Reinhard Keiser: Croesus

At his death in 1739, Keiser was eulogised as the greatest opera composer who had ever lived. Known for his endless originality and invention, he was credited with being the man who taught Handel to write opera. Handel studied under Keiser at the Hamburg Opera from 1703-1706 and never ceased to quote his teacher in his own operas.

Despite these tributes, even before his death Keiser and his operas had begun to be forgotten by an audience wanting soprano coloratura and vocal fireworks from a new generation of opera composers such as Graun and Hasse.

Of Keiser's prodigious output, only a third of his operas have survived. Of these, only 2 are recorded, Croesus and Masaniello Furioso (see Amazon review). This version by Rene Jacobs is the second recording of Croesus and probably the most complete.

Jacobs tells us that no intact copy of the 1710 version has been preserved and his recording is of Keiser's 1730 revival. To modernise the opera, Keiser rewrote 37 new arias in the new style (this recording has 35 arias, 7 duets 1 quartet and 2 choruses). He also changed voice parts for an audience who had become familiar with castrato performers in the twenty years since the original production. In 1730, the role of Atis was changed to a male soprano and Halimacus to a mezzo-soprano.

While keeping the correct register for Halimacus, Jacobs transposes down the soprano arias for Atis to a tenor. I can see no justification for this. In the 1710 version, a baritone played the role, while singing entirely different music. In Baroque Opera, a great deal of attention was given to the relationship between the voice's pitch and the supporting instrumentation.

Tenor and bass music was less demanding. Their voices were not thought to be so flexible and so their music was more robust, often with bass instrumentation. Baroque composers knew that dropping the voice by an octave would leave the sensuous supporting violins sounding shrill and displaced and ruin the balance. This is why they often wrote new music for a new singer with a different pitch.

This is what Keiser did when he wrote new music for the soprano role of Atis instead of simply transposing the existing arias up a tenth. Jacobs knows this, which makes his decision to transpose voices all the more puzzling. After hearing the opera I do not believe it would matter to the listener if Atis was played by a soprano and I doubt the audience attending a Baroque revival would have not been shocked to see a woman in a man's role. There are enough modern productions of Handel operas where women perform the male lead.

Jacob's unjustifiable attitude to cuts and transposing down high voices are my sole complaint about his otherwise excellent work, especially as he never produces a reason more valid than his own prejudice. It is strange Jacobs is prejudiced against high voices especially when you consider he began his career as a countertenor.

Other examples of cuts and transposition in his works are:

· Caldara's 'Maddalena ai piede di Christo' he cut 4 arias 'due to the capacity of 2 CDs'. The CDs are only 59 and 67 minutes long!

· In Graun's 'Cesare ed Cleopatra' he transposes two prominent soprano parts into tenor roles and in the process ruins the arias and the composer's balance in the sextet that serves as the second act finale.

· In Cavalli's 'Xerse', the voice register of Eumene the Eunuch is lowered from a soprano (a eunuch's natural voice register!) to a tenor.

I think Jacobs attitude to cuts and transpositions are a great shame, especially considering his tremendous influence in the revival of Baroque vocal music. He has sung in Handel operas, which remain the only recording and has recorded many forgotten composers from the Baroque period. He must know that the recordings of these unique operas that he produces will probably remain the only available versions.

Despite my beef over Jacobs cuts and transpositions (high voices are surely one of the essential charms of Baroque opera), in the 15 years since moving into Opera direction, Jacobs has clocked up a significant number of award-winning recordings by composers such as Telemann, Mozart, Caldara and Handel. When you purchase a Jacobs' recording you are confident that the production, the orchestra and singers will be of the finest quality and all will accurately reflect Baroque performance sensibilities. This is the case for Croesus.

In addition, it is beautifully packaged, which makes it as pleasing to the eye as it is to the ear. The opera lasts over three hours and covers 3 CDs. The moderate price makes the opera a definite bargain, especially as Harmonia Mundi have not scrimped on the notes and the libretto, which are in English, French and German. Not Italian, for although the Hamburg Opera House produced operas on the Italian model, the operas themselves were usually written and sung in German.

To summarise, the opera is lively and enjoyable for all listeners, whether or not fans of Baroque opera. Keiser was a master of opera; his melodies are charming, as are his inventive orchestrations. It is a must-buy for Baroque Opera lovers and treat for everyone else. Despite this, I am only giving Croesus 4 stars, instead of the 5 it deserves, to protest against Jacobs' transposition.