teddy tahu rhodes

476 227-2
“thevoice
teddy tahu rhodes
1
GEORGES BIZET 1838-1875
Votre toast (Toreador’s Song) from Carmen
5’04
Frasquita Alison Morgan
Mercédès Jenny Duck-Chong
Carmen Sally-Anne Russell
VINCENZO BELLINI 1801-1835
Ah! Per sempre io ti perdei (Ah! Forever I have lost you)
from I Puritani (The Puritans)
4’29
3
CHARLES GOUNOD 1818-1893
Avant de quitter ces lieux (Before I leave these parts) from Faust
4’16
4
PYOTR IL’YICH TCHAIKOVSKY 1840-1893
Ya vas lyublyu (Yeletsky’s Aria) from Pikovaya Dama (The Queen of Spades)
5’11
5
GIACOMO PUCCINI 1858-1924
Questo amor (This love) from Edgar
3’20
6
RICHARD WAGNER 1813-1883
O du, mein holder Abendstern (Song of the Evening Star) from Tannhäuser
5’38
GEORGES BIZET
Au fond du temple saint (In the depths of the holy temple)
from Les Pêcheurs de Perles (The Pearl Fishers)
5’41
2
“thevoice
7
David Hobson tenor
Thomas Woods conductor
8
9
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH 1685-1750
Mache dich, mein Herze, rein (Purify yourself, my heart)
from Matthäuspassion (St Matthew Passion), BWV244
6’15
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Gebt mir meinen Jesum wieder (Give me back my Jesus)
from Matthäuspassion (St Matthew Passion), BWV244
2’53
Anna McDonald solo violin
2
3
0
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL 1685-1759
Why do the nations from Messiah, HWV56
2’27
!
PERCY GRAINGER 1882-1961
Shallow Brown from Sea Chanty Settings No. 3
6’49
@
TRADITIONAL (arr. Sean O’Boyle)
O Waly, Waly
5’44
Jane Sheldon soprano
£
FANNIE ROSE HOWIE 1868-1916 (arr. Sean O’Boyle)
Hine e Hine
4’53
$
PARAIRE TOMOANA c.1875-1946 (arr. Sean O’Boyle)
Pokarekare Ana
4’27
Alison Morgan solo soprano, Jenny Duck-Chong solo alto
Total Playing Time
Teddy Tahu Rhodes
Antony Walker conductor
Thomas Woods conductor 7 only
Sinfonia Australis 1- 7, !- $
Orchestra of the Antipodes 8- 0
Cantillation 1, !, $
4
69’10
any one point when I thought I could sing,’ he
says, still sounding a little incredulous. Having
been a member of the New Zealand Youth Choir
at 17, his self-doubt meant that for an entire year
he avoided taking the obligatory lessons which
came with membership of the elite vocal group.
By the time he became a Christchurch
University student, however, he couldn’t avoid
the issue any longer. Ostensibly studying for a
Commerce degree, he took on additional music
performance units ‘and from there it snowballed
pretty rapidly.’
In the beginning was The Voice, but as a child
growing up in Christchurch, New Zealand, Teddy
Tahu Rhodes couldn’t have imagined that his
second album for ABC Classics would bear the
very title of his innate gift. ‘I’d always had a
voice that was good to sing with in the school
choir,’ he says during final mastering of the
album, ‘but I never knew that I had a voice
which was going to take me anywhere.’ Where
it’s taken him, in fact, is onto the great operatic
stages of the world, with the richness and
power of his voice now placing him among the
elite singers of his generation.
‘Every year that goes by I think that it can’t get
any better than the previous year,’ he says, ‘but
new opportunities come around and it’s just
something that develops constantly.’
If he seems surprised at the success which has
come his way since making his Opera Australia
debut in 1998 he could be forgiven. ‘I have no
family background in music whatsoever,’ he says.
In fact, he comes from pioneering stock in New
Zealand’s South Island, with his forebears
farming in the district since the 1850s and one
of his grandfathers, George Rhodes, was at one
time the Mayor of Christchurch.
After graduation he moved to London to further
his vocal studies at the Guildhall School of Music
and in the same year, aged 23, he won the
Mobil Song Quest – New Zealand’s major
operatic singing competition. But with the
operatic world at his feet, he decided to return
home to New Zealand after only a year. ‘Being a
New Zealander is something that you don’t get
out of your blood very easily,’ he says. Back in
his hometown, the 24-year-old gave away
professional singing and for the next seven years
pursued a career in IT at a manufacturing firm
and subsequently became an accountant for a
law firm in Christchurch.
The Voice became apparent to others well
before Teddy himself was prepared to
acknowledge it. ‘When I went to university and
started taking lessons I was singled out as
someone with huge potential but as far as
knowing where it could take me, there wasn’t
Inevitably, however, The Voice could not be hidden
forever, and bit-part singing for Canterbury Opera
eventually led to the larger role of Marcello in a
production of Puccini’s La Bohème. ‘On the day
before opening night the lead tenor was taken ill
and they brought Anson Austin across from
5
The raw young recruit was given the role of
Dandini in Rossini’s La Cenerentola but needed
advice from the director about even the most
basic stagecraft. ‘I was so green I didn’t even
know how to stand on stage properly.
