fyglia

Is the association of a tyrant legitimate? That is the theme of Betulia Liberata, based on the murder of Nebuchadnezzar's commander Holofernes by the Jew widow Judith. Mozart had high regard for his seldom heard early work. In this "constantly riveting" (Munchner Merkur) Salzburg presentation, Judith's arias are sung by Marijana Mijanovic "with glowing contralto timbre ... Technically flawless, soprano Julia Kleiter put body and soul into every note" (Salburger Volkszeiting).



REVIEW
FANFARE: Christopher Williams

Alone among installments in the ballyhooed M22 edition of Mozart’s complete dramatic works, all of which were recorded live during the 2006 Salzburg Festival, this “sacred action in two acts” is presented in a concert performance. Of course, for an oratorio, this is only appropriate. Yet, considering the license taken with other operas in the series, especially some of the early works (presumed to need the help of adventurous directorial intervention) and the dreadfully ill-conceived Entführung (from which the “clichés” of plot have been expunged), they might as well have staged this oratorio. In many respects, it is as inspired and dramatic, perhaps more so, than the “official” stage works themselves. In the “making of” documentary attached to this release, a couple of the singers lament that it was not staged, but what remains is nevertheless an engrossing concert experience.

Mozart composed Betulia liberata , a retelling of the Judith story, in response to a Padua commission in 1771, though it apparently went unperformed at the time, yet another missed opportunity for the 15-year-old composer to make his mark with an international market. Like virtually every dramatic vocal work of Mozart’s youth, Betulia is firmly entrenched in the stylistic world of opera seria , in this case setting a text by the literary king of the genre, Pietro Metastasio. Mozart’s lively musical response is proof that, while he had not yet broken away from the conventional forms, he was no composer of faceless music. The score exudes a humanity and pathos which, though old-fashioned, suggests a much older composer.

As if to stress the work’s relationship to the decaying relics of opera seria , the oratorio was performed in front of the partially dismantled sets for La clemenza di Tito , another work with a Metastasio text. Singers are animated and engaged throughout, and the straightforwardness of the television direction leaves nothing to be desired.

Truly, it is hard to imagine a better cast or performance. The string-playing (of the Munich Chamber Orchestra) has a crispness, the brass a bite that would suggest historical instruments, though modern ones were used. This is rather a reflection of conductor Christoph Poppen’s experience in this area. Some of the recitatives were cut for this performance, but the arias remain intact, enough that one can hear the young composer exercising control over the material, thematically linking sections of the overture, truncating some of the da capo repeats.

Particularly outstanding is the high, fleet voice of English tenor Jeremy Ovenden, who rolls off divisions and trills smoothly, even effortlessly, with ringing clarity in his upper register and utter control of softer textures. His first aria was greeted with spontaneous, if immediately hushed applause, which is also a reflection that Ozia possesses some of the most inspired music of the score. (In the M22 series, Ovenden also appears in Mozart’s early teenage comedy, La finta semplice , despite many cuts in one of the better served early operas in the series.) One of the score’s shimmering centerpieces, Ozia’s prayer with choir, “Pietà, se irato sei,” abounds in textural details and contrasts, teased out vividly in Poppen’s accompaniment, from the moving pathos of the introduction to the percolating accents of the winds.

In the secondary roles, the singers acquit themselves well, even if some of their material can devolve into empty note spinning. Yet Amital’s first act-II aria redeems routine with a clever mixture of major and minor modes at the end of the B section. The Amital of Julia Kleiter is satisfyingly pure-toned, projecting a passionate response to the text, though a bright edge is sometimes present. Franz-Josef Selig, the Achior, has a ponderous sound, but still delivers his solitary bass aria lightly and with an impressive command of the divisions.

If Jeremy Ovenden’s light tenor shines, the Giuditta of Marijana Mijanovic overwhelms. She does not come to the fore until late in the first act, but suddenly her sinewy, darkly cavernous, almost masculine contralto is unveiled as a volcanic, almost alarming force, her flashing eyes commanding the stage in a way that makes one wish the production were in fact staged. Her trills are slightly unsteady but otherwise impressive, and some of her higher notes sit uncomfortably, the vibrato not sufficiently warming the tone beyond a fragile straight tone. This is a singer who relies on her very satisfying chest voice, at times to a fault. She often sounds like a male alto or countertenor, not least because of her notable midrange break. It is striking to think that Giuditta was the only prominent part Mozart ever wrote for female alto; whether he had a real-life vocal phenomenon as his inspiration or whether he was writing for a dimly imagined voice of the future is an open question. It is likely that the difficulty of the writing, especially for the central figure, was a major obstacle to performance.

Countless details could be highlighted here: the choruses ending both acts are satisfyingly blended, their swelling “hairpin” dynamics appropriate without descending to mannerism. The recitatives also show a care of realization sometimes missed in the early operas from this series; particularly telling is the dialogue between Ozia and Achior about the nature of God with which the second act begins. It becomes more than an abstract theoretical dispute, but an exercise in persuasion, realized through subtle shifts in recitative, captured acutely by the singers. The filming is straightforward and unmannered, yet engaged. It is a pleasure to catch the commitment of the orchestral players during passages of recitative.

As with the other installments in this series, this disc includes a “making of” documentary, which here focuses on basic facts about the composition, and rotates among the vocal soloists to elucidate the central themes of the oratorio. Ovenden describes Mozart’s “experimental” approach to writing for tenor. The issue of whether or not the piece should be staged is discussed at length, Poppen confirming the propriety of non-staged performance according to Mozart’s wishes, some of the other singers raising the possibility that it could be more effective if this “propriety” were cast to the wind.

The only competition for this release in any medium are older sound recordings, none more recent than 1991; this fresh and fiery performance will doubtless win many converts for one of the few major works by Mozart that is not overly familiar.


Works on This Recording
La Betulia liberata, K 118 (74c) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer: Irena Bespalovaite (Soprano), Julia Kleiter (Soprano), Jeremy Ovenden (Tenor), Marijana Mijanovic (Mezzo Soprano), Franz-Josef Selig (Bass)
Conductor: Christoph Poppen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Munich Chamber Orchestra, Vienna State Opera Chorus Konzertvereinigung
Period: Classical
Written: 1771; Salzburg, Austria