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A bit late maybe ,but still ,someone may be interested in the concerts of the Berlin concerts (I can only speak about the first two).Due to the low numbers of arias ,it will be a bit shorter.Almost I would not have gone there,but when I bought tickets for the next years Cosi in Berlin,I just had to check ,if there were tickets left for those concerts.There it was: first row center.It must have happened by accident,but somehow ,I had two tickets for those concerts in my hands.
I donīt think,I have to introduce the two Berenices,the Gluck one is well preserved on CD in a great recording with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and the Haydn even better on video with the Concentus Musicus Wien with Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducting a grand ,much slower than Rattle ,interpretation .
The Berenices were surrounded by two Haydn symphonies ,No 67 and 90 .The Berliner Philharmoniker under Rattles baton played wonderful,elegant,powerful ,letting Haydn almost sound like a Beethoven symphonie,but never loosing transparency in the orchestration.
After No 67 Cecilia appeared in her orange silk dress,beautiful ,very healthy looking (After the minor cold i Bremen),radiating like always ,being greeted by a frentic applause.
Before the music even started ,something happened: Cecilia was replaced by someone ,I know very well,but never expected to meet in person :Berenice .And more,it wasnīt Berenice reappearing in form of Cecilia Bartoli,it WAS Berenice in exact the moment ,when one of the most dramatic and tragic moments in her life happens,we became eyewitnesses of the drama in realtime as the music started.We lived through Berenices rage ,love,grief,hatred ,each slight change of emotion was for us to be shared .I think,this describes best ,what Cecilia did with Haydns (and Glucks) Berenice.She totally dissolved in the music ,to a point ,where she definitley changed her persona.Her singing wasnīt singing in the common sense,it was much more than that ,it was really giving us the chance ,to participate totally in her drama (she sang and acted), her singing was immaculate ,each word comprehensible, her body and her face became the extension of her emotions,the slightest change in the mood of the music was reflected there.She was so totally wrapped into that music ,that at the end,when there was no line for her to sing any more,her body was still in movement during the last seconds of orchestral music,she breathed audible in response to the overwhelming feelings of madness and still felt as Berenice ,not as Cecilia.I had the feeling of witnessing a supernova explode,she burned so much energy in singing and performing that piece,I never would have imagined was possible.On the second evening ,the Haydn Berenice was almost as supernova-like as on the first ,but it wouldnīt be a CB concert ,if she wouldnīt have sung a kind of another version of that aria.It was powerful,but on the other hand a more intimate interpretation,even more detailed in the execution of the different parts of that cantata.Again ,I had the feeling ,to hear Berenice ,not Ceilia.There were literally dozens of beautiful details to listen to,but one still is in mind ,cause it touched me deeply .The line "Aspetta,anima bella" leads into a short orchestral bridge,after "bella" Berenice/Cecilia sighed almost inaudible.It was a heartbreakig sigh ,expressig her grief even deeper,deeply moving .After the Haydn Berenice she needed some time ,to return and become Cecilia again.
After the interval Glucks Berenice was equally great ,again Cecilia changed her persona.I personally prefer Haydns Berenice,but that doesnīt mean ,I donīt love Glucks. Cecilias interpreation was amazing ,detailed,intense,comprehensive ,very human.She sang the topped high note at the end as she did on the CD,technically amazing.
As encore,she sang "Al tuo seno fortunato" (the mood had to be changed ,she said to me afterwards) and gave a thrilling interpretation of it.Her singing was pure joy,You could hear a smile in her voice.The execution of the embellishments was as perfect and breathtaking as ever,the extension into the soprano register has gotten more and more secure in the last years and she didnīt have ANY problems with singing the highest notes in this aria.Keep in mind ,that she was accompanied by the Berliner Philharmoniker ,which means a higher pitch on the one hand (as the instruments are not hitorical) and simply louder sound ,which means ,that her voice has also gained a lot of pure volume (of course never to be used without need) and stamina.I remember her singing the Genio aria in the non-staged performance of Haydns "Orfeo" in Bremen two years ago and remember that this particular aria was quite a bit of an obstacle (which she surpassed brilliantly anyway) .She always likes to refer to the elastic band to describe the abilitly of stretching the voice at each end of the band .And at this point of her career,she is in total control of a stretched band,that must cover about three octaves with perfect blended registers.
There was a posting of Renato a few days before about the Cecilia and the attacks,she has to take from critics,about a small voice (totally wrong) or weird faces.The Berenice scenes are the watershed between those ,who usually gather here in the forum and admire not only her singing but her brilliant acting ,which makes it possible ,to transform into Berencie and those ,who consider her interpretation with the huge amount of body movement and facial expressions ,which go beyond just keeping a smile on her face.And this clearly shows the access way to Cecilias art: itīs through emotional response or the inability to be emotional touched by music and Cecilias art in particular.
I wouldnīt have wanted to miss these evenings.
Another great side effect of these concerts was to spend time with new friends: Karen,Steffi,Frankie and Frank.Thanks to them ,I hardly even found time ,to see any of the sights of Berlin -:)) .Thank You very much -:) . I enjoyed our time very much and look back at it with great pleasure.Iīm looking forward to our next meeting.
The concerts were recorded and will be broadcasted on RBB on october 13th at 8 pm.I would love to get my hands on that recording.If anyone can make me a copy of it ,i will be forever greatful.
So again, wehad the chance ,to attend great concerts with Cecilia .As much as I know about her effect on me ,Iīm always overwhlemed by the fact ,how she is able ,to top herself any time ,I see her.
Grazie mille ,Cecilia for these wonderful memories.
Klaus
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BERLIN - VIVA BERENICE 
Thanks
by steffi, 2003, Sep 30