Everything was exciting to me. Here I was
suddenly singing in the Sydney Opera House!’
From there, one major role followed another,
with Teddy effectively bypassing the
apprenticeship or young artist schemes which
other emerging talents undergo. ‘I was on a
steep learning curve,’ he says, ‘with every role I
took on being new.’ Now he’s in demand not just
within the traditional repertoire but for new
operas as well.
Australia to sing on the night,’ Teddy recalls.
‘Anson went back to Opera Australia and said that
they should hear me. I was still mucking around
at that stage but Sharolyn Kimmorley flew across
to hear me in New Zealand.’
But it was never going to be simple. Still uncertain
of his prodigious gifts, the now 32-year-old didn’t
turn up for his audition and the Opera Australia
representative flew back across the Tasman
without having heard him. ‘It sounds weak and
lame,’ Teddy recalls, ‘but I just didn’t think I was
good enough. It felt like if I turned up and failed,
any little hope I had that I might one day be able
to do this was gone.’ Friends and colleagues then
prevailed, begging Kimmorley and Opera Australia
Artistic Director Moffatt Oxenbould to give the shy
accountant a second chance. The very next day
Teddy flew to Australia and with that incredible
voice booming through the audition studio he was
offered a job on the spot.
So when he came to record The Voice, he had a
world of music at his disposal. ‘The idea was to
record an album which is a picture of me, rather
than something that I’ve been told to sing.’
When the final selection was made, most of the
pieces were Romantic in style, and the
recording gave Teddy the opportunity to balance
pieces which he’s performed regularly with arias
that he has always wanted to sing.
‘In the end it was good that I had to fly across to
Australia and put myself on the line in front of
both Sharolyn and Moffatt,’ Teddy says, ‘especially
after I’d already gotten off on a bad footing. It
was character building. Now Sharolyn is my
biggest mentor and a great personal friend.’
He’s appeared in many oratorios by Bach and
Handel and often listens to Bach for pleasure,
so the two arias from the mighty St Matthew
Passion (1729) were a logical choice. ‘I’ve done
the St Matthew Passion a few times so with
these great musicians at my disposal I thought it
was a good opportunity to put this inspiring
He values such collegial support highly. ‘In this
business you’re so dependent on people having
faith in you, finding your talent and nurturing it,
giving you the support and the opportunities you
need because it’s so hard to create them yourself.’
6
7
music onto disc,’ he says. Gebt mir meinen
Jesum wieder (Give me back my Jesus) is the
great bass aria from the Second Part and
features a prominent violin part which some
think represents the scattering of the 30 pieces
of silver. Mache dich (Purify yourself), which is
performed as Jesus is being buried, features the
oboe d’amore, but more importantly its 12/8
time signature places heavy demands on the
breath control of the singer. Not that Teddy Tahu
Rhodes seems to notice its formidable technical
challenges. ‘Maybe it’s just part of having started
late,’ he says of the ease with which he breathes
through the aria’s notoriously extended phrases.
‘I didn’t get hooked up on all the traps and
difficulties of performing the music before I
actually did it. I was able to do it vocally without
falling initially into the traps that younger artists
encounter. I’ve never found that technical side of
it difficult. Other things are, but not that!’
often requested from him at corporate functions
as a kind of ‘party piece’. He’s already sung the
role of Escamillo for Opera Australia and has
several more performances of it scheduled over
coming years. But for Teddy this aria, in which
the great bullfighter recalls his adventures in the
ring, always reminds him of his own drama in an
arena production of Carmen in Auckland. ‘I had
to ride a horse onto the arena and sing while in
the saddle,’ he says of the outdoor production of
Bizet’s masterpiece. ‘I wasn’t a horseman at the
time and had to have two lessons before the
show opened. At the dress rehearsal in front of
5,000 people I lost control of the horse and was
left galloping out of the stadium literally half off,
with my arms around its neck and not holding
onto the reins! It eventually threw me, which
was kind of embarrassing. But I’ve since
become more capable on horseback!’
The same is true of the extraordinary bass
coloratura in Why do the nations from Handel’s
Messiah (1741). In its critique of slavery, the
aria’s tempo is always swift, creating a sense of
rage at the impertinence of kings and rulers who
take the servants of the Lord into bondage.
Teddy says he included it on this CD simply
because it’s a great aria, and it’s one which he
continued to sing even during those years when
he made his living as an accountant.
Valentin’s Aria, Avant de quitter ces lieux
(originally set to the English words ‘Even Bravest
Heart May Swell’) from Gounod’s Faust (1859) is
new to Teddy’s repertoire. ‘I’ve sung in Faust but
I sang the bass role of Méphistophélès,’ he says.
