Albert Roussel's opera-ballet Padmâvatî has not been treated well by posterity, and on the basis of its music, it's difficult to understand why. The "Mediocre Libretto" excuse could be trotted out, but if it were applied objectively, quite a few anchors of the repertoire would be disqualified. The libretto, by
Louis Laloy, is loosely based on a fourteenth century Indian legend, in which the wife of a regional king sacrifices herself to save her people and to avoid falling into the clutches of the enemy. The libretto is unclear whether she has effectually saved her people, or simply avoided capture by being dead, so the dramatic impact is ultimately too ambiguous to be satisfying, even though the closing music is powerfully cathartic.
Roussel's music uses some authentic Indian ragas and is generously flavored by the Eastern exoticism that had intrigued French composers for a generation. The music of Padmâvatî could generally be characterized as gently perfumed impressionism, but there are moments, particularly in the dances, that are rhythmically spiky enough to sound more Stravinskian than Debussian.
Roussel's text setting tends toward a lyrical arioso, with several rhapsodic arias and choruses. The opera receives a colorful performance from
Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, conducted by
Michel Plasson, who emphasizes the work's dramatic arc.
Marilyn Horne is in beautiful voice as Padmâvatî, but it's not a showy role, and uses a relatively limited portion of her extensive vocal and dramatic resources.
Nicolai Gedda is heroic as her husband, and tenor
Charles Burles, as the Brahmin, shines in the opera's most memorable aria.
José van Dam makes a menacing, powerful Alaouddin, the invading Sultan. EMI's sound is ideal, with strong presence, clarity, and good balance between the voices and the orchestra. Padmâvatî should be of strong interest to fans of French opera who are curious about what was going on during the time between
Ravel's operas and
Poulenc's.