Donizetti: La Favorite > Reviews > Favorite of the Bel Canto Opera Fans

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Standard
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	In original French !  Kasarova, Vargas, Furmansky
Disadvantages:	They don't pronounce French well .  A bit under - rehearsed

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

La Favorite is one of 3 French grand opera written by the bel canto master Gaetano Donizetti (though it is often performed in Italian under the title 'La Favorita'). The story is based on Royer's and Vaez's play 'L'Ange de Nisida'.

SYNOPSIS:
The novice monk Fernand is dismissed from the monastery in Castile by his prior Balthazar due to his attraction to an unknown beauty whose hand he had touched during a service. Fernand takes off to Leon, where he meets the courtesan Inez and her colleagues in the service of Leonor de Guzman, the mistress of King Alphonse XI, who turns out to be the unknown beauty he met in Castile). Having mistaken her for a royalty, Fernand joins the army vowing to earn glory in battle deserving of her attention.

After showing his valor in a victorious battle with the Moors, Fernand is praised by the happy Alphonse. However, their happy hours is cut short when the is threatened excommunication by Balthazar on direct order from the Pope( who had learnt of Alphonse's infidelity to his queen with Leonor... courtesy of Don Gaspar's big mouth). To rub it in more, Gaspar shows Alphonse an intercepted letter of an unknown admirer to Leonor (from Fernand, of course). Leonor admits to loving the sender but refuses to name him. Outraged, Alphonse has Inez arrested and summons for Leonor, while granting Fernand the right to marry a noblewoman (as his reward for army service). Imagine the king's surprise when Fernand asks for Leonor's hand!

In a bout of exasperation, Alphonse orders the 2 married out of pure spite. Wanting Fernand informed of her tainted position, Leonor sends Inez to tell him her life story, but the courtesan is arrested en route. So Fernand ends up learning of his intended's affair with Alphonse from his old Prior instead. In a fit of rage worthy of being a true Castilian, Fernand refuses his decorations at the king's feet and flees to the monastery, resolving to return to a peaceful monkhood. Just before he takes his final vow to; though, the ailing Leonor shows up to explain her story to him before expiring in his arm (of a broken heart?). The opera ends with the heart-broken Fernand crying out to Balthazar and the monks that his own death will soon follow .

CAST:
Alphonse XI (King of Castile) = Anthony Michaels-Moore (Baritone)
Leonor de Guzman (Alphonse's mistress) = Vesselina Kasarova (Mezzo-soprano)
Ines (Leonor's confidante) = Abbie Furmansky (Soprano)
Fernand (A novice, Leonor's lover) = Ramon Vargas (Tenor)
Balthazar (Monastery superior) = Carlo Colombara (Bass)
Don Gaspar (A knight) = Francesco Piccoli (Tenor)

Conductor = Marcello Viotti / Munchner Rundfunkorchester

The recording on this CD set is from a live concert performance in Munich in 2000.

The mesmerizing Bulgarian mezzo Vesselina Kasarova sings the title role of the king's favorite, Leonor. This is a nervous and repressively fatalistic reading of Leonor. Not very hysterical (except toward the end of the famous aria 'O mon Fernand' where hysteria is called for and is amply supplied. The contrast works splendidly). Her commitment to the role is never in doubt. The voice is dark and very sensual with ringing top and sensual middle notes (courtesy of her tight vibrato there). Her bottom notes are imposing and solid, though strangely unlike the rest of the voice. But like other great singers, she converts her vocal quirks into interpretative assets. Her French is not idiomatic but isn't terrible either.

The Mexican tenor Ramon Vargas in the role of Fernand out shines just about everybody else in this recording, however. His is a gloriously gorgeous and clear as a bell lyric tenor voice. Beautifully even through out the range (and with a real PING too!). It is a youthful and majestic voice deployed by a very musical artist who handles Fernand's obnoxiously high tessitura (average pitch) with ease. Intelligent phrasing in surprisingly good French, attentive to nuances in the music. I listened in awe to the ease of his rendition of 'Oui, ta voix m'inspire' that ends Act I. Senor Vargas surely is one of the great bel canto tenori.

In the company of such magnificent performance by the two leads, the rest of the cast is quite over-shadowed. The British baritone Anthony Michaels-Moore's Alphonse sounds uncharacteristically weak and flat in his singing. It doesn't help his effort to stay on pitch that he is covered by the orchestra much of the time. Abby Furmansky is fine as Inez and Carlo Colombara is appropriately snobbish and morose as Balthazar.

Maestro Marcello Viotti does a good job of keeping his orchestra and the singers together. This performance was given (and recorded) after only 1 rehearsal, so the comparative lack of ease and security here leads to the lack of authority in overall presentation. But it does also add an exciting edge .... like an all star football team thrown together at the last moment just managing to come through and win the game even though they aren't always in sync with each other. Viotti's reading is clear and French sounding, but could be a bit more passionate.

The music of Donizetti speaks for itself. What a masterful work of lyrical and scenic score. This performance boasts wonderful sound quality despite being recorded live. The opera is slightly shortened to fit 2 CD, tho.

The booklet contains a short history of the opera, synopsis and libretto in French, English and German.