Michael Spyres: Contra-Tenor
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Label: Erato
Cat No: 5419729346
Format: CD
Number of Discs: 1
Genre: Opera
Release Date: 21st April 2023
Contents
Works
Alessandro nell'indice » Vil trofeo dun alma imbelle
Orfeo ed Euridice (Orpheus and Eurydice) » J'ai perdu mon Euridice
Tamerlano, HWV18 » E il soffrirete, d'onestade, oh Numi?... Empio, per farti guerra
Arminio » Solcar pensa un mar sicuro
Siroe, re di Persia » Se il mio paterno amore
Persee (Perseus) » Cessons de redoutez
» Passacaille
Antigono » Tu m'involasti un regno
Mitridate, re di Ponto, K87 » Se di lauri
Roland » En butte aux fureurs de l'orage
Germanico in Germania » Nocchier, che mai non vide l'orror della tempesta
Nais » Cessez de ravager la terre
Achille in Sciro » Fra l'ombre un lampo solo
Catone in Utica » Si sgomenti alle sue pene
Artabano, re de' parti RV706b » Cada pur sul capo audace
Artists
Michael Spyres (tenor)Il Pomo d’Oro
Conductor
Francesco CortiWorks
Alessandro nell'indice » Vil trofeo dun alma imbelle
Orfeo ed Euridice (Orpheus and Eurydice) » J'ai perdu mon Euridice
Tamerlano, HWV18 » E il soffrirete, d'onestade, oh Numi?... Empio, per farti guerra
Arminio » Solcar pensa un mar sicuro
Siroe, re di Persia » Se il mio paterno amore
Persee (Perseus) » Cessons de redoutez
» Passacaille
Antigono » Tu m'involasti un regno
Mitridate, re di Ponto, K87 » Se di lauri
Roland » En butte aux fureurs de l'orage
Germanico in Germania » Nocchier, che mai non vide l'orror della tempesta
Nais » Cessez de ravager la terre
Achille in Sciro » Fra l'ombre un lampo solo
Catone in Utica » Si sgomenti alle sue pene
Artabano, re de' parti RV706b » Cada pur sul capo audace
Artists
Michael Spyres (tenor)Il Pomo d’Oro
Conductor
Francesco CortiAbout
Michael Spyres’s new album is the perfect companion to his 2021 BariTenor release, which received rave reviews worldwide.
Recorded with the fabulous Il Pomo d’Oro under Francesco Corti.
Features works by Handel, Hasse, Mazzoni, Porpora, Sarro, Vinci, Vivaldi, and more – spanning even to Mozart.
These two albums show the progression of vocal writing for the natural male voice: in Contra-Tenor from 1707–1770, then BariTenor as the male vocal categorisation begins to blur from 1790 through the mid-20th century.
Michael’s vision is to bridge the gap between “early music” and “classical music”, directing fans of both eras to each other’s territory through these unique and distinct album concepts.
He crafts these programmes with great care and is intelligent, witty, and brilliant on the stage and in interviews!
“In truth, this album’s concept was born out of my research to find the absolute extremes of the human voice whether it be yodeling, Tuvan throat singing, overtone singing, or the many categories of the classical voice. There has never been an album dedicated to this era of vocal history which is by all accounts uncategorizable by the fach system not to mention virtually unsingable to most singers in the present day” – Michael Spyres
“A tenor who has the world at his feet.” – Opera 2017
Recorded with the fabulous Il Pomo d’Oro under Francesco Corti.
Features works by Handel, Hasse, Mazzoni, Porpora, Sarro, Vinci, Vivaldi, and more – spanning even to Mozart.
These two albums show the progression of vocal writing for the natural male voice: in Contra-Tenor from 1707–1770, then BariTenor as the male vocal categorisation begins to blur from 1790 through the mid-20th century.
Michael’s vision is to bridge the gap between “early music” and “classical music”, directing fans of both eras to each other’s territory through these unique and distinct album concepts.
He crafts these programmes with great care and is intelligent, witty, and brilliant on the stage and in interviews!
