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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Luminous beauty, 3 April 2006
Gluck's fortunes have risen dramatically over the last decade, with new recordings of almost all his major operas and a few rarities too. "Paride ed Elena", his third and least known Italian "reform" opera, written for Vienna in 1770, is aptly described by Paul McCreesh in the booklet to this new recording as "buried treasure". The opera's relative lack of popularity might be due to the unusual plot. In many ways, "Paride ed Elena" is the polar opposite of Gluck's more famous musical dramas, which are tragic in feeling even if they have happy endings. The tone of the libretto is light and ironic, telling the story of the Trojan prince Paris' visit to Sparta to abduct the Greek princess Helen. Amore (Cupid) plays as big a role as he does in "Orfeo" in bringing the lovers together, but here he comes across as a cheeky, rococo matchmaker. The drama, such as it is, hinges on whether Helen will give in to Paris' seduction and, whatever her hesitations, we're never in much doubt what her final decision will be. Ironically, only in the ending is there any hint of tragedy. The goddess Pallas Athena appears descending on a cloud and angrily announces, not the usual happy resolution of the story, but the great disaster of the Trojan War which will result from Paris and Helen's elopement. The opera might be virtually unknown but its music has gradually been seeping into public consciousness. In recent years arias from "Paride" have appeared with increasing frequency on opera recital discs, not least Magdalena Kozena's own "Le Belle Immagini" which took its title from one of the finest numbers here. Now we get a chance to hear them in context. From the plot summary, it's clear there's not much dramatic tension but there is plenty of eroticism. "There is a seething passion in 'Paride ed Elena'," says McCreesh, " and it hits all the harder for being understated." His reading reflects that understatement. Magdalena Kozena has a beautiful but delicate voice and she makes a rather restrained Paris, youthful but inward, most at home with the contemplative "Le belle immagini".Susan Gritton's singing is not always so mellifluous but her Helen is more passionate. Carolyn Sampson makes a pretty Amore. McCreesh's conducting tends towards the static; maybe because this was the result of an unstaged performance, it often verges on oratorio. Marc Minkowski might have given us a more dynamic - if wayward - reading and, for my money, no Gluck conductor today can compete with John Eliot Gardiner, who - it must be said - does have the advantage of almost thirty years' experience performing this composer. But the playing of the Gabrieli Consort is excellent and what McCreesh does very well is to bring out the luminous beauty of the score, which contains some truly wonderful moments, as anyone who has heard "Le belle immagini" or "O del mio dolce ardor" might expect. Paris' aria "Quegli occhi belli" is equally fine, a virtuoso seduction piece, accompanied by the harp like Orfeo's invocation to the Furies. The grand finale is another highlight, bringing back music heard in the overture to stunning effect This probably shouldn't be your first Gluck opera. Newcomers would be better to start with "Orfeo", "Iphigenie en Tauride" (Minkowski) and "Alceste" (Gardiner). But anyone who has become addicted to the composer's "beautiful simplicity" will have to have this fine new recording.
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~ Antonio Vivaldi
~ Antonio Abete
~ Christoph Willibald Gluck
~ Antonio Vivaldi
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