Search - Jean Sibelius, Neeme Järvi, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra :: Sibelius: Karelia Suite Op 11; The Maiden in the Tower (opera)

A Sibelius rarity

Erik Homenick | San Diego, California | 08/09/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"THE MAIDEN IN THE TOWER is the closest the great Finnish composer, Jean Sibelius, ever came to writing a complete opera. This opera in one act has only been recorded twice, and this BIS release represents the first recording of the two.



After giving the opera a few listens, it's not that difficult to see why this work is not performed regularly anywhere in the world, nor has it been recorded more times. THE MAIDEN IN THE TOWER has a promising, tuneful beginning but soon runs out of steam after the first five minutes or so. The opera continues for about another 30 minutes, but lacks any great melodies or moments of intrigue. (This is, no doubt, partially due to the weak libretto by Raphael Hertzberg.) Notwithstanding, any Sibelius fan will encounter fleeting moments of potential greatness throughout the duration of the piece, but nothing truly exceptional ever comes to fruition. One truly gets the sense that Sibelius was not very much personally invested in this composition, and thus it's not surprising he never wrote another opera.



The soloists on the recording are adequate, but the usually stellar Mari-Anne Haggander seems especially uninterested and disconneted from her role of the title's maiden. Her voice seems strained at times, especially in the higher end.



Neeme Jarvi's conducting on MAIDEN IN THE TOWER seems fairly inspired, but of course it is hard to weigh it against anything else as there is only one other recording (which I have not heard).



Speaking of the conducting, the disc ends with a dissapointing reading of Sibelius's KARELIA SUITE. Jarvi's tempi are quite slow, especially in the shockingly sluggish INTERMEZZO. In fact, this is probably the least exciting recording I have ever heard of the KARELIA SUITE.



This disc is recommended for Sibelius completists or anyone interested in what an opera by Sibelius could have sounded like. It will satify your curiosity, but as a purely enjoyable listening experience, even this die-hard Sibelius fan was left wanting. For a good recording of the KARELIA SUITE, I could not advise more strongly that you look elsewhere.



The sound on this early BIS recording is quite good, but not audiophile quality, as would be expected given the age of the disc."

Disappointing....................

Sam | Seahurst, Washington | 12/05/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The Maiden in the Tower falls into eight short scenes. The orchestral interlude between the first two scenes brings us the real Sibelius, and the second scene is undoubtedly impressive; there are echoes of Wagner, such as we find in some of the great orchestral songs of the following decade. All the same, it lacks something we find in all his most characteristic music: quite simply, a sense of mastery. Yet there are telling performances here from Mari-Anne Haggander and Jorma Hynninen and the Gothenburg orchestra. Neeme Jarvi's account of the Karelia Suite is certainly original, with its Intermezzo, too broad to make an effective contrast with the ensuing Ballade."