Mendelssohn: a Midsummer Night’s Dream; Symphony No. 4 Italian
Kenneth Branagh, narrator; Sylvia McNair, soprano; Angelika Kirchschlager, mezzo; the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Claudio Abbado, conductor (Sony)
Claudio Abbado’s effervescent, lightly articulated performance perfectly captures the charm of Mendelssohn’s evocative incidental music to Shakespeare’s magical play in an especially delightful way. Yet fine as the music-making is, the star attraction of this disc is Kenneth Branagh’s lively and characterful reading of excerpts from the play. Assuming a variety of roles from Puck to Titania, the gifted actor’s versatility is dazzling, Branagh managing to bring each character vividly to life in his strikingly theatrical yet nuanced fashion. No other conductor quite brings out the exuberance and bright Mediterranean sunshine of Mendelssohn’s Italian symphony as well as Abbado, and his third recording of the work is as accomplished as his previous outings, the Berlin Philharmonic’s music director eliciting energetic, superbly pointed playing from his fine German musicians.
