COMPOSERS: Rodgers & Hammerstein,Wagner
LABELS: DG
WORKS: Farewell’ from Die Walküre; Se vuol ballare
PERFORMER: with Netherlands Radio PO/Edo de Waart
CATALOGUE NO: 073 047-9
Recorded live in Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic playing superbly under the direction of Edo de Waart, Bryn Terfel’s programme falls into three parts: operatic extracts, Broadway ballads and a couple of Welsh songs to finish. He does everything to a high standard, but the operatic numbers really are unbeatable. Wotan is a role he has yet to tackle on stage, but he looks set to be its leading interpreter for a generation if this ‘Farewell’ from Die Walküre is anything to go by, and he has already seen off the competition as Falstaff and Figaro.
He lavishes voice and artistry on the Rodgers & Hammerstein and Lerner & Loewe numbers, and it seems ungrateful to suggest that actors with lesser instruments might do them better. I could personally do without the bits from Man of La Mancha and Les Mis, which frankly aren’t in the same class. The extras include rehearsal and backstage sequences in which Terfel’s humour and amiability come over attractively. There are some brief interviews, and quite a lot of promo material, but since this takes in ‘Se vuol ballare’ from Figaro and the complete final fugue from Falstaff one shouldn’t complain. George Hall