“In truth, this album’s concept was born out of my research to find the absolute extremes of the human voice whether it be yodeling, Tuvan throat singing, overtone singing, or the many categories of the classical voice. There has never been an album dedicated to this era of vocal history which is by all accounts uncategorizable by the fach system not to mention virtually unsingable to most singers in the present day” – Michael Spyres
“A tenor who has the world at his feet.” – Opera 2017
Sound/Video
Paused
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1Lully: Persée, LWV 60: Cessons de redouter (Act 5) [Persée]
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2Lully: Persée, LWV 60: Passacaille (Act 5)
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3Handel: Tamerlano, HWV 18: E il soffrirete, d’onestade, oh Numi? ... Empio, per farti guerra (Act 3) [Bajazet]
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4Vivaldi: Artabano, re de’ parti, RV 701: Cada pur sul capo audace (Act 3) [Artabano]
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5Vinci: Catone in Utica: Si sgomenti all sue pene (Act 1) [Catone]
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6Porpora: Germanico in Germania: Nocchier, che mai non vide l’orror della tempesta (Act 1) [Segeste]
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7Sarro: Schille in Sciro: Fra l’ombre un lampo solo (Act 1) [Ulisse]
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8Galuppi: Alessandro nell’Indie: Vil trofeo d’un’alma imbelle (Act 1) [Alessandro]
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9Latilla: Siroe, re di Persia: Se il mio paterno amore (Act 1) [Cosroe]
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10Hasse: Arminio: Solcar pensa un mar sicuro (Act 1) [Segeste]
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11Rameau: Naïs, RCT 49: Cessez de ravager la terre (Act 3) [Neptune]
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12Mazzoni: Antigono: Tu m’involasi un regno (Act 1) [Antigono]
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13Gluck: Orphée et Eurydice, Wq. 41: J’ai perdu mon Eurydice (Act 4) [Orphée]
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14Mozart: Mitridate, re di Ponto, K87: Se di lauri (Act 1) [Mitridate]
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15Piccinni: Roland: En butte aux fureurs de l’orage (Act 1) [Médor]
Europadisc Review
Michael Spyres consolidates his position as the most versatile tenor of today with his new album Contra-Tenor, a follow-up (and also prequel) to his critically acclaimed 2021 disc BariTenor. That earlier recording was notable for its wide chronological range – from Mozart and Méhul via Verdi and Wagner to Ravel, Korngold and Orff – as much as for showcasing operatic excerpts for voices encompassing both traditional tenor and baritone tessituras. But in many ways Contra-Tenor is more remarkable still. The range covers the Baroque and early classical eras, but the style ranges from the haute-contre of Lully to the operas of Gluck, Mozart and Piccinni. And, quite apart from Spyres’s own astonishing range – which is fully equal to the demands of music written for some of the genre’s first tenore assoluto – there’s the sheer delight of discovering so many rare and outstanding arias, several of them previously unrecorded.
The most famous single item here is ‘J’ai perdu mon Eurydice’ from Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice; the rarities encompass not just works by lesser-known figures like Leonardo Vinci, Domenico Sarro, Baldassare Galuppi and Johann Adolph Hasse, but such elusive composers as Gaetano Latilla (1711–1788) and Antonio Maria Mazzoni (1717–1785). Most of the excerpts are in Italian, demonstrating the dominance of Italian opera during the Baroque period, but the arias by Lully, Rameau, Gluck and Piccinni are in French, the other main stylistic pole of the era. All are delivered with immense stylishness by Spyres, partnered by the excellent period instrumentalists of Il Pomo d’Oro under the vibrant direction of Francesco Corti.
Spyres’s mission on this recording is to shift the vocal spotlight onto a voice-type that was just as celebrated in the Baroque period as the castrati whose repertoire has been a focus of performers (mezzos and countertenors) in recent years. And his success can be measured by the vivid characterisation he brings to each of these pieces, hugely demanding as they are on the singer’s technique.
The album opens with a polished account of Persée’s aria ‘Cessons de redouter’ from Act 5 of Lully’s Persée, followed by the elegant Passacaille from the same opera (the only purely instrumental work on the album). From there we fast-forward to Handel (Bajazet’s impassioned ‘Empio, per farti guerra’ from Tamerlano) and Vivaldi (Artabano’s imposing ‘Cada pur sul capo audace’ from Artabano, re de’ parti). None of these works is exactly standard repertoire today, but the fun really starts with the lesser-known items.
‘Si sgomenti all sue pene’ from Vinci’s Catone in Utica, with its raucous horns, piercing string gestures and brilliant coloratura, is rollickingly bracing. Just as thrilling is the tremulous vocal figuration of Segeste’s ‘Nocchier, chem ai non vide’ from Porpora’s Germanico in Germania. Ulisse’s ‘Fra l’ombre un lampo solo’ from Sarro’s Achille in Sciro brings a measure of repose (although it is nevertheless highly demanding for the voice), but ‘Vil trofeo d’un’alma imbelle’ from Galuppi’s Alessandro nell’Indie – though still fairly sedate in tempo – exploits the upper vocal register to striking effect.
And then the fireworks really start, with Cosroe’s blistering ‘Se il mio paterno amore’ from Latilla’s Siroe, re di Persia – not just an astonishing range across two-and-a-half octaves, but some lightning-quick coloratura into the bargain! After characterful excursions into Hasse (Arminio) and Rameau (Naïs), the other real thriller is the titular hero’s aria ‘Tu m’involasti un regno’ from Mazzoni’s Antigono, with perhaps the disc’s single most jaw-dropping moment: a three-octave descent in the final cadenza, taking the voice from the mezzo range right down to the depths of the baritone!
The remaining items – Gluck, Mitridate’s ‘Se di lauri’ from Mozart’s youthful opera seria, and Médor’s ‘En butte aux fureurs de l’orage from Piccinni’s Roland – are all delivered with Spyres’s peerless combination of technical mastery, stylistic sensitivity and depth of characterisation.
Recorded in the dryish acoustics of Villa San Fermo, Lonigo, the sound is well-focused throughout, lending a captivating immediacy to the performances, and the booklet comes with texts and translations as well as Spyres’s own engagingly-written booklet notes. All in all, a sumptuous feast for fans of Baroque and early Classical opera, a shot in the arm for the recorded tenor repertoire, and a sure-fire entry into the year’s shortlist of outstanding albums.
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