Denise Rejec speaks to soprano Gillian Zammit as she prepares herself for her performance of Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’Été on the occasion of the closing of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra’s 50th anniversary season.
Gillian Zammit is a versatile performer. I’ve seen her in a number of operatic roles and also taking the stage as a recital singer – she’s got a varied repertoire under her belt, ranging from French and Italian song to Spanish and Lieder (German).
On June 22, we will have the opportunity to witness her performance of French song as she interprets Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’Été.
As I chat with Gillian she begins to point out that this will be her first time singing the whole cycle. She’d sung a couple of the songs to piano accompaniment a few years ago and now she’s over the moon to be performing the entire work together with the Malta Philharmonic, under the direction of French conductor Raoul Lay.
She says that although Les Nuits d’Été (translated as ‘Summer Nights’), which consists of six poems by Théophile Gautier, was originally written for mezzo-soprano and piano accompaniment, the full orchestral version is more often performed in concert and on record than the piano original. The cycle was cast aside for many years, but during the 20th century it resurfaced as one of the composer’s most popular works and is still regarded so today.
“Berlioz wrote over 50 songs, yet this is the only set of songs that is considered to be a cycle,” she says. “The poems form a narrative that leads the listener from the joys of being in love to the loss of innocence, the death and mourning of a loved one and to the finale which talks about the hope of finding eternal love. It is definitely French Romanticism at its finest!”
Gillian will need to express the huge range of emotions that the composer intended for the musician to evoke while rendering the cycle, which is full to the brim with musical variety. “I’ll start off with a light-hearted, joyous expression of love followed by the anguish of loss, the pathos and longing to see your loved one again. This moves to a still sense of emptiness and then finally back to a positive note and the hope of finding eternal love.”
Berlioz wrote over 50 songs, yet this is the only set of songs that is considered to be a cycle
I ask Gillian whether she has a favourite song among the six.
“It’s not easy to choose one, but I think it would have to be Le spectre de la rose, because it is almost operatic in its writing, being dramatic, tender and haunting at the same time.
“It’s been described to be one the most perfect expressions of French Romanticism.” She goes on to spell out the touching story – the ghost of a rose comes back to haunt the dreams of the girl upon whose breast it had died. Although the rose has died, it has ascended to paradise and to have died on the girl’s breast was an enviable fate to all men.
The song cycle does have its tricky parts and the soprano must convey the languid sensuality and fiery passion that the songs require. Gillian says it’s not just the interpretation of the soloist that counts, but “as with any music of this nature, the interpretive range and dialogue between the voice and orchestra is all important. I also need to pay special attention to the linking of the text and music.”
I am particularly interested in the tactics she uses to get into the mood of the songs and portray their message at her best. It is easy to identify with what she says about drawing on your personal emotions and experience to help colour your performance and give your audience a genuine and deeply-felt performance. She emphasises that this is inevitable when you are faced with a piece of such depth about a subject that we all have, or will have, at some point experienced. This cycle gravitates primarily around death and grief, even though it starts and ends on a positive note.
Towards the end of our meeting, Gillian expresses her excitement about the magnitude of the concert in which she will be taking part.
“The orchestra will be closing the concert with Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, which is an epic piece for a huge orchestra (this extraordinary work requires a whopping 100 musicians). It tells the story of an artist’s self-destructive passion for a beautiful woman and describes his obsession, visions of suicide, ecstasy and despair. So all in all, it’s a rollercoaster of emotions – a fitting end to the season!”
The concert is a celebration of 19th-century French music and will also feature Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune as we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the composer’s death.
While the concert marks the official closing of the MPO’s season, the orchestra will be performing in a series of summer concerts, including Mediterranean Soul, a joint concert with the Malta Youth Orchestra on June 30 and the Malta International Arts Festival, Girgenti Palace and Joseph Calleja concerts.
The concert takes place at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, Valletta, on June 22, from 8 to 10pm. Tickets may be purchased from www.showshappening.com or from the MCC’s box office.