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Concert
Monday 25 August 2008
Großes Festspielhaus, Salzburg
Johan Botha (replacing Jonas Kaufmann)
Simon Keenlyside
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst
Olivier Messiaen:
Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum
Gustav Mahler:
Das Lied von der Erde
What the critics say
Gerhard Ottinger, Der neue Merker 8 September 2008
Translated by Ursula Turecek
25. 8. Großes Festspielhaus
The Cleveland Orchestra/Welser-Möst
The Cleveland Orchestra could not repeat its great operatic success with “Rusalka” here, it’s true, but with Mahler’s “Das Lied von der Erde” it succeeded in an unquestionably sophisticated and self-contained performance. Johan Botha, standing in at relatively short notice for Jonas Kaufmann who had cancelled once again, had the strength and the secure height for his three songs and came across the orchestra even better than he had demonstrated in Vienna in the past, but – like in almost all his operatic parts – he lacked emotions, nuances and modifications. That’s on the other hand what Simon Keenlyside had – he interpreted his part correctly in a song-like fashion and touched and enthused likewise with his beautiful, impeccably flowing baritone. Franz Welser-Möst pleased as he often does as a clever interpreter who nevertheless could have invested more feeling. His high technical ability inured to his benefit in the first part where he arranged neatly the delicate and also bulky work “Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum” by Messiaen (for woodwinds, brass and percussion) and lead the orchestra safely through all the cliffs. That the approach to this piece is extremely difficult and that the better part of the audience began the interval drained was only due to Messiaen.