‘In recent years I’ve been more able to attempt
baritone roles so these days I’m now more likely
to sing Valentin than Méphistophélès. It’s music
which I find so beautiful and I’ve always tried to
find the chance to sing it.’ In the aria, Valentin is
going off to war and prays for the safety of his
sister Marguerite while he is away. And if he
The famous Toreador’s Song (Votre Toast) from
Bizet’s Carmen (1875) is another favourite and is
8
Eschinbach’s Song of the Evening Star (O du,
mein holder Abendstern) from Wagner’s
Tannhäuser (1845) is a work he’s sung for many
years. In the famous aria, performed as night
falls in Act Three, the singer confesses his love
for Elisabeth. ‘It was really the first aria I ever
aired in public to anyone of authority anywhere
anytime,’ he says of his performance of it as a
19-year-old in the initial stages of the Dame
Mary Leo Scholarship. ‘It was for New Zealand’s
most promising singer. My singing teacher at
the time – an Australian named Mary Adams
Taylor – said that one day I would realise how
hard this piece of music is. I’ve sung it many
times now and even though I didn’t realise it
back then, I now find it extraordinarily difficult
music to sing! I won the competition with it,
so I have a soft spot for it.’
should die, he asks that he may be able to
watch over his beloved sister from heaven.
Bellini’s aria Ah! Per sempre io ti perdei (Ah!
Forever I have lost you) from I Puritani (The
Puritans) (1835) on the other hand is a tale of
lost love, with the Puritan Colonel Sir Riccardo
Forth lamenting to his friend Sir Bruno
Robertson that his beloved Elvira has been
pledged to another. ‘I heard a friend of mine
singing the aria in the finals of the BBC Cardiff
Singer of the World competition,’ Teddy says. ‘I
fell in love with it and wished that I’d chosen the
music before I got there. I also heard Dmitri
Hvorostovsky sing it. It’s a beautiful piece of
music, and having heard really good singers sing
it, I thought I’d like to have a go as well.’
Another work which Teddy heard Hvorostovsky
singing is Ya vas lyublyu, Yeletsky’s aria from
Tchaikovsky’s Pikovaya Dama (The Queen of
Spades) (1890). ‘I’m quite a fan of him as a
singer, and who knows whether I’ll ever get a
chance to perform this aria in an opera
performance,’ he says. ‘It’s a romantic piece of
music and again I simply fell in love with it.’ In
the aria itself, Prince Yeletsky confesses to Lisa
that he loves her beyond all measure and would
do anything for her, but that he feels she is not
forthcoming and doesn’t trust him enough.
Teddy’s favourite melody on the CD, however, is
Questo amor (This love) – sung by the humble
Frank who is infatuated with the scornful gipsy
Tigrana in Puccini’s early opera Edgar (1889). ‘It’s
the most glorious and wonderful piece of music,’
Teddy says. ‘This man says he will throw himself
at her feet and love her forever, even though she
laughs at him and his love for her. It’s so sad but
the power of the music is immensely strong. It’s
absolute unrequited love – he gets nothing back!
Regardless of what she thinks of him, she still
has his love. I think that’s really great!’
But while the Bellini and Tchaikovsky arias may
be new territory for Teddy, the minnesinger
9
While several of the album’s arias centre on
fictional tales of thwarted love, the glorious
Pokarekare Ana derived from a genuine case of
star-crossed infatuation. In 1912, Hawkes Bayborn Maori writer and composer (and former All
Black coach) Paraire Tomoana was prevented
from marrying his teenaged lover Kuini, so he
composed an early version of this soaring
melody to win over her reluctant family. It
worked and not only did Kuini soon become his
second wife, but the revised version of the song
continues to inspire New Zealanders, becoming
synonymous with the nation itself.
are really beautiful so I’m hoping that they’re
considered true to their cultural origins.’
Another traditional tune – although this time
from the British Isles – is O Waly, Waly
(sometimes known by its first line ‘The water is
wide’), which Teddy sings with Sydney soprano
Jane Sheldon. ‘I first heard Jane singing at a
concert in which I performed with the Sydney
Philharmonia and we were doing a new work
with Cantillation,’ he says. ‘Jane sang a solo and
it was completely mesmerising and beautiful.
Actually it was kind of intimidating it was so
good! I’m so thankful that she participated on
this recording because she is such a gorgeous
singer.’ The song was inspired by the 17thcentury story of Lady Barbara Erskine who was
falsely accused of adultery, resulting in the end
of her marriage to Lord Douglas in 1681. It
subsequently spawned multiple variations (even
‘There is a tavern in the town’ has been
identified as a likely derivative) on both sides of
the Atlantic.
Similarly, Hine e Hine became famous in New
Zealand after Maori international singing star
Fannie Rose Howie (known by the stage name
of Princess Te Rangi Pai) composed it in 1905.
