Lise Davidsen sings Wagner and Strauss
I posted an advance on social media earlier in the week advertising today’s review:
The raves are out. Is she the real deal or part of a hype machine? Strauss: Four Last Songs, other songs with orchestra, Wagner arias. Find out my thoughts Friday early.
When I did my research for Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen, my first stop was her very professional, beautifully designed website. Leading the landing page, a quote from the paper of record, the New York Times:
‘Not just a voice. The voice’.
Big words for a big voice.
Davidsen is the first Scandinavian soprano signed by Decca since the great Birgit Nilsson. This is Davidsen’s debut recording from 2019.
I’m a little late to the party as the PR ebullience was reinforced by a torrent of rave reviews. Yet, a few had an objective, critical ear.
At 34, Davidsen is far from the finished article, but there is no doubt she has a remarkable instrument for one so young. And, in a field (Wagnerian sopranos) where they hit their strides in their 50s. As such, Davidsen’s voice will mature in time as well as her musicianship.
Yet, from the very first track, ‘Dich, teure Halle’ (Tannhäuser, Act II, Scene 1), Davidsen thrills with power in all registers, beautiful phrasing and breath control. Care with the text, phrasing and power is highlighted in all the repertoire.
The opening Wagner and Strauss tracks are all wonderful and staples in the repertoire, but many of you will be streaming or purchasing this release for Strauss’ final and greatest works, the four songs, named after his death as Four Last Songs (Vier letzte Lieder).
It’s here where Davidsen will be compared to the greatest in this repertoire. She is to be commended for tackling it at such a young age (31 at the time of recording).
For those of you in love with these four final songs, connected to the ideas, themes, and intense musicality, buy or stream Davidsen with confidence. Her performance is outstanding, full of subtlety, power and a gleaming cantabile.
Lise Davidsen. Photo: Decca Classics
So, how does Davidsen compare with the greatest in this repertoire, Norman/Masur/Philips, Schwarzkopf/Karajan/EMI, Fleming/Thielemann/Decca and Stemme/Pappano/EMI? Very well, with all of them.
Fleming and Stemme both have a darker sound, Schwarzkopf, lighter, and Norman, well, I don’t think her recording will ever be matched. But for a relative youngster, Davidsen brings that bright powerhouse of an instrument with good technique and lovely phrasing.
Room for improvement?
She’s so young and so talented, I have no doubt she’ll tackle this repertoire later in her career (as did Fleming) and give us one for the ages. In the here and now, she has a bit of an affectation—she begins a note (not always clearly, I should add), and then swells with an ever intensifying vibrato. It’s far from annoying and will in no way hinder your enjoyment of this spectacular debut.
The recording is typical Henry Wood Hall, London fix-in-the-mix. Good enough. Remember the Deccas from the ‘60s and ‘70s? They are in another universe. Again, nothing to detract from Davidsen’s singing. And considering a dramatic soprano in full chest tone is one of the more difficult sounds to reproduce on record, the recording handles the difficulties well.
Esa-Pekka Salonen is a fine accompanist, not his regular repertoire—the Philharmonia (they played the world premier of Four Last Songs almost 70 years before this recording) is suitably Straussian. Both violin and horn solos are top drawer.
Buy Davidsen now, enjoy, marvel, dip in now and then, and then wait for her next Vier letzte Lieder in a decade or two. She has the instrument and musicianship to maybe even surpass the great Jessye and continue the Norwegian legacy set by Kirsten Flagstad at the premier in 1950.
Richard WAGNER (1813-1883)
‘Dich, teure Halle’ (Tannhäuser, Act II, Scene 1)
‘Allmächt’ge Jungfrau!’ (Tannhäuser, Act III, Scene 1
Richard STRAUSS (1864-1949)
‘Es gibt ein Reich’ (Ariadne auf Naxos)
Vier Lieder, Op 27
‘Ruhe, meine Seele!’
‘Cäcilie ‘
‘Heimliche Aufforderung’ (orch. Robert Heger)
‘Morgen!’
Wiegenlied, Op 41/1
Malven, TrV 287 (orch Wolfgang Rihm)
Vier letzte Lieder
Lise Davidsen (soprano)
Philharmonia Orchestra/Esa-Pekka Salonen
rec. 2018, Henry Wood Hall, London
Release Date: 31st May 2019
Catalogue No: 4834883
Label: Decca
Length: 63 minutes
