Beethoven: Leonore

Marlis Petersen (Leonore), Maximilian Schmitt (Florestan), Dimitry Ivashchenko (Rocco), Johannes Weisser (Pizarro), Robin Johannsen (Marzelline), Johannes Chum (Jaquino), Tareq Nazmi (Fernando) & Freiburger Barockorchester, Zürcher Sing-Akademie, René Jacobs

De ontwikkeling van "Leonore" (1805) naar "Fidelio" (1814) gaat door drie versies van de opera, waarvan de laatste in de 19e eeuw steeds populairder werd. René Jacobs besloot de andere kant op te gaan en, na het herwerken van het libretto en de dialogen, de oudste versie te presenteren als een herontdekking: Dit nog niet erkende "Leonore" is een waar meesterwerk. De onvergelijkbare muzikale en dramaturgische structuur stelt de hoogste eisen aan zangers en orkest. Maar deze opname doet hen meer dan gerechtigheid, en het zal geschiedenis maken!

Beethoven:
 Leonore

"Of the principals only Johannes Weisser’s Don Pizarro disappoints, and even he is strong in the dialogue. Jacobs’s tempos are fast – sometimes a bit skittishly so – and the sublimity one looks for is missing; yet overall this is an exciting account that offers a fresh look at an edition widely perceived to have been superseded by the composer himself.
BBC Music Magazine - February 2020 ****

"Jacobs writes a passionate note in the CD booklet championing 1805 as the best version of the opera. He then backs it up with a swift, dramatic musical performance. As in the past, the result often sounds like a young Klemperer with original instruments, never afraid to let wind, brass or drums speak their parts out as contributors to Beethoven’s dramatic timbre. It makes for a performance well prepared and cast with the lighter (but always agile) voices that Jacobs tends to favour.
Gramophone Magazine - February 2020

There is no question that Jacobs has here translated his academic argument into fervent advocacy...He is aided by a superlative performance from the Freiburger Barockorchester: the string playing, by turn lightly pointed or fiery, is complemented by characterful wind…[Petersen] gives a poised, exquisitely shaped and tonally beautiful account of the role...An early contender, the set bodes well to be one of the Beethoven year’s enduring highlights.""
Opera - March 2020