Its uplifting melody and emotions, urging the
singer to be sad no longer, emerged from
Howie’s own personal experience as she
simultaneously confronted crises in her health,
career and family life. ‘Hine e Hine used to be
the tune that was played each night at the
closing down of the two New Zealand television
stations,’ Teddy says. ‘A little kiwi would climb
the satellite dish, tuck himself in at night under
the stars, and this music would be played.’ The
song is a lullaby which never fails to stir the
heart. But Teddy’s major concern with both
these New Zealand tracks is to maintain their
truth to the Maori culture from which they
emerged. ‘They are both traditional lullabies and
Maori culture is a very important part of New
Zealand’s life,’ he says. ‘I think the arrangements
Another inspired collaboration is that with David
Hobson in the famous duet Au fond du temple
saint (In the depths of the holy temple) from
Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de Perles (The Pearl
Fishers) (1863). Set in ancient Ceylon, the Act
One duet features village leader Zurga and his
lifelong fisherman friend Nadir, who have just
ended a protracted dispute and in this, arguably
the most famous baritone/tenor duet in the
operatic repertoire, they pledge never to
jeopardise their friendship again. ‘I met David at
10
Opera Australia,’ Teddy says of the singer who
rose to fame as Rodolfo in the company’s
famous production of La Bohème. ‘I’ve sung
with him before when we did a concert at a
winery in Canberra but apart from that we’ve
never been on the same stage together in
opera. This was our first opportunity to record
together.’ The soaring lines of the duet bring
some technical challenges because of its high
tessitura but for Teddy the real challenge is the
duet’s sheer popularity. ‘It must have been done
by almost every other baritone and tenor in
history and is ranked as number 1 in pieces of
classical music people want to hear, so it’s got
to be good!’ he laughs.
Less well-known but equally appealing is
Shallow Brown by ground-breaking Australian
composer Percy Grainger. Its simple, folk-like
appeal (Grainger was an inveterate folk music
collector) was featured in the movie Passion, but
Teddy first came across it when asked to sing it
during an appearance with the Sydney vocal
ensemble Cantillation. ‘It was actually for a CD
they were doing but in the end we decided to
include it on my one, to balance out the other
tracks – Pokarekare Ana and also the Toreador’s
Song – on which Cantillation also appear.’
It’s here, among these many voices, that The
Voice delivers at its best.
Martin Buzacott
11
Toreador’s Song
ESCAMILLO
1 Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre,
señors, señors, car avec les soldats,
oui, les toréros peuvent s’entendre,
pour plaisirs ils ont les combats!
Le cirque est plein, c’est jour de fête,
le cirque est plein du haut en bas.
Les spectateurs, perdant la tête,
les spectateurs s’interpellent à grand fracas!
Apostrophes, cris et tapage
poussés jusques à la fureur!
Car c’est la fête du courage!
c’est la fête des gens de cœur!
Allons! en garde! ah!
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I can return your toast,
gentlemen, for soldiers –
yes – and bullfighters understand each other;
fighting is their game!
The ring is packed, it’s a holiday,
the ring is packed from top to bottom.
The spectators, losing their wits,
yell at each other at the top of their voices!
Exclamations, cries and uproar
carried to the pitch of fury!
For this is the celebration of courage,
this is the celebration of people with heart!
Let’s go! On guard! Ah!
Toréador, en garde!
Et songe bien, oui, songe en combattant,
qu’un œil noir te regarde
et que l’amour t’attend!
Toréador, l’amour t’attend!
Toreador, on guard!
And remember, yes, remember as you fight,
that two dark eyes are watching you
and that love awaits you!
Toreador, love awaits you!
CHORUS
Toréador, en garde!
Et songe bien, oui, songe en combattant,
qu’un oeil noir te regarde
et que l’amour t’attend!
Toreador, on guard!
And remember, yes, remember as you fight,
that two dark eyes are watching you
and that love awaits you!
ESCAMILLO
Tout d’un coup, on fait silence,
on fait silence, ah! que se passe-t-il?
Plus de cris, c’est l’instant!
Le taureau s’élance
en bondissant hors du toril!
Il s’élance! Il entre, il frappe!
Suddenly everyone falls silent,
ah – what’s happening?
No more shouts, this is the moment!
The bull comes bounding
out of the toril!
He charges! He comes in, he strikes!
13
Un cheval roule, entraînant un picador!
“Ah! bravo Toro!” hurle la foule;
le taureau va, il vient,
il vient et frappe encore!
En secouant ses banderilles,
plein de fureur, il court!
Le cirque est plein de sang!
On se sauve, on franchit les grilles.
C’est ton tour maintenant!
Allons! en garde! ah!
A horse rolls over, dragging down a picador!
“Ah! Bravo bull!” roars the crowd;
the bull turns, comes back,
comes back and strikes again!
Shaking his banderillas,
full of rage, he runs about!
The ring is full of blood!
Men jump clear, leap the barriers.
It’s your turn now!
Let’s go! On guard! Ah!
Toréador, en garde! etc
Toreador, on guard! etc
CHORUS
Toréador, en garde! etc
Toreador, on guard! etc
MERCEDES, FRASQUITA, CARMEN, ESCAMILLO
L’amour!
Love!
Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy
Ah! Per sempre io ti perdei
Recitative
2 Or dove fuggo io mai? Dove mai celo
gli orrendi affanni miei? Come quei canti
mi risuonano all’alma amari pianti!
O Elvira, Elvira,
o mio sospir soave,
per sempre io ti perdei!
Senza speme ed amor,
in questa vita or che rimane a me?
Now where can I fly to? Where can I hide
from the troubles that afflict me? Like those songs
bitter tears echo in my soul.
O Elvira, Elvira,
O my gentle breath of life,
for ever are you lost to me!
