Choir and Orchestra of the Transylvania State Philharmonic
Gergely
Madaras conductor
Andreea
Guriță Novac soprano
Andrea
Mirchev tenor
Geani Brad baritone
Carl Orff - Carmina Burana
Sceptical about yet another Carmina Burana, and yet I need not have worried. There was nothing else available, so I booked it.
The hall has a rounded end and at first sight would focus the sound. Well it did, but in a very musical way. What we heard was a quite brilliant acoustic, when every sound was crisp and clearly defined. Add to that the tempi choice of the conductor, Georgely Madaras, and the mix was perfect.
The tempi were all quite fast and he used quite a lot of accelerando. The music seemed to chase itself along and early on I was worried that the baritone would get left behind. Appropriately, the tenor wore a white jacket and the soprano a red dress. These soloists were all more than competent and really acted out the roles they sang. The tenor had the right mix of humour and pain to be convincing.
Above all the chorus made the evening. They were
together, responsive to the tempi changes and very enthusiastic. The orchestral
playing was brilliant, and the audience lapped it up, finishing with one of
those applause sessions in unison that are so popular in eastern Europe.
