De Hartmann: Esther – The Lost Opera Review by Jane Harrison

Stylistically, this opera from the 1940s draws freely on the full range of European musical innovation that Thomas de Hartmann absorbed from his teachers in Russia and his years living in Paris. Echoes of Debussy, Stravinsky, Mussorgsky, and Messiaen are all audible, alongside passages of late Romantic tonality such as the series of dances that open Act III. The result is polystylistic, not as an ideological stance but as the consequence of a composer deploying whatever the dramatic moment demands. Act I scene II is especially reminiscent of Debussy‘s Pelléas et Mélisande, complete with baritone voice and muted strings. The more anguished passages, such as Haman’s furious pronouncement of his plan to kill all the Jews in Act II, reach toward Schoenberg, while other sections employ whole-tone scales, chromatic voice-leading, and dissonant yet tonal parallel chords. Each act opens with a temple scene, giving de Hartmann the opportunity to combine the gravity of religious ritual with the anguish of a people in crisis. The chorus that opens Act I, with its thick, alluring dissonances and sweeping parallel motion, brings to mind Messiaen and signals the inventive nature of this score.

De Hartmann follows the French operatic tradition in his approach to the voice: vocalists sing continuously without employing recitative, and the writing is natural, with syllabic declamation and careful use of high registers. He prefers rich baritone and bass to youthful, heroic tenor for the men’s parts. The orchestral writing tends toward chamber-like intimacy that foregrounds the libretto’s words, with instruments chosen carefully from the large ensemble for each moment rather than deployed in walls of sound. Esther’s Act I aria, “Hélas,” is a fine example of de Hartmann‘s tendency to shadow vocal contours with unique instrumental combinations; in this case, it is with trombones, cellos, xylophone, and woodwinds. Throughout this recording, the orchestra’s sound is balanced and clear.

The two vocal standouts are soprano Corinne Winters and baritone Andrew Foster-Williams. Winters brings a clean, consistent tone with a subtly dark quality and wonderful diction; her Act I aria “O mon souverain roi” is a showcase for her maturity as a performer. Foster-Williams plays Mardochée with commanding authority across a wide pitch range that mirrors the character’s complex emotional state. His aristocratic lower register conveys gravitas, while his ascent toward the tenor range communicates rising anxiety. This is a fine recording of a rarely performed operatic gem.