Beethoven: Leonore 1806 version

Cast:Singers -Pamela Coburn (Leonore), Mark Baker (Florestan), Jean-Philippe Lafont (Pizarro), Victor von Halem (Rocco), Christine Neithardt-Barbaux (Marzelline), Eric Martin-Bonnet (Don Fernando)Actors -Alexandra von Schwerin (Marzelline), Vincent Leittersdorf (Jaquino), Volker K. Bauer (Rocco), Patricia Harrison (Leonore), Maximilian Hilibrand (Don Fernando), Giovanni Früh (Pizarro), Jürg Löw (Florestan)Kölner Rundfunkchor, Orchester der Beethovenhalle Bonn [concert hall in Bonn, LVB's birthplace], Marc Soustrot, condRecorded Sept 1997, Bonn.This is the second version of Beethoven's Leonore. Soon after the unsuccessful performance of Leonore in Nov 1805, Beethoven began his revisions.The original libretto by Joseph Sonnleithner was reworked by Stephan von Breuning, a friend from LVB’s youth. But there are no new solos or choruses. The overture and March were just reworks. One aria (Rocco) is omitted; the duet "O namenlose Freude" was cut in half, and the opening to Leonore's big aria "Ach! brich noch nicht!" (which would become "Abscheulicher!" in Fidelio) was shortened. In the finale, the discussion between Don Fernando and the crowd about how to punish Pizarro is dropped, an omission retained for Fidelio.For Leonore (1806), Beethoven retained two of my favorites: the Leonore/Marzelline duet "Um in der Ehe," and Pizarro's big Act I finale "Auf euch nur will ich bauen"; both of these were cut for Fidelio, a real shame, I think.The new version was premiered only four months later, March 1806. It was performed only one more time in April, then withdrawn for eight years.While this premiere recording (the only one?) of Leonore (1806) does not feature a star-studded cast like Blomstedt's recording of Leonore (1805), the cast here I thought was quite good.I thought Pamela Coburn did fine as Leonore, as did Mark Baker as Florestan. Both bass leads, Jean-Philippe Lafont (Pizarro) and Victor von Halem (Rocco) have big voluminous voices that are very effective. Lafont sometimes displays a disturbing wobble, but he is thrilling in the Act I finale "Auf euch nur will ich bauen," some of the most heroic music ever written for a bad guy. Christine Neithardt-Barbaux (Marzelline) is obviously one of the bigger voiced Marzellines; you could confuse her with Leonore. The chorus is top notch in their two Act I appearances with Pizarro but a bit reserved in their big Prisoners Chorus. But they sound great in the big finale. The orchestra is captured beautifully by the sound engineers: their exciting, enthusiastic playing makes their performance every bit as memorable as the big-budget orchestras.The overture sounds a bit undermiked but the rest of the recording sounds really good: brilliant and well balanced. There is no audience noise.The spoken dialogue is done by actors, not by the singers. The libretto contains all their text.The two-CD set comes with two booklets. The first has the track listing & timings, background, bios, and a table that compares Leonore (1806) with Fidelio. The other is a complete libretto in three languages. Thus, the listener has a comprehensive package of materials for getting familiar with this historic if rarely performed work by a major composer.Highly recommended.