Image via www.perthfestival.com.au
Les Arts Florissants was founded in 1979 by harpsichordist and conductor William Christie, who still directs the group; they specialise in European music of the 17th and 18th century. In the Australian premiere of In an Italian Garden as part of the Perth International Arts Festival 2015, Les Arts Florissants, Christie and six young international singers demonstrated their justified fame in baroque and early music circles.
This impressive performance made this music totally accessible for those who are not aficionados; the singers’ highly dramatic performances, coupled with crisp professionalism and stylish playing from the orchestra, won the hearts of the Perth Concert Hall audience. There were several encores.
Focused on Italian lyric works, we were taken through nearly two centuries of music with emotions writ large (love, jealousy, fury, hate) in so many of the ‘dramatic’ styles of music writing. This was an unusual performance in that the pieces have been chosen by the musical directors, in some cases, adapted, to show off the best aspects of the voices of the six young singers. The standouts for me were mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre and countertenor Carlo Vistoli, who both demonstrated a uniqueness in vocal tone and great acting capacity in their performances. It was such a joy each time they sang.
Soprano Lucia Martin-Carton had a lovely purity to her voice and a beguiling physical presence, while baritone Renato Dolcini combined sonority with a humourous acting style. Bass John Taylor Ward with his tall lankiness was a most unlikely looking bass singer and capitalised on this with sometimes camp humour in his performing, but was very crisp in his singing delivery. Tenor Nicholas Scott was not as impressive as the other singers on the night.
The De Wert madrigal in the first half featured all the vocalists singing together and was simply outstanding; their voices beautifully matched.
The group of singers moved around very naturally from one song to another and the stage direction from Sophie Daneman and Paul Agnew was impeccable. There were no individual microphones and the natural projection styles matched the singers’ naturalistic movements. The concert also featured seamless integration from one song to the next, even if there were many years between their composition dates. The matching of text and musical themes was well researched and worked admirably.
The pieces chosen were arias or recitatives and benefited from being short tastes from these different composers; clear English surtitles were provided. This was ironically referenced in the extract from Sarro where the impresario says that libretto are meant not to be understood!
The second half of the concert featured a clever story within a story, starting with a bored singer trying to compose a great piece and the conductor refusing his work and theatrically tearing it up. This segued into Cimarosa’s L’impresario in angustie where a composer is trying to satisfy two demanding divas. These simple dramatics served to make the meaning of the music accessible to those who don’t have a firm historical grasp of baroque composition. The concert then continued with music from Mozart and Haydn, with the standout piece being an extract from Hayden’s La Canterina.
The orchestral playing was so in tune with the singers, that at times in some pieces it felt like they were breathing together. The orchestral playing was sharp and clear yet warm and passionate. Their vitality and joy in playing together was a delight to behold. What a treat!
Rating: 5 stars out of 5​
In An Italian Garden
Presented by Les Arts Florissants and William Christie
Founder and Musical Director: William Christie
Co-Director Le Jardin des Voix: Paul Agnew
Stage Directors: Sophie Daneman and Paul Agnew
Performed by Les Art Florissants
Soloists: Lucia Martin-Carton (soprano), Lea Desandre (mezzo-soprano), Carlo Vistoli (countertenor), Nicholas Scott (tenor), Renato Dolcini (baritone) and John Taylor Ward (bass)
Perth Concert Hall
7 March
Perth International Arts Festival
www.perthfestival.com.au
13 February – 7 March 2015
