Gluck: Paride Ed Elena

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Disc 2
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Gluck: Paride Ed Elena
1.	Paride ed Elena, opera in 5 acts, Wq. 39 2:25:46
	Composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck
	Performed by Gabrieli Consort & Players, Susan Gritton, Magdalena Kozená, Carolyn Sampson, Gillian Webster and Gabrieli Players
	Conducted by Paul McCreesh

Barnes & Noble

If the title characters of Paride ed Elena don't ring a bell, it's just a matter of translation: Gluck's 1770 opera dramatizes the romance of Paris and Helen on the eve of the Trojan War. In doing so, it expands on a moment that gets passed over in most versions of the story, as love struck Paris woos the beautiful Helen toward a happy ending that the audience knows will be short-lived. Paride ed Elena is the last and least-known of three operas Gluck wrote with the librettist Ranieri de' Calzabigi -- the so-called reform operas, of which Orfeo ed Euridice has always been the most popular, followed by Alceste and more distantly by the almost-forgotten Paride. But centuries of neglect make this score's rediscovery all the sweeter, especially given the quality of the performance captured here. Magdalena Kozená is ideally suited for the role of Paris, originally composed for a castrato; lying on the high side of the mezzo-soprano range, her voice also has the agility and the impassioned personality to bring this character to life. Kozená had already included two of Paris's arias on her album Le Belle Immagini, and it's an unexpected delight to hear her sing the complete role, especially the rapturous serenade to Helen at the opera's center, "Quegli occhi belli." The cast of Paride is small, with only three other singers -- all sopranos -- but much variety is provided by the orchestral interludes and dances (some of which even represent an athletic tournament), performed with delectable style by the Gabrieli Consort and Players under period-instrument specialist Paul McCreesh. Whether you're intrigued by the opera's rarity quotient or just by the prospect of fabulous singing, this recording is sure to satisfy. Scott Paulin

New York Times

The Gabrieli ensemble plays with attractive understatement, matching the understatement of the piece itself; and Ms. Kozena...is well partnered by Susan Gritton as Elena. There are even a couple of greatest hits: "O del mio dolce ardor," at least, is familiar from aria books. The opera doesn't pack quite the punch of "Orfeo ed Euridice," but this is a fine new recording of a little-known work. Anne Midgette

Gramophone

If this underestimated opera can be resorted to the repertory, [Kozená] is the one to do it.... The wonder of this recording is that the soloists sing the words with such attention to their meaning, so -- in a word -- dramatically, as to silence criticism.... It's hard to imagine this set ever being surpassed. Richard Lawrence

Time Out New York

Magdalena Kozená is a rash, dangerous Paride, with lean but fruity and sensual phrasing, and Susan Gritton spins pearly, come-hither sounds as the initially reluctant, later impassioned Elena.... McCreesh's magnificent cast and crew serves up a veritable rainbow of sounds. Marion Lignana Rosenberg