Sent me by
tuffy942 . Thank you, cara !
IF PHILIPPE Jaroussky were not such a compelling musician and unaffected artist, his dreamboat publicity image, especially the "come hither" cover of a new DVD release La Voix des Reves might seem overdone.The young French countertenor has achieved superstar status without trashing his voice or his credibility as a fascinating deeply thoughtful performer, enjoying fruitful collaborations with such European early music ensembles such as the Ensemble Matheus,,Le Concert D'Astree, and L'Arpeggiata. Concert appearances with these and other colleagues as well as with his own Ensemble Artaserse are collected here (the DVD features different material than the similarly packaged CD, the Voice.
A variety of solo and ensemble appearances from 2006 to 2012 are impeccably performed and well filmed, if somewhat randomly arranged. There are unexplained moments. During "Venti Turbini" from Handels Rinaldo, we see girls giggling backstage (though Jaroussky hammers the shorter phrases he sails over Emanuelle Haim large ensembles and presents a wonderfully long-breathed re entry cadenzas) and Barbara Strozzi's continuo song "L'Eraclito Amoroso" inexplicably cuts off before the final couplet.
While he manages bravura pieces smartly (working assiduously at Caldara's high-lying , "Lo seguitai Felice" from L'Olympiade, Jaroussky's real strength is the long, slowly unfolding phrases of pieces such as "Arnalta's Lullaby, from L'Incoronazione di Poppea, Porpora's throbbing "Alto Giove" or the gently rocking "Cum Dederit" from Vivaldi's solo Cantata Nisi Dominus, in which the singer relishes the suspended moments of the hypnotic, chromatic lines and the long held notes.
Jaroussky's collaboration with Christina Pluhar small ensemble L" Arpeggiata , are particularly expressive and sensitive, largely due to the technical ease and attentive, imaginative playing of her instrumentalists. "Lasciate Averno" from Luigi Rossi's L'Orfeo, is one of the DVD's highlights, with intense, committed declamation and delicately expressive shadingsfrom Jaroussky and exquisite cornetto playing from Doron David Sherwin who also lends his voice to a comical rendition of the anonymous "Ciaccona di Paradiso e dell'Inferno, a combative dialogue between the inhabitants of heaven and hell.
Pluhar's nightclub rendition of Monteverdi's "Ohime Ch'io Cado" may not be to everyone's taste, but Jaroussky's humor is genuine and never cheap, even in a cappella rendition of "Le lion set mort ce soiree"(The Lion Sleeps Tonight) with the Quatouor Ebene.
In spite of the glamour and fandom Jaroussky has brought to early music, he is a sensitive colleague as evidenced here in collaborations with Anne Sofie von Otter,(in a smooth light textured "Son Nata a Lagrimar from Handel Giulio Cesare) countertenor Pascal Bertin,(Purcell's "Sound the Trumpet") and soprano Nuria Rial (duets from Monteverdi L'Incoronazione di Poppea and Handel's Rodelinda) He even plays a Shostakovich violin duet with Renaud Capucon .
Best of all is Jaroussky's vocal blend and stage verve with Canadian contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux in several energetic and fun pieces. When the countertenor launches into Vivaldi"s "Nel Profondo, Cieco Mondo" from Orlando Furioso, Lemiieux enters from the wings booming out the second phrase, after which the two comically trade off runs and low notes. Conductor Jean-Christophe Spinosi even adds his voice and Jaroussky stomps off the stage in a faux hissy fit.
Let us hope for renewed energy and continued artistic growth when Jaroussky returns in September 2013 from self-imposed leave.
By J. Malafronte .
