Joyce DiDonato: Eden
Warner Classics/Erato

As critical as the album theme is to Eden, the album's greatest takeaways have to do with its centuries-spanning programme and the magnificent performances mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato and the Maxim Emelyanychev-led Italian chamber orchestra Il Pomo d'Oro give to it. One comes away from the recording awed by her range, curatorial instincts, and, most of all, stunning voice. While there is some degree of stylistic sprawl to the release when it comprises sixteen pieces (two of them Handel bonuses, including the ravishing aria “Ombra mai fù”), it's held together by her charismatic presence and the grounding concept.

And what is that concept? A call by DiDonato to re-sensitize ourselves to the glories of nature. In doing so, she believes, we will re-connect with our own selves in a deeper, fundamental way. To help facilitate that movement, she's carefully chosen pieces encompassing hundreds of years and delivered them with the utmost passion and conviction. Each selection references the idea in its own way, naturally, so that no matter how diverse the recording's contents are a thematic bridge is erected between them. The concept didn't merely arise out of thin air but gradually crystallized as she witnessed nature's indomitable will throughout the pandemic. No matter how many times humans were forced to isolate, flowers bloomed and trees blossomed just as they've always done. It's understandable that DiDonato would gravitate to, in her words, the “world of wonder rather than the harsh, lifeless one of cement, wires, and industry” in order to feel a part of something bigger and better than the industrial world we've entrapped ourselves within.

A renowned opera singer, she sings, of course, in multiple languages, and her flexibility is called upon here with works set in Italian, German, and English. Her intonation and articulation are never less than exacting, and the change from one style or period sees no diminishment in the luminosity of her voice, truly a remarkable instrument. Il Pomo d'Oro is critical also to the recording, and it's telling that two selections, Giovanni Valentini's Sonata enharmonica and Gluck's “Danza degli spettri e delle furie” (from Orfeo ed Euridice), receive refined readings from the orchestra alone. DiDonato could not have wished for better partners than it and Emelyanychev.

In an inspired curatorial move, Eden begins with Ives' The Unanswered Question, its ethereal trumpet part replaced by her stirring voice. Everything else remains, however, from its querulous flutes to its sinuous string textures. As haunting as her wordless vocal is, the piece proves to be something of a scene-setter for the album's first stunning achievement, Rachel Portman's The First Morning of the World, the world premiere recording of material written for the singer. Opening softly with flute and hushed strings accompanying the singer, the piece gradually blossoms into a magnificent, moving expression. In addressing nature directly, the text by opera librettist Gene Scheer is wholly complementary to the beauty of the Oscar-winning composer's music, and DiDonato gives herself completely to the romantic lyricism of the work. As she sings lines such as, “Oh, forgotten garden! I am here / Touch me, teach me to sing notes that bloom like a canopy of leaves,” the separation between singer and song collapses in an incredible moment of artistic confluence.

She also shows herself to be a sublime Mahler interpreter in two transporting Rückert-Lieder performances, “Ich atmet' einen linden Duft!” and “Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen,” both master classes in vocal control and execution. The transition to Biagio Marini's “Con le stelle in Ciel che mai” is a tad disconcerting for being such an abrupt change in style from the opening three pieces, but the performance itself is, like all the others, excellent. As he does elsewhere on the recording, Emelyanychev contributes harpsichord, and Spanish guitar and percussion likewise add extra colours to the piece. Referencing directly the Eden theme, the high-velocity “Toglierò le sponde al mare” by Josef Myslivecek comes from the oratorio Adamo ed Eva; again, however, what's most memorable is the singer's unerring vocal execution and the orchestra's spirited support.

March 2022