Reviews

Irish Times critcs review O'Rourke, RTÉCO/Ó Duinn at the National Concert Hall and Kiri te Kanawa in Belfast

O'Rourke, RTÉCO/Ó Duinn

National Concert Hall, Dublin

The RTÉ Concert Orchestra opened its summer schedule with a colourful hotchpotch under conductor laureate Proinnsías Ó Duinn.

It took a while for the violins to achieve complete solidarity at the exuberant pace set by Ó Duinn in Mendelssohn's overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream. But the all-important spirit was right, tapping into the high energy, humour and theatricality of the 17-year-old composer's extraordinary evocation of summer and Shakespeare.

Other tributes to the season were less effective. Both Delius's Summer Night on the River and Kodály's Summer Evening passed by rather quickly, the one losing its luxurious laziness, the other its warmth. Even Debussy's orchestrations of the Gymnopédies 1 and 3 by Erik Satie had an impatient feel in a concert in which quick music appeared to be conferred with most-favoured status.

So it was that the jolly piccolo, cymbals and folk-tinged crash-bang-wallop of Dvorák's Carnival overture got the second half off to an energetic start.

Likewise, the authentic dance rhythms and colourful orchestration used by Chabrier in his Spanish portrait España made for a lively conclusion. Best of all was 'The Dance of the Hours' from the ballet within Ponchielli's opera La Gioconda. Ó Duinn drew delicacy and charm laced with gentle humour in the dainty opening section and unleashed a helter-skelter of high spirits to finish.

Míceál O'Rourke was the soloist in Mozart's Piano Concerto in C, K467. Under pressure in some of the rapid finale's passage work, O'Rourke was at his best - clear, lyrical and graceful - in the famous slow movement, still associated with the otherwise forgotten 1967 Swedish film Elvira Madigan.

Michael Dungan

Kiri te Kanawa

Ulster Orchestra/Julian Reynolds

Waterfront Hall, Belfast

Mozart - Der Schauspieldirektor Overture. Gluck - Dance of the Blessed Spirits. Bizet - Carmen Suite. Ravel - Pavane. Vivaldi, Mozart, Berlioz, Cilèa and Puccini - Arias

Kiri te Kanawa sang this recital despite indisposition. No one is at their best while suffering from influenza, but her main virtues - beauty of sound and elegance of style - were evident nevertheless. The music is caressed with a fine, warm tone that lends a natural distinction to whatever she sings. Under happier circumstances one would doubtless have heard more fullness of tone, more steadiness and more confidence in developing phrases.

The programme was well chosen. The three Vivaldi arias (from Il Giustino; Arsilda, Regina di Ponto; and Bajazet) show his characteristic melancholy and featured some fine solo playing from the orchestra, particularly from the guest leader, Simon Fischer. The Mozart group placed the familiar 'Porgi, amor' alongside 'Vado, ma dove?', intended for insertion into an opera by Soler, and the concert aria 'Nehmt meinen Dank'.

In the second half of the concert a sense of strain began to be evident in three songs from Berlioz's Les Nuits d'Été, and the advertised excerpts from La Bohème and Turandot (Liù's 'Signore, ascolta') were cancelled in a gracious, apologetic speech. Instead, she put her all into a touching performance of 'Io son l'umile ancilla', adding 'O mio babbino caro' by way of compensation for the other Puccini items.

Under the circumstances it's understandable if it wasn't great stuff, vocally, but there was plenty of charm. The Ulster Orchestra under Julian Reynolds gave us a spirited and precise Carmen suite, a dreamily romantic Gluck 'Dance of the Blessed Spirits' and a slow, subtly blended Ravel 'Pavane'.

Dermot Gault