Without hope and love
what remains in this life for me?
Aria
Ah! Per sempre io ti perdei,
fior d’amore, o mia speranza:
ah! la vita che m’avanza
sarà piena di dolor!
Ah! Forever I have lost you,
flower of love, my hope:
ah! Life from now
will be full of deepest pain!
14
Quando errai per anni ed anni
in poter della ventura
io sfidai sciagura e affanni
nella speme del tuo amor.
When for years and years I wandered
at the mercy of fortune,
I defied grief and disaster
in the hope of your love.
Carlo Pepoli
Valentin’s Aria
Recitative
3 O sainte médaille
Qui me viens de ma sœur,
Au jour de la bataille
Pour écarter la mort,
Reste là sur mon cœur!
O holy medallion
which comes to me from my sister,
on the day of battle,
to keep death at bay,
rest there over my heart!
Aria
Avant de quitter ces lieux,
Sol natal de mes aïeux,
A toi, Seigneur et Roi des cieux,
Ma sœur je confie.
Daigne de tout danger
Toujours la protéger,
Cette sœur, si chérie.
Délivré d’une triste pensée
J’irai chercher la gloire au sein des ennemis
Le premier, le plus brave au fort de la mêlée,
J’irai combattre pour mon pays.
Et si, vers lui, Dieu me rappelle,
Je veillerai sur toi fidèle,
O Marguerite!
Avant de quitter ces lieux, etc.
O Roi des cieux, jete les yeux,
Protège Marguerite, Roi des cieux!
Before I leave these parts,
birthplace of my father’s race
to Thy care, O Lord and Ruler of the skies
my sister I entrust to Thee.
From every danger
always protect her,
my sister, so dearly loved.
Freed from care and worry,
I will go to seek glory in the enemy’s midst,
foremost and bravest in the thick of the fight,
I will go to battle for my country.
And, if Thy will be that I perish,
I will watch faithfully over you,
O Marguerite!
Before I quit these parts, etc.
O King of Heaven, look down from above
and protect Marguerite, King of Heaven!
Jules Barbier and Michel Carré
15
Yeletsky’s Aria
Recitative
4 Vy tak pechalny, dorogaya,
Kak budto gore yest u vas…
Dovertes mne!
Postoite na odno mgnovenye!
Ya dolzhen, dolzhen vam skazat!
Aria
Ya vas lyublyu, lyublyu bezmerno,
Bez vas ne myslyu dnya prozhit,
Ya podvig sily bezprimernoi
Gotov seichas dlya vas svershit,
No, znaite: serdtsa vashevo svododu
Nichem ya ne khochu stesnyat,
Gotov skryvatsya vam v ugodu
I pyl revnivykh chuvstu unyat,
Na vsyo, na vsyo dlya vas gotov ya!
Ne tolko lyubyashchim suprugom;
Slugoi poleznym inogda,
Zhelal by ya byt vashim drugom I uteshitelem vsegda.
No yasno vizhu, chuvstvuyu teper ya,
Kuda sebya v mechtakh zavlyok,
Kak malo v vas ko mne doverya,
Kak chuzhd ya vam i kak dalyok!
Akh! ya terzayus etoi dalyu,
Sostrazhdu vam ya vsei dushoi,
Pechalyus vashei ya pechalyu
I plachu vasheyu slezoi!
Akh! ya terzayus etoi dalyu,
Sostrazhdy vam yawsei dushoi!
You are so downcast, my dear,
as though you had some grief…
Confide in me!
Wait one moment!
I simply must speak to you!
I love you, love you beyond all measure,
I cannot conceive a day without you,
I am ready to accomplish for your sake
a heroic task requiring matchless strength.
But be assured; I do not wish in any way
to restrict the liberty of your heart,
I am ready to hide my feelings in order to please you
and master the heat of jealousy,
I am ready to do anything, anything for you!
I should like to be not simply a loving husband
or sometimes a useful servant,
but your friend and always your consoler.
Yet I see clearly, and feel it now
how I allowed myself to be misled by my dreams,
how little trust you have in me, how alien and
how remote I seem to you.
Oh! I am tormented by this remoteness,
all my soul shares in your suffering,
your sadness is mine,
your tears, I weep them too!
Oh! I am tormented by this remoteness,
All my soul shares in your suffering!
Modest Il’yich Tchaikovsky and Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
16
17
Frank’s Aria
In the depths of the holy temple
5 Questo amor, vergogna mia,
Io spezzar, scordar vorrei,
Ma d’un’orrida malìa
Sono schiavi i sensi miei.
Mille volte al ciel giurai
Di fuggirla!…
E a lei tornai!
Di fuggirla!…
E a lei tornai!
Ella ride del mio pianto,
Del mio sdegno si fa scherno
Ed io, vil, col cuore infranto,
Ai suoi piedi mi prosterno…
Ai suoi piedi mi prosterno…
E lei sola io sogno, e bramo!
Ah, sventura!
Io l’amo! Io l’amo!
I want to reject and forget
This love which makes me feel shame,
But my emotions are enslaved
To a horrible enchantment.
