Todd
New member
When I first heard Karol Szymanowskis opera King Roger a few years ago, the spell was cast. Im a big fan of the Poles music, but this opera is something else. It combines lush, opulent, late-romantic music in a sort of Strauss-Scriabin-Debussy-Wagner mix with mysticism and compactness to create a dramatically powerful piece that one can luxuriate in. The recording I heard and have relied on is Simon Rattles fine recording. Ive always had slight misgivings about the recording, chief among them Thomas Hampsons portrayal of the title character. He sings splendidly, of course, but his Polish diction isnt especially convincing when compared to the Polish singers in the cast, and his mannerisms dont always sound ideal. But I was happy with it since there arent exactly a whole lot of other recordings around. Yes, theres always Karol Stryjas recording, but his other Szymanowski recordings, while good, dont exactly blow Rattle into the weeds or anything. Anyway, a year or two ago, Accord released a new, all-Polish recording with one Jacek Kaspszyk leading the Polish National Opera of Warsaw. I had to have it. I should have snapped it up immediately.
Right from the start it is clear that this surpasses Rattles effort. The chorus and all of the singers (I think) sing in their native tongue, and the orchestra seems completely inside the music, and all the potential benefits that can bring are indeed realized. Ill start with the biggest relative improvement: Wojtek Drabowicz makes a more compelling king. His voice is lighter in timber than Hampsons, and his control seems just as good and his range better. He can belt out the notes with complete control and without sounding strained. His cries of Roxana!, while perhaps not especially moving, are physical and exciting. His dealings with the Shepard are terse, searching, confused, and angry as required, and throughout he has a commanding presence. Perhaps Hampson does a bit better at sounding tormented when deciding whether to arrest the Shepard and when Roxana leaves, but thats about it. Just about as good is the Shepard of Piotr Beczala, whose singing is appropriately seductive and persuasive. When he throws off his chains it is with defiance and passion and disregard. I give him the edge over Ryszard Minkiewicz for Rattle. I will confess, though, to rather preferring Philip Langridges Edrisi. Perhaps Langridges long experience with Mussorgsky helped him master Slavic singing, but whatever the case I find him a shrewder character, even if his voice isnt a great deal more pleasing than Krzysztof Szmyts. I definitely prefer Elzbieta Szmytkas Roxana for Rattle to Olga Pasieczniks here. Szymtkas voice is more attractive and sounds more mysterious and ethereal in her second act aria (?) and pretty much everywhere else. Ms Pasiecznik is still fine, though. The other singers are mostly better here. As to the choral contribution, well, Rattle may benefit from greater heft and clarity, but Kaspszyk gets more intensity.
That leaves the conductors and the bands. Make no mistake, Rattle leads a superbly performed version. His CBSO is in top form, and nary a note seems out of place and everything is cleanly executed. Rattle and his cohorts really play up the lavishness and beauty of the score and deliver towering climaxes. Kaspszyk and his forces, on the on the other hand, deliver a tauter, leaner, more dramatic reading. The music is still rich and gorgeous and opulent, but strictly aural concerns are less important than dramatic ones. Thats the right choice. This brief opera not only never flags, it flies by, and all concerned know how and when to play the music with overwhelming power, though its always beautiful. In many ways, this recording reminds me of the various Supraphon recordings of Janaceks operas when compared to Charles Mackerras Decca recordings. Chuck knows his Janacek, theres no doubt, and he knows it better than Rattle knows Szymanowski, but the Czech forces just seem so comfortable in the idiom that it sounds more immediately accessible and pleasant, if not as lush. So it is here.
Rattle also benefits from better sound, with deeper, stronger bass and almost unreal detail and clarity. The newer recording sounds less clear and doesnt rattle the foundation, but it also sounds less processed than the EMI sound. Ultimately, sound is much more than acceptable for both recordings. There aint no way Im going to get rid of the Rattle set, but Jacek Kaspszyks version will be the one I turn to first. An exceptional recording.
Right from the start it is clear that this surpasses Rattles effort. The chorus and all of the singers (I think) sing in their native tongue, and the orchestra seems completely inside the music, and all the potential benefits that can bring are indeed realized. Ill start with the biggest relative improvement: Wojtek Drabowicz makes a more compelling king. His voice is lighter in timber than Hampsons, and his control seems just as good and his range better. He can belt out the notes with complete control and without sounding strained. His cries of Roxana!, while perhaps not especially moving, are physical and exciting. His dealings with the Shepard are terse, searching, confused, and angry as required, and throughout he has a commanding presence. Perhaps Hampson does a bit better at sounding tormented when deciding whether to arrest the Shepard and when Roxana leaves, but thats about it. Just about as good is the Shepard of Piotr Beczala, whose singing is appropriately seductive and persuasive. When he throws off his chains it is with defiance and passion and disregard. I give him the edge over Ryszard Minkiewicz for Rattle. I will confess, though, to rather preferring Philip Langridges Edrisi. Perhaps Langridges long experience with Mussorgsky helped him master Slavic singing, but whatever the case I find him a shrewder character, even if his voice isnt a great deal more pleasing than Krzysztof Szmyts. I definitely prefer Elzbieta Szmytkas Roxana for Rattle to Olga Pasieczniks here. Szymtkas voice is more attractive and sounds more mysterious and ethereal in her second act aria (?) and pretty much everywhere else. Ms Pasiecznik is still fine, though. The other singers are mostly better here. As to the choral contribution, well, Rattle may benefit from greater heft and clarity, but Kaspszyk gets more intensity.
That leaves the conductors and the bands. Make no mistake, Rattle leads a superbly performed version. His CBSO is in top form, and nary a note seems out of place and everything is cleanly executed. Rattle and his cohorts really play up the lavishness and beauty of the score and deliver towering climaxes. Kaspszyk and his forces, on the on the other hand, deliver a tauter, leaner, more dramatic reading. The music is still rich and gorgeous and opulent, but strictly aural concerns are less important than dramatic ones. Thats the right choice. This brief opera not only never flags, it flies by, and all concerned know how and when to play the music with overwhelming power, though its always beautiful. In many ways, this recording reminds me of the various Supraphon recordings of Janaceks operas when compared to Charles Mackerras Decca recordings. Chuck knows his Janacek, theres no doubt, and he knows it better than Rattle knows Szymanowski, but the Czech forces just seem so comfortable in the idiom that it sounds more immediately accessible and pleasant, if not as lush. So it is here.
Rattle also benefits from better sound, with deeper, stronger bass and almost unreal detail and clarity. The newer recording sounds less clear and doesnt rattle the foundation, but it also sounds less processed than the EMI sound. Ultimately, sound is much more than acceptable for both recordings. There aint no way Im going to get rid of the Rattle set, but Jacek Kaspszyks version will be the one I turn to first. An exceptional recording.