Massenet Le Mage

[Alan Howe]

It would appear that the same performance that we have in our Downloads section is now about to be released commercially:
http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Massenet-Le-Mage/hnum/2830008

[Mark Thomas]

This is a wonderful opera, IMHO the equal of its predecessor Escalrmonde, and a must-buy for lovers of Massenet. I have now removed Colin's post of the radio broadcast.

[Alan Howe]

I've ordered it from Amazon.fr:
http://www.amazon.fr/Massenet-Mage-Jules/dp/8493968668/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377884912&sr=8-1&keywords=massenet+le+mage

[Mark Thomas]

Me too now, Alan. Thanks for the link.

[Mark Thomas]

My copy has just arrived and a handsome production it is: a generous 150 page hardback book in English and French, with several substantial essays on Massenet and various aspects of Le Mage, plus a full libretto and synopsis. Oh, and there are a couple of CDs in there too.

[Alan Howe]

Mine has arrived too. But it's to be an Xmas present, so any appreciation on my part is deferred...

[Alan Howe]

I've been listening with a mixture of excitement and frustration to this recording. Excitement because there's a lot of very fine music in Le Mage, but frustration because the singers, while worthy, aren't really up to the job. The problem is simply that the majority of the voices on offer are one size to small for their roles, with the result that there's a lot of strained and unlovely singing - and in a work with so much powerful declamation that really won't do. It's a shame because the orchestra plays well and is faithfully recorded. Unfortunately this is a work that needs singers of the first rank - as Decca provided years ago for Esclarmonde; without them this recording is no more than a stop-gap. An opportunity missed, I feel. Hats, off, though to Ediciones Singulares for releasing the opera - and in such a handsome production.

[Revilod]

Yes, Alan, that was my reaction too. The last thing you want in Massenet is a sense of strain, even in one of the grander operas. Still, as I said in my review for Amazon.co.uk, there is plenty of commitment on display and I didn't think that any of the singing was unacceptable. I wouldn't, though,  play this recording to your teenage son or daughter. Some of the singing here gives opera a bad name.  I should add that Richard Lawrence, in his "Gramophone" review, thought that only the tenor was disappointing.

By the way, my copy is one of a limited edition of 3000 copies so it may be advisable to buy now. There is likely to be a very long wait before anything better comes along,

[Alan Howe]

I suspect that there aren't any French/French-speaking singers capable of singing this opera as it should be sung these days. In the past, artists such as Régine Crespin, Guy Chauvet and José van Dam were available, but today, one would have to cast the net wider - to singers such as Sondra Radvanovsky, Jonas Kaufmann and Idebrando d'Arcangelo. And then the problem would likely be unidiomatic French. However, I'd rather have voices of the appropriate size and quality than the rather mediocre cast on offer here. Nevertheless, for Massenet fans this is a mandatory purchase.

[Mark Thomas]

It was certainly a mandatory purchase for me, and I haven't regretted it. Although I was utterly wowed at my first hearing by the unusual experience of not being disappointed when at last I heard one of my personal "holy grail" pieces, after repeated listens I can only agree with Alan and Revilod  on the quality of the singing. But none of the principals is bad and I'm prepared to put up with the less than stellar cast in the absence of any alternative.

[Kevin]

I found this to be very lovely. The singing sounded decent to me. I find Massenet rarely disappoints, he might be the most versatile operatic composer of all time. And he's still not properly appreciated today - a massive shame.