I have sworn a thousand times to heaven
To flee her!…
And then I come back to her!…
To flee her!…
And then I come back to her!…
She laughs at my tears,
She mocks my indignation
And I, vilely, my heart crushed,
Prostrate myself at her feet…
Prostrate myself at her feet…
And I dream of, and long only for her!
Ah, misfortune!
I love her! I love her!
Ferdinando Fontana
NADIR
7 Au fond du temple saint
In the depths of the holy temple
Paré de fleurs et d’or,
decked with gold and flowers
Une femme apparaît!
A woman appears!
Je crois la voir encore!
I can still see her!
ZURGA
Une femme apparaît!
A woman appears!
Je crois la voir encore!
I can still see her!
NADIR
La foule prosternée
The kneeling crowd
La regarde, étonnée,
looks at her, astonished,
Et murmure tous bas:
and softly murmurs:
Voyez, c’est la déesse!
Behold, it is the goddess
Qui dans l’ombre se dresse
who rises out of the darkness
Et vers nous tend les bras!
And stretches her arms toward us!
ZURGA
Song of the Evening Star
6 Wie Todesahnung Dämmrung deckt die Lande,
Dusk covers the land like a portent of death,
enveloping the valley in a dark-hued garb;
the soul that yearns for those heights
is fearful of its flight through night and horrors.
Then, O fairest of stars, you shine,
sending your gentle light from far away;
through nocturnal darkness your friendly beam penetrates,
and faithfully you show the way out of the valley.
O you, my beauteous evening star,
how gladly I have always greeted you;
from the heart which never betrayed her,
greet her when she passes,
when she soars up from the mortal vale,
a blessed angel in heaven!
umhüllt das Thal mit schwärzlichem Gewande;
der Seele, die nach jenen Höh’n verlangt,
vor ihrem Flug durch Nacht und Grausen bangt.
Da scheinest du, o lieblichster der Sterne,
dein sanftes Licht entsendest du der Ferne;
die nächt’ge Dämmrung theilt dein lieber Strahl,
und freundlich zeigst du den Weg aus dem Thal.
O du, mein holder Abendstern,
wohl grüsst’ ich immer dich so gern;
vom Herzen, das sie nie verrieth,
grüsse sie, wenn sie vorbei dir zieht,
wenn sie entschwebt dem Thal der Erden,
ein sel’ger Engel dort zu werden!
Son voile se soulève!
Her veil is raised
Ô vision! ô rêve!
O vision! O dream!
La foule est à genoux!
The crowd is on its knees!
NADIR ET ZURGA
Oui, c’est elle!
Yes, it is she!
C’est la déesse plus charmante et plus belle!
It is the goddess most lovely and most beautiful!
Oui, c’est elle!
Yes, it is she!
C’est la déesse qui descend parmi nous!
It is the goddess who steps down among us!
Son voile se soulève et la foule est à genoux!
Her veil is raised and the crowd is on its knees!
NADIR
Mais à travers la foule
Through the crowd
Elle s’ouvre un passage!
She opens a pathway!
Richard Wagner
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ZURGA
Son long voile déjà
Nous cache son visage!
Her long veil already
Hides her face from us!
NADIR
Mon regard, hélas!
La cherche en vain!
My eyes, alas!
Follow her in vain!
Et fidèle à ma promesse,
Comme un frère je veux te chérir!
C’est elle, c’est la déesse
Qui vient en ce jour nous unir!
Oui, partageons le même sort,
Soyons unis jusqu’à la mort!
And faithful to my promise,
Like a brother I will cherish you!
It is she, it is the goddess
Who today reunites us!
Yes, let us share the same fate,
Let us be friends to the death!
Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré
ZURGA
Elle fuit!
She is gone!
Mache dich
8 Mache dich, mein Herze, rein,
NADIR
Elle fuit!
Mais dans mon âme soudain
Quelle étrange ardeur s’allume!
She is gone!
But suddenly in my soul
What a strange ardour burns!
ZURGA
Quel feu nouveau me consume?
What is this new fire that consumes me?
NADIR
Ta main repousse ma main!
Your hand spurns mine!
9 Gebt mir meinen Jesum wieder!
ZURGA
Ta main repousse ma main!
Your hand spurns mine!
NADIR
De nos cœurs l’amour s’empare
Et nous change en ennemis!
Seht, das Geld, den Mörderlohn,
Wirft euch der verlorne Sohn
Zu den Füssen nieder!
Gebt mir meinen Jesum wieder!
Love masters our hearts
And changes us into enemies!
Make yourself pure, my heart,
I want to bury Jesus myself.
From now on he shall find in me
His sweet rest
For ever and ever.
World, begone, let Jesus in!
Ich will Jesum selbst begraben.
Denn er soll nunmehr in mir
Für and für
Seine süsse Ruhe haben.
Welt, geh aus, lass Jesum ein!
Gebt mir
Give me back my Jesus!
See, the money, the wages of murder,
The prodigal son throws
Down at your feet!
Give me back my Jesus!
Why do the nations
0 Why do the nations so furiously rage together,
ZURGA
Non, que rien ne nous sépare!
No, nothing must part us!
