The Oratorical Talent of Massenet
M. Stoltenberg | Phoenix, AZ USA | 06/06/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Of the bargain CD repackagings currently out there, Arte Nova and EMI's 2CD red and grey reissues are proving to be the most attractive, affordable, and satisfying in recording quality and performance. Arte Nova has been reissuing some ever increasingly hard to obtain older catalogue such as Furtwangler's Symphony #1 and the astounding Bruckner symphony recordings (especially the #7 conducted by Skrowacewski).
This live recording of Massenet's oratorio Eve is beautifully performed and recorded. The only reason I am giving it 4 stars is because the first track opens with jarring applause and is then followed by the quieting of the audience as the Prelude begins. One would of thought the engineers with such a pause of silence between the applause and the opening notes could have trimmed off the opening applause and simply started with the quiet beginning notes.
As you can already tell, I am not a big fan of allowing applause into live recordings although some well recorded live recordings (such as Bernstein's Mahler 2nd and Giulini's Bruckner 9th) are incredible examples of the emotional energy and drama of thoughtfully documented live musical experiences.
I, like other reviewers recommend to classical music collectors who approach their recordings as sacred and spiritual experiences of composers, conductors, singers and musicians collaborating with the Divine to fade the volume at the end of live recordings that happen to include applause.
With an unbeatable price of $5.99 and with used prices of $3.99 or even less, Arte Nova recordings such as this can prove to be nothing else, but enjoyable."
Unknown Massenet
D. A Wend | Buffalo Grove, IL USA | 07/17/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I picked up a copy of this disc because it was so unfamiliar and out of curiosity. I know several of Massenet's operas but had no idea he wrote a Mysterium (an oratorio performed on stage in costume). Massenet composed Eve in 1875 and it follows the story of Genesis with the creation of Eve, Adam and Eve in paradise and the temptation. This is the premiere recording of Eve, recorded in 1998, performed by the Euregio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jeanpierre Faber. The soloists, Susan Geb and Angelo Simos, sing very well and have voices well suited to opera. The Three Nation Chorus does an excellent job representing the night sprits of Hell. The performance is highly dramatic and clearly the orchestra enjoys the music.
Unfortunately, there is no libretto or synopsis of the text. Another more bizarre problem is the beginning of the CD does not start immediately with music but audible laughter and applause. The performance itself is free from any noise but it is odd to begin a performance with audience noise. Altogether, this is an interesting little-known work of Massenet with some noteworthy music.
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Track Listings (13) - Disc #1