Verdi and Wagner: The Odeonsplatz Concert 2013
Rolando Villazon, tenor; Thomas Hampson, baritone
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus/Yannick Nézet-Séguin
C Major Unitel Classica DVD 716804
How many orchestras does a man need? Yannick Nézet-Séguin is music director of three of them at last count and has close connections as a guest conductor with several others. No wonder he recently cancelled several weeks of concerts to grab some rest. But then it is a whole new experience for a Canadian conductor to be in such demand. It has never happened before and 39-year Yannick Nézet-Séguin can be forgiven for finding it difficult to say no.
In addition to his work with the Orchestra Métropolitain, the Rotterdam Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra, Yannick appears regularly at the Met – Verdi’s Don Carlo later this season – and he is a favorite guest conductor with the Bavarian Radio Symphony in Munich. Last summer he led their annual Odeonsplatz concert, an outdoor event that attracted an audience of 8,000. This venue is a vast square in the heart of Munich and the stage area is the Feldherrnhalle built-in the 1840s and modelled on the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence.
The concert featured music by Verdi and Wagner but also included works by Massenet and Ravel. As might be expected, several of the pieces were conceived on a grand scale appropriate to the size of the venue. One of them was the auto-da-fé scene from Verdi’s Don Carlo. It was performed with both color and power, and unlike most operatic performances the audience in the square and at home got a chance to see all the extra brass players and appreciate what they contributed. The same held true for the Entry of the Guests on the Wartburg from Wagner’s Tannhäuser later in the concert.
The director Michael Beyer gave us a strong sense of what it might have been like to attend this concert. The program began in the late afternoon in bright daylight but as the concert unfolded the sun went down and artificial lighting gave the buildings and the performers a more dramatic appearance. It was a masterful use of natural and artificial lighting. It should be said too that the audio quality was far superior to what one would normally expect from an outdoor venue.
Throughout the concert the Bavarian Radio Symphony played beautifully for Yannick. The conductor was in command throughout and especially impressive in the Prelude to Act I of Lohengrin. Yannick shaped every phrase with a profound feeling for the very soul of the music.
Rolando Villazon has had his problems in recent years but not on this occasion. As always he sang with total commitment but also with thrilling top notes in “Ô souverain, ô juge, ô père” from Massenet’s Le Cid. He was equally fine in the great duet from Don Carlo with baritone Thomas Hampson.
The concert closed with “Va’, pensiero”, the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves from Verdi’s Nabucco. Yannick made this familiar music sound fresh again by paying close attention to dynamics, and breathing with the chorus.
All in all, a great concert filmed in a venue that added to the enjoyment of the music, and another demonstration of Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s unique artistry.
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Paul E. Robinson
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