NADIR
Non, rien!
No, nothing!
ZURGA ET NADIR
Jurons de rester amis!
Oh oui, jurons de rester amis!
Oui, c’est elle! C’est la déesse!
En ce jour qui vient nous unir,
Let us swear to remain friends!
Oh yes, let us swear to remain friends!
Yes, it is she! It is the goddess!
On this day she has brought us together again,
and why do the people imagine a vain thing?
The kings of the earth rise up,
and the rulers take counsel[s] together against the Lord,
and against His anointed.
Charles Jennens
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Shallow Brown
! Shaller Brown, you’re goin’ ter leave me,
Shaller, Shaller Brown;
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Shaller Brown, you’re goin’ ter leave me,
Shaller, Shaller Brown.
O, down in the meadows the other day,
A-gath’ring flowers both fine and gay,
A-gath’ring flowers both red and blue,
I little thought what love can do.
Shaller Brown, don’t ne’er deceive me,
Shaller, Shaller Brown;
Shaller Brown, don’t ne’er deceive me,
Shaller, Shaller Brown.
I leaned my back against some oak
Thinking that he was a trusty tree;
But first he bended, and then he broke;
And so did my false love and I.
You’re goin’ away accrost the ocean,
Shaller, Shaller Brown;
You’re goin’ away accrost the ocean,
Shaller, Shaller Brown.
A ship there is, she sails the sea,
She’s loaded deep as deep as can be,
But not so deep as the love I’m in:
I know not if I sink or swim.
You’ll ever be my heart’s devotion,
Shaller, Shaller Brown;
You’ll ever be my heart’s devotion,
Shaller, Shaller Brown.
O! love is handsome and love is fine,
And love’s a jewel while it is new;
But when it is old, it groweth cold,
And fades away like morning dew.
For your return my heart is burning,
Shaller, Shaller Brown;
For your return my heart is burning,
Shaller, Shaller Brown.
Traditional
Hine e Hine
£ E hia moe a-naa koe…hine e hine
Shaller Brown, you’re goin’ ter leave me,
Shaller, Shaller Brown;
Shaller Brown, don’t ne’er deceive me,
Shaller, Shaller Brown.
Traditional as sung by John Perring to Percy Grainger
O Waly, Waly
@ The water is wide I can’t cross o’er,
And neither have I wings to fly.
Give me a boat that will carry two,
And both shall row, my love and I.
E hia moe a-naa koe…hine e hine
A-na ka to te ra…whiti te ma-rama
Ka to-he te a-roha…hine e hine
Sleepiness comes over you…hine e hine
Sleepiness comes over you…hine e hine
Sinking to rest the sun…rising the moon on high
Loving slumbers nigh…hine e hine
Ka tau te maa-ri-e e…hine e hine
Ka tau te maa-ri-e e…hine e hine
Ti-ra-ma nga whetu…kopu o te ata
Pare-a-rau i-i te po…hine e hine
Sleep in heavenly peace…hine e hine
Sleep in heavenly peace…hine e hine
Twinkling stars a-high…Venus of the dawn
Jupiter in the night…hine e hine
Ro-ngo-mau te whe-nu-a…hine e hine
Ro-ngo-mau te whe-nu-a…hine e hine
Kia hari ki-a koa…pu-mau te a-ro-ha
Te nga-kau o ma-tua…hine e hine
Peace over all the earth…hine e hine
Peace over all the earth…hine e hine
Be happy be joyous…love the comforter is
My heart in sweet caress…hine e hine
Fannie Rose Howie
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Pokarekare Ana
$ Pokarekare ana
Nga wai o wai-a-pu
Whiti atu ko-e hi-ka
Ma-rino ana e
So ruffled are the waters
Of the Waiapu
Should you wade across, beloved,
How tranquil they become
E hi-ka e…ha-e-re ra
Ka mate aha-u…I te aro-ha…e
O my beloved, farewell to thee
I’ll surely die for love of thee
Tuhi tuhi taku re-ta
Tuku atu taku ri-ngi
Kai kite to-i-wi
Raru-raru ana e
I have written you a letter
And enclosed within my ring
Should your people receive it
How troubled they’ll become
E hi-ka e…ha-e-re ra
Ka mate aha-u…I te aro-ha…e
O my beloved, farewell to thee
I’ll surely die for love of thee
E kore te aro-ha
E maroke I te ra
Maku-ku to-nu
I aku roi-mata e
My love will never wither
In the rays of the sun
My tears will ever pour love
How moistened they become
E hi-ka e…ha-e-re ra
Ka mate aha-u…I te aro-ha…e
O my beloved, farewell to thee
I’ll surely die for love of thee
Kua whati taku pe-ne
Kua pau aku pe-pa
Ko taku a-ro-ha
Mau tonu ana e
My pen is now broken
My paper depleted
Yet my love, beloved,
How clinging it becomes
