NOSPR / Balatsinos / Tracz / Opała / Arias and Bacchanales - NOSPR

Not the familiar trio of tenors, but four masters of French romantic opera take centre stage in this concert as their music is performed by the remarkable soloists Ewa Tracz and Aleksandra Opała. 

Jacques Offenbach infused his music generously with dance motifs, and it is with the rhythm of the waltz that the overture to La belle Hélène (The Beautiful Helen) sets the tone for the concert. That mood continues in the second Offenbach piece: the most celebrated barcarolle in the history of music, namely the duet for soprano and mezzo-soprano from the intensely romantic opera Les contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann). 

Saint-Saëns’s music brings even more subtle colour to the programme, offering a somewhat lyrical rendering of the biblical tale of Samson and Delilah, and captures the era’s strong fascination with what was back then referred to as the Orient. 

Eastern themes also surface in the music of another French composer of the period. The rich palette of emotions in Léo Delibes' music allows both instrumentalists and singers to display their artistry – from the fiery flair of Les filles de Cadix (The Maids of Cadiz), through the lavish splendour of the Bacchanale from Sylvia, to the delicate, dreamlike Flower Duet from Lakmé. 

In the history of French opera, Charles Gounod’s Faust occupies a distinctive place. Set against richly imagined nineteenth-century backdrops, the work reanimates one of European culture’s defining myths: the Faustian legend. Alongside the opera’s lyrical arias, the French master includes ballet music, which lends the whole work an epic scale and grandeur – and in this concert, and in this concert serves as the orchestral coda. 

Krzysztof Siwoń