Ludovico’s Band opened their Local Heroes series of concerts for 2013 with a program of music that echoed their debut performance: a selection of gems by Claudio Monteverdi. The miniature masterpieces selected for Tuesday night’s program made for a rare delight. Outstanding virtuosity on the part of both instrumentalists and singers, coupled with a sense of theatre, invested this superb music with great emotional intensity.
The physical beauty of the finely crafted Baroque instruments played by Ludovico’s Band provided something of a visual feast too. Against a raised backdrop of viola da gamba, lirone, theorbo, guitars, harpsichord, harp and other early instruments, the singers presented the joys and (mainly) sorrows of love in its various manifestations.
As was fitting, the program began with the opening passages of L’Orfeo. A faint off-stage drum announced the toccata, and Guy du Blét advanced into the salon to be joined by the other players in a rousing fanfare. This might not have had quite the impact that the customary addition of trumpets would have provided, but the enthusiasm and spirit were certainly there. Greta Bradman’s Prologue as La Musica was rich-voiced, highly expressive and tastefully ornamented. In fact, the fine quality of the ornamentation by all performers was one of the outstanding and most satisfying features of the evening.
As a trio of cads, Tyrone Landau, Daniel Todd and Nicholas Dinopoulos blended their voices most effectively to mock the laments of La Ninfa, touchingly portrayed by Bradman in Lamento della Ninfa. The rocking bass string accompaniment and some atmospherics from the wind machine added to the drama.
The most heightened dramatic moments came in Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda. With Ludovico’s Band, directed by Paul Dyer, Victorian Opera had mounted a fine performance of this mini opera in the Elisabeth Murdoch Hall two years ago; however, the intimacy of the Salon and the astonishing performance by Tyrone Landau as Narrator made Tuesday night’s performance something even more extraordinary. Clorinda’s ride across the mountains, battle scenes, rage, defiance and the tragic death of this female Muslim warrior at the hands of an ultimately remorseful Christian Tancredi were all vividly portrayed using an economy of means. The Band realised the power of Monteverdi’s ingenious use of effects and Landau made full use of every dramatic opportunity that text and music had to offer. Of the many performances of Monteverdi’s operas that I have heard, I cannot think of any singer who has made the ornamentation of the period more meaningful. There was plenty of it, but every note, even the many Monteverdi trills, served a dramatic purpose. Because Landau had securely memorized his part, he was able to communicate the story with theatrical gesture as well as vocal nuance. His firm, attractive tenor and total immersion in the moment were so much at one with the dramatic intention of the text and the music that I am sure I was not the only member of the audience who had to blink back the odd tear. As Clorinda, Bradman’s final, lingering ‘Farewell, I die in peace’ was most affecting.
After a heartfelt account of the sorrow-drenched Si dolce è’l tormento by Nicholas Dinopoulos, the mood lightened a little for Zefiro Torna, where the glories of nature are celebrated despite the anguish of lost love. The two tenor voices complemented each other beautifully, with Landau and Todd relishing the weaving of melodic lines and characteristic dissonances of Monteverdi’s harmonies.
Under Marshall McGuire’s direction this program offered a truly memorable experience. The thoughtful selection of music and the exceptional beauty and vitality of the performances are worthy of many repeats. I would urge any music lover who was not part of Tuesday night’s capacity audience to demand at least one.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Monteverdi Masterpieces
Ludovico’s Band
Guests:
Greta Bradman, soprano
Tyrone Landau, tenor
Daniel Todd, tenor
Nicholas Dinopoulos, bass-baritone
Program:
Claudio Monteverdi
L’Orfeo: Toccata and Prologue
Lamento della Ninfa
Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda
Si dolce è’l tormento
Zefiro Torna
Melbourne Recital Centre
7 May