E hi-ka e…ha-e-re ra
Ka mate aha-u…I te aro-ha…e
O my beloved, farewell to thee
I’ll surely die for love of thee
Sinfonia Australis
Antony Walker
conductor
Anna McDonald
leader
Violin
Anna McDonald
Matthew Bruce
Caron Chan
Myee Clohessy
Petra Davis
Alice Evans
Zillah Hawley
Shuti Huang
Gabrielle Johnson
Michelle Kelly
Benjamin Li
Laura McCrow
Narine Melconian
Leigh Middenway
Lucie Miller
Alexandra Mitchell
Michele O’Young
Elizabeth Pogson
Daniel Rosenbaum
Mirka Rozmus
Martin Silverton
Jennifer Taylor
Emily Ward
Viola
Amanda Murphy
Valmai Coggins
Jennifer Curl
Rosemary Curtin
Paraire Tomoana
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Stefan Duwe
Greg Ford
Simon Forrester
Marianne Yeomans
Sue Newsome
Rich Doumani
Bassoon
Andrew Barnes
Doug Eyre
Vicki Grant
Cello
Daniel Yeadon
Jamie Hey
James Beck
Anthea Cottee
Sally Maer
Oliver Miller
Rosemary Quinn
Horn
Rob Johnson
James McCrow
Marnie Sebire
Greg Stephens
Oliver Redfern
Graham Nicholls
Phil Wilson
Double Bass
Kees Boersma
Ed Bastien
Mardy Chillingworth
David Cooper
Kirsty McCahon
Andrew Meisel
Trumpet
Leanne Sullivan
Helen Gill
Peter Miller
Trombone
Nigel Crocker
Ros Jorgensen
Brett Page
Flute
Melissa Farrow
Lamorna Nightingale
Julia Sharrett
Orchestra of the
Antipodes on period
instruments
Antony Walker
conductor
Anna McDonald
leader
Violin
Anna McDonald
Matthew Bruce
Myee Clohessy
Alice Evans
Mark Ingwersen
Leigh Middenway
Elizabeth Pogson
Viola
Nicole Forsyth
Valmai Coggins
Stefan Duwe
Cello
Daniel Yeadon
Rosemary Quinn
Tuba
Brendon Lukin
Double Bass
Kirsty McCahon
Harp
Vanessa Souter
Genevieve Lang
Oboe
Kirsten Barry
Owen Watkins
Cor Anglais
Alexandre Oguey
Timpani
Brian Nixon
Harpsichord
Erin Helyard
Clarinet
Margery Smith
Percussion
Rebecca Lagos
Chamber Organ
Neal Peres da Costa
Oboe
Shefali Pryor
Gina Pontoni
Scott Marshall
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Cantillation
Antony Walker
music director
Alison Johnston
manager
Soprano
Danielle Grant
Maria Kutra
Belinda Montgomery
Alison Morgan
Jane Sheldon
Nicole Thomson
Emma Zampieri
Alto
Jo Burton
Jenny Duck-Chong
Anne Farrell
Kerith Fowles
Natalie Shea
Nicole Smeulders
Tenor
Richard Black *
Ben Loomes
Sébastien Maury
Max Naguit
Dominic Ng *
John Pitman
Philip Pratt
James Renwick *
Raff Wilson
Bass
Peter Alexander *
Daniel Beer
Corin Bone
Timothy Chung
Mark Donnelly *
Craig Everingham *
David Greco
Goran Jordanov
Julian Liberto *
Simon Lobelson
Ben Macpherson
Sébastien Maury *
David Russell *
Piccolo
Emma Sholl
Clarinet
Christopher Tingay
Bassoon
Andrew Barnes
Horn
Robert Johnson
Tuba
Carolyn John
Guitar
Janet Agostino
Raffaele Agostino
* Shallow Brown only
Organ
Sally Whitwell
for Shallow Brown
Violin
Piano
Catherine Davis
Anna McDonald
Michelle Kelly
Alexandra d’Elia
Harmonium
Phoebe Briggs
Viola
Executive Producers Robert Patterson, Lyle Chan
Recording Producers Ralph Lane (1-6, 8, 9,
@ -$), Virginia Read (7, 0, !)
Associate Producer and Engineer Virginia Read
(except 0)
Editor and Mastering Virginia Read
Recording Engineer Allan Maclean (0 only)
Project Coordinator Alison Johnston
Editorial and Production Manager Hilary Shrubb
Cover and Booklet Design Imagecorp Pty Ltd
Photography Paul Henderson-Kelly
Stylist Sally Hirst
Clothing Diesel, Marcs, Morrissey, Queenspark
Also available on ABC Classics
featuring
Teddy Tahu Rhodes ...
472 826-2
Recorded 24 March, 7, 8, 10 April, 21 September,
28 October 2003 at the Eugene Goossens Hall of
the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Ultimo
Centre. Track 0 previously released.
472 601-2 (2-CD set)
472 604-9 (DVD)
2004 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
© 2004 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Distributed in Australasia by Universal Classics & Jazz, a
division of Universal Music Group, under exclusive licence.
Made in Australia. All rights of the owner of copyright
reserved. Any copying, renting, lending, diffusion, public
performance or broadcast of this record without the authority
of the copyright owner is prohibited.
Amanda Murphy
Greg Ford
Cello
Jamie Hey
Sally Maer
Double Bass
Kees Boersma
472 045-2
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