CD: Jean-Yves Thibaudet: Aria: Opera without Words

At their most appalling, transcriptions can devolve into Classical Hits for Dummies, background music comprised of melodies from the better-known operas, oratorios, and cantatas, pretty enough but without the emotional power and definitely without commitment -- the air kiss of classical music, if you will.

I'm happy to report that pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet's Aria: Opera without Words is not one of those listenable yet strangely watered-down experiences you tend to get from such collections. Yes, you will likely recognize the melodies, but make no assumptions about where you are going to wind up once Thibaudet takes you in hand.

Take, for example, the familiar "O mio babbino caro" from Gianni Schicchi, in whose vocal rendition, the soprano, in effective drama queen style, declares she'll just die if Daddy won't let her get married. Thibaudet caresses the notes with exquisite tenderness, and yet there is an undercurrent as well, a sense of a flowing river, indeed the River Arno of the text, here conveyed with the hands rather than the lips.

But there are passages in the other works, though, where ornamentation gives way to intimacy, sometimes even stark beauty. Consider, for example, what the pianist does with a Puccini selection for a soprano with a very different fate from that of the lovesick bride-to-be in Gianni Schicchi. Listen to the opening notes of "Vissi d'arte" from Tosca. In Thibaudet's hands, it is not merely a piteous cry to God; it's true alienation, a loss of faith. There is no doubting what will come next!

The other tracks, however, represent decidedly different affairs. There will be moments when you might imagine you've put on a CD of nocturnes and impromptus, and a passage from Saint-Saens or Bellini will prompt a reverie.

Then suddenly you'll drop your teacup and novel at the arrival of something from Johann Strauss or Richard Wagner. Thibaudet's performance of the latter's "Ride of the Valkyries" must be heard to be believed.

This, in short, is opera by through the looking glass, and while you'll arrive back where you started, you will never be the same.