In the Shadows
Michael Spyres, Les Talens Lyriques, Christophe Rousset- MÉHUL - Joseph en Egypte, « Vainement Pharaon… Champs paternels »
- BEETHOVEN - Fidelio, « Gott! Welch Dunkel hier!... In des Lebens »
- ROSSINI - Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra, « Della cieca fortuna… Sposa amata… Saziati, o sorte ingrata ? »
- MEYBERBEER - Il crociato in Egitto - « Suona funerea »
- VON WEBER - Der Freischütz - « Nein, Länger Trag Ich Nicht »
- ESPRIT AUBER - La muette de Portici- « Spectacle affreux ... »
- SPONTINI - Agnes von Hohenstaufen, « Der Strom wälzt ruhig seine dunklen Wogen »
- BELLINI - Norma - « Meco all'altar di Venere...Me protegge, me difende »
- MARSCHNER - Hans Heiling op. 80 – “Gonne mir ein wort der Liebe”
- WAGNER - Die Feen WWV 32 - « Wo find ich dich, wo wird mir Trost? »
- WAGNER - Rienzi, der letzte der Tribunen WWV 49, « Allmächt’ger Vater, blick herab »
- WAGNER - Lohengrin WWV 75, « Mein lieber Schwan »
As his albums BariTenor and Contra-Tenor have shown, Michael Spyres is a singer who challenges and reshapes perceptions. Now, looking forward to his debut as Siegmund in Die Walküre at the 2024 Bayreuth Festival, he searches In the Shadows to reveal more about Wagner and the origins of his music dramas.
The final three arias on In the Shadows are by Wagner – from Lohengrin (1850) and two rarely performed works from the 1830s, Die Feen and Rienzi. Illuminating the path to Wagner are early 19th century arias by composers of the French, German and Italian schools: Méhul, Beethoven, Rossini, Meyerbeer, Weber, Auber, Spontini, Bellini and Marschner. Spyres’ companions in his exploration are the players of Les Talens Lyriques and their conductor Christophe Rousset, renowned names in historically informed performance.
“Wagner evokes a varying spectrum of emotions,” writes Michael Spyres, “awe, ecstasy, even trepidation … What intrigued me was unravelling the intricate web of influences that shaped him into the legendary composer he became.
“As a singer born in the 20th century, I have had the unique privilege of embracing an extraordinarily diverse repertoire, and with very few exceptions, the music that moved me and piqued my curiosity more than any other was that of the years preceding Wagner’s reign – the era of musical revolution …
“It always perturbed me that Wagner presented his ideas and portrayed himself as if he were responsible for inventing the entirety of opera. Undoubtedly, he can be acknowledged as the first modern composer to steer opera in the direction of the Gesamtkunstwerk, or total work of art. Yet, the more I explored and performed the works of pre-Wagnerian composers such as Auber, Bellini, Berlioz, Mehul, Meyerbeer, Rossini and Spontini, the more abundantly clear it became that Wagner was not the sole anointed muse …
“This album, therefore, does not aim to diminish Wagner’s artistic achievements but rather endeavours to illuminate the composers who languish in the shadows … who formed the foundation of Wagner’s compositions and sculpted the framework of vocal writing for the Wagnerian tenor.”
In an interview about the album, Spyres expanded on his mission:
“It feels like I’m a bit of a musical Indiana Jones! My inspiration is always to push boundaries and to find the stories that other people are not looking for – or have forgotten about. Wagner was absolutely the great genius who brought everything together. But there are so many people who came before him and who helped him develop his idea of an all-encompassing Gesamtkunstwerk.
“While I was researching this album, I started connecting all the dots and bringing in all the different themes and ideas that Wagner brought into his music ... And with Christophe Rousset and Les Art Lyriques, we get to use instruments of Wagner’s period. You hear some of the most interesting and earthy sounds, sounds you wouldn’t hear in a modern orchestra.
“Wagner constantly pushed boundaries… That’s what all the composers on In the Shadows did – push the boundaries of knowledge and what is possible as an artist. My main goal with this album is to show people how different composers inspired Wagner and helped to make opera into the incredible art form that we know today.”