victim, Milada, is touched by his plight and disguises herself as a boy violinist in order to enter the gaol … Smetana, saddened by 'Dalibor's cool reception ('too Wagnerian' was one of the charges against it) always had faith that one day it would be appreciated and stand alongside 'The Bartered Bride', the work that overshadowed all his other operas to his great frustration.
This superb performance of this rarely heard opera was recorded live in the Barbican Hall, London. Conducted by Jiri Belohlávek, the all Czech cast and the BBC SO and BBC singers gave a performance that impressed all present, and the critics praised the performance: "Smetana's melodic invention is given full rein, with a rapturous second-act love duet as its high-point. Belohlávek's conducting was warm and wonderfully spacious in those purple passages…the cast, all Czech, was a very fine one" The Guardian.
"A brilliant all-Czech performance...The pivotal duets were gloriously sung, while chorus and orchestra honoured the full beauty of the score."
"it is to be welcomed not only for the opera's rarity, but for its thrilling performance in splendid modern sound. A key feature of this series's success has been the engagement of singers from Prague, and the outstanding artistry of Dana Buresova figures again: imperious as Milada, yet capable of tenderness and poetry, she is the star. The BBC forces give their all for their former chief conductor; Richard Samek is heroic in the title role; and Alzbeta Polackova and Ales Vorasek charm as the youthful couple Jitka and Vitek" (Sunday Times)
"a performance as gloriously idiomatic as this…shows how much we have all been missing and makes a full staging of the work all the more urgent … Jiri Belohlavek it finds its ideal interpreter: the conductor has the lightest but firmest of touches, never allowing the pageantry to degenerate into bombastic pomp and circumstance but giving full rein to all the noble ardour that palpitates through the score. The BBC Symphony Orchestra plays with elegant clarity and a keen sense of drama, while the cast of native Czech singers is a revelation … The BBC Singers make a fervent contribution too … [an] admirable recording" (Daily Telegraph)
"As Dalibor himself, Richard Samek has a golden, heroic tenor that does the job beautifully … The orchestra play this unfamiliar music with great skill, and the BBC Singers throw themselves into the work, both in spirit and in pronunciation." MusicWeb International, 4th December 2015
"Belohlavek's championing of Dalibor ensures a passionate performance and the BBC Symphony Orchestra plays with style. The singers are classy too." Opera Now, January 2016
"If there's one conductor you want in this repertoire, it's Jiri Belohlávek... Samek is a pleasing Dalibor, not the most heroic tenor, but sweet-toned...Burašová makes a strong impression as Milada, especially in the Act 2 love duet...Polácková nearly steals the performance as Jitka...The playing of the BBC Symphony Orchestra is excellent; you'd almost have to pinch yourself to believe that you weren't listening to Belohlávek's Czech Philharmonic." Gramophone Magazine, January 2016
"Belohlávek creates a proper sense of the numinous from the BBC Symphony Orchestra, above all in the solos of leader, harpist and two horns, exquisitely haloed. Belohlávek leaves us in no doubt that Smetana's subtle score, with its fascinating transitions between scenes, is a masterpiece. It's full of unusual harmonies and interesting, proto-Tchaikovskyan wind choruses." BBC Music Magazine, February 2016 ****
"The cast is thrillingly led by the bright star of a Dalibor...[Samek] looks set to become the most complete lyric-heroic Czech tenor for decades...Above all, this is Belohlavek's triumph. Nobody knows better how to layer Smetana's musical building blocks into an idiomatic, coherent edifice, sweeping us along with a concentration that is no less powerful for being so firmly controlled … a mighty reading which gives enormous satisfaction." Opera, April 2016
