Most of the times I’ve come across Oliver Knussen he has been conducting his own work, but here he shows that he is a Britten interpreter par excellence. He directs the unfolding action with a masterful ear for building and distilling tension. He is helped by a crack team of Aldeburgh musicians who seem to hold the music up to the light to let it sparkle. Britten wrote the piece for a chamber ensemble, and each of the thirteen musicians are named and credited in the booklet. They do a great job of illuminating this most transparent of Britten scores, allowing each of the instrumental lines to shine. Britten’s effects come across brilliantly, nowhere better than in the opening scene with the harp for the twittering crickets and the pizzicato glissandi on the bass for the croaking of the bullfrogs. However, they are also capable of conjuring up the onward progress of the narrative, and moments of excitement such as Tarquin’s ride move with convincing sweep.

The singers are also an excellent team, anchored by the male and female chorus. Ian Bostridge, surely the modern day heir to Pears, sings his lines with energy and passion. He has as fine an ear for the drama as for the musical line, and he isn’t above resorting to a snarl to make the dramatic point.

Angelika Kirchschlager sings Lucretia with a tone of wounded virtue that puts me in mind of Janet Baker. Her portrayal of stolen innocence is powerful and beautiful. © MusicWeb International Read complete review

Britten’s score requires a performance of the utmost intensity and cohesion to wholly convince—which, in this edited live performance from the 2011 Aldeburgh Festival, it emphatically gets. © BBC Music Magazine

This performance is wonderful, with the surprise being the Lucretia of Angelika Kirschlager. Kirschlager’s voice is warm and colorful…and her performance is magnificently upsetting. She does not stand a chance against the cruel Tarquinius of Peter Coleman-Wright, in a superb reading of the role.

Ian Bostridge certainly outsings the aging Peter Pears…imbuing each phrase with a true story-teller’s genius: from sheer narrative to the full-throated instructions in Tarquinius’ ride to the “peace-making” epilogue, he’s simply superb. Susan Gritton sings the Female Chorus with as much drama and (later) sadness (“Is it all? Is all this suffering and pain/ Is it all in vain?”) as possible. Christopher Purves’ bass is handsomely used as Collatinus and Hilary Summers’ odd timbre works ideally here as Bianca.

Much credit is due to Oliver Knussen’s leadership and to the 13 players of the Aldeburgh Festival Ensemble, not to mention the superb recording, which seems at times to be three-dimensional…this new entry is breathtaking. © 2013 ClassicsToday.com Read complete review