Fagerlund: Hostsonaten (Autumn Sonata)
John Storgårds
Von Otter is spectacular, capturing the nuance of her character’s complexities and adapting her performance to suit the regular interplay with the chorus. Fagerlund’s imaginative response to...
Fagerlund: Hostsonaten (Autumn Sonata)
John Storgårds
Purchase product
Von Otter is spectacular, capturing the nuance of her character’s complexities and adapting her performance to suit the regular interplay with the chorus. Fagerlund’s imaginative response to...
About
Sebastian Fagerlund has made a name for himself primarily through his concertos and orchestral works. As demonstrated on previous BIS recordings, his music displays a huge range of colours and an uncommon rhythmic vitality, as well as a sure feel for instrumental writing. He has nevertheless also composed a number of vocal and choral works, and in fact the first release on BIS of his music was the opera Döbeln (2010). Fagerlund's second opera is based on Ingmar Bergman’s 1978 chamber drama Höstsonaten ('Autumn Sonata'), which tells of the celebrated pianist Charlotte Andergast, and how she is confronted by her daughter Eva, who accuses her of neglect and self-absorption. This is the first adaptation for opera of Bergman’s screenplay . Höstsonaten was premièred at the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki in 2017, with Anne Sofie von Otter as Charlotte – the role for which Ingrid Bergman was nominated for an Oscar as best actress. She is supported by a cast including Erika Sunnegårdh, Helena Juntunen and Tommi Hakala, and the chorus and orchestra of the Finnish National Opera conducted by John Storgårds.
Contents and tracklist
- Erika Sunnegårdh (soprano), Tommi Hakala (baritone), Helena Juntunen (soprano), Krista Kujala (soprano), Mari Sares (alto), Jere Martikainen (tenor), Jarmo Ojala (bass), Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo-soprano), Nicholas Söderlund (bass)
- Finnish National Opera Orchestra, Finnish National Opera Chorus
- John Storgårds
- Recorded: 19, 23 and 30 September 2017
- Recording Venue: Finnish National Opera, Helsinki, Finland
Awards and reviews
Christmas Issue 2018
Von Otter is spectacular, capturing the nuance of her character’s complexities and adapting her performance to suit the regular interplay with the chorus. Fagerlund’s imaginative response to the narrative …allows him to draw on a wide palette of colour; this is also reflected in his use of orchestration, which skilfully blends tonal and abstract ideas.
November 2018
Fagerlund’s brooding, tension-ridden score is excellent at differentiating between Charlotte (her music all uppity and precious) and Eva (lost in a sea of loneliness and emotional damage)…Storgards marshals the orchestra with the depth, darkness and foreboding it needs, making the most of Fagerlund’s distinctive harmonic tension.
January 2019
A valuable addition to the repertoire.
March 2019
The score paints, and is intimately responsive to, the unfolding of this harrowing human drama…Von Otter sings with timbral richness and deep attentiveness to her character’s complex and ultimately tragic persona…Under John Storgårds, the orchestra illuminates the score’s complexities, gives meaningful play to its crucial changes of energy and rhythm, and helps its marvellous colours to burn brightly.
Classical CD Review December 2018
If you are looking for something quite different in opera check this out. The BIS engineers have captured a most realistic aural picture.
