Symphonie
Fantastique/Lelio
Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique and Lélio
Performers Paul Charles Clarke (tenor); Paul Agnew (tenor);
Christopher Maltman (baritone); Steven Osborne (piano); Royal Scottish
National Orchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras (conductor); Royal Scottish
National Orchestra (Christopher Bell (chorus master)
Venue Usher Hall
Address Lothian Road Edinburgh
Reviewer Iain Gilmour
Australian-born Sir Charles Mackerras nearly brought the newly-restored
ceiling of the Usher Hall crashing down again as he coaxed, urged
and drove the RSNO into a powerful Berlioz performance.
Applause erupted at the conclusion of Symphonie Fantastique but
this was nothing compared to the storm of cheering, foot-stamping
and clapping that greeted the unexpected ending of its little known
- and seldom heard - sequel Lelio.
Mackerras gave a fairly straightforward account of the symphony, without
any tricksy nuances. He achieved what can only be described as a controlled
riot of sound, comparing more than favourably with the acclaimed recording
by the Leningrad Philharmonic.
For the sequel,originally called The Return to Life, the conductor
pulled out all the stops and the orchestra faithfully followed every
gesture. Even premature applause by the audience was quietened by
a dismissive wave of the hand before bursting out anew at the finale.
Lelio is a curious piece, difficult to perform, with its mixture
of narrator, singers, chorus, and full-size orchestra. Demanding for
the listener, the words and music depict the composer’s emotional
turmoil over a lost love – he actually left Italy for Paris with the
intention of killing his fickle beloved but changed his mind andturned
back.
The music is mostly taken from earlier compositions, with the March
to the Scaffold from the Symphonie Fantastique forming a crucial
element. Betrayed love is the central theme of monologues that are
a hotch-potch of ideas and recollections of Shakespeare.
In terms of the composer’s life it was successful. The actress Harriet
Smithson, long adored from afar, met him at the premiere in Paris
and they later married.
© Iain Gilmour 23 August 2001
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