The Met Orchestra made its Proms debut at the Royal Albert Hall with an all-Strauss programme, showcasing an exceptional reading of Ein Heldenleben under conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, while soprano Elza van den Heever delivered a visceral account of Salome's final scene.
Rosenkavalier Suite: A Messy Compilation
The concert opened with the Rosenkavalier suite, a compilation of unknown hand that the review describes as "frankly a mess, lurching from one bonbon to the next with never a thought for musical logic." The overblown ending was noted as "truly crass." Nézet-Séguin did a decent job of papering over the cracks, letting the music unfold naturally rather than forcing its ham-fisted transitions. The love scenes were the highlight, with the orchestra spacious and shapely, though the heart didn't leap as it might due to the absence of the human voice.
Van den Heever's Visceral Salome
South African soprano Elza van den Heever righted the balance with a magisterial fury in fuchsia, delivering a visceral account of the final scene from Salome. Her performance ran the gamut from implacable vengeance to unhinged lust, with a refulgent voice and impressive diction, even if Nézet-Séguin allowed the orchestra to overwhelm her here and there.
Ein Heldenleben: A Hero's Triumph
Ein Heldenleben, 50 minutes of one man's triumph over artistic adversity, is symphonic music on a grand scale and the kind of late-romantic meat-and-potatoes Nézet-Séguin cut his teeth on before taking the opera job in New York. This was an exceptional reading, expansive yet resolute, with a welcome determination to embrace the score's more tender moments. Persnickety woodwind and a duo of baleful tubas conjured up the composer's carping critics, while Benjamin Bowman's sinuous solo violin invoked the hero's capricious companion. Martial offstage brass and a tour de force orchestral battle preceded a glowing account of the hero's works of peace and a perfectly judged ending.
The playful exchange surrounding Van den Heever's memory lapse in an otherwise radiant account of Strauss's Zueignung only added to the impression of an undeniably class act. The concert is available on BBC Sounds until 12 October, and the Proms continue until 12 September.
