Few operas are a stranger blend than Isaac Albéniz's Merlin: although it's by a Spanish composer better known for his nationalistic piano works, it's set to an English libretto, and the ripe romantic music has a Germanic strain reminiscent of Wagner (though there are a few Iberian-sounding touches in the third act). The echoes of The Ring are appropriate, in that librettist Francis Burdett Money-Coutts intended it as the first part of a grand trilogy of British myth that would be continued in works entitled Lancelot and Guenevere. Only the first opera was completed, however, but was never performed in Albéniz's lifetime and presumed lost until Jos( de Eusebio, who conducts this premiere performance, reconstructed the score. Merlin is hardly a masterpiece--Money-Coutts' text, which often sounds like pretentious doggerel, is proof positive of that--but it's an enjoyable work, with engaging if not memorable music. On the performance side, the orchestral playing is sometimes scrappy, but always at least decent, and the sets and costumes are minimalist but adequate. The singing, however, is highly variable. The two leading men are quite good (though Stuart Skelton, as the Siegfried-like Arthur, is no match for Placido Domingo, who took the part in an earlier audio version), but Eva Marton displays a big, wobbly voice as Morgan le Fay, and Carol Vaness is only slightly smoother as Nivian. Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo, this double-disc set also includes a series of interviews with the conductor and the major singers. Given the fact that another recording of Merlin seems unlikely, this is recommended, overall, for larger classical music collections. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)
Merlin
(2003) 2 discs. 184 min. DVD: $39.99. BBC Opus Arte (dist. by Naxos of America). Color cover. Volume 19, Issue 5
Merlin
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