" un concert spontané" à Berlin avec Hélène.

. A friend of mine knew I was still dreaming about him in these Dichterliebe and sent me this youtube
Rolando and Hélène Grimaud in Berlin : they end up giving a non conventional mini-recital. In fact they were scheduled for a maxi recital together! Two crazy passionate artists! Rolando chooses to build artistic plans with people like him, sharingfantasy,generosityandimmensetalent and knowledge .
Here are the lyrics . This is a friendly and passionate off the beaten-track performance from them both! I love it and hope to see them together when time will be suitable for Rolando and Hélène...

7. Ich grolle nicht

Ich grolle nicht, und wenn das Herz auch bricht,
Ewig verlornes Lieb! ich grolle nicht.
Wie du auch strahlst in Diamantenpracht,
Es fällt kein Strahl in deines Herzens Nacht.

Das weiss ich längst. Ich sah dich ja im Traume,
Und sah die Nacht in deines Herzens Raume,
Und sah die Schlang', die dir am Herzen frisst,
Ich sah, mein Lieb, wie sehr du elend bist.

7. I do not complain

I do not complain, even if my heart is breaking,
love lost for ever! I do not complain.
Though you gleam with the glory of diamonds.
no gleam falls into the night of your heart.

I knew it long ago-I saw you in my dreams
and saw night in the confines of your heart,
and saw the viper that gnaws at your bosom;
I saw, my love, how wretched you are.

This is my favourite, when Rolando sang it at the Liceù I longed to hear it again ,and again .

Ich will meine Seele tauchen	I long to sink my soul	Je veux plonger mon âme
Ich will meine Seele tauchen In den Kelch der Lilie hinein; Die Lilie soll klingend hauchen Ein Lied von der Liebsten mein. Das Lied soll schauern und beben, Wie der Kuß von ihrem Mund’ Den sie mir einst gegeben In wunderbar süsser Stund ! Back to Barcelona and his come back recital.	I long to sink my soul Within the cup of the lily; The lily would sing in whispers A song of my beloved. The song would tremble and quiver Like the kiss from her mouth That once she gave me In an hour of wondrous sweetness.	Je veux plonger mon âme Dans le calice pur des lis, Pour que le lis dans un soupir Exhale un chant d’amour. Un chant ardent et frémissant, Comme le baiser de sa bouche, Qu’un jour elle me donna A une heure merveilleusement douce.

After the recital I waited for Rolando to greet him back and thank him. He appeared after a while with Lucia his wife , they both looked as if they were coming from another planet, with childish smiles, and holding two bunches of dark red roses. She is sitting at the back waiting for Rolando and talking gently. She is a charming person, shy looking , like Rolando really, who is extrovert as an artist but I believe very reserved in real life!

It was raining the following morning and there was a bunch of dark red roses in front of this statue...not far from the Liceù, up the Ramblas.

Yesterday, on Teresa's blog, some friends from Germany posted the news that maybe Rolando had been operated in May : Earlier Bayern radio 4 implied something like that and played Rolando 's CDs for quite a while. I have not tried searching the web, somehow I would have liked him to have avoided that episode, just in case it is not really true about the cyst, but just a matter of slacking pace and artistic commitments, taking another break to breathe in peace far from the madding crowd. I have never met such a fantastic opera singer so far, and from the very first time I heard and saw him sing and act - it was Werther in Nice Jan 2006 - I knew I had to try to see him on stage as often as possible.
Perhaps Rolando has been through it, in that case I feel relieved for him as it is his choice. But his voice has always been there , this season, when I saw him in Berlin singing Lensky or at the ROH for his fantastic Hoffmann, and then lately for his last appearance on stage at Bastille in Werther, all I thought is that too much tension came from such intense acting and such a busy schedule.
I have never taken seriously all those dreadful papers in the French musical press about his voice problems and the gossip, simply because for me he has always been the best tenor I have ever seen singing and acting, his top notes are what they are, certainly more refined and suited to the roles he does perform than any other tenor, not to mention his acting which is amazing, always so elegant and moving, intense and generous.
So, reacting as often as possible to the dreaful, envious and nasty comments on YouTube, then posting on some sites when he first took a break I participated in this new form of support on the web, joining the Villazonistas in Barcelona after his return to stage there on Jan the 13th 2008. A memorable recital where both singer and audience shared tears and fear : the audience: "will he come back"?, Rolando: "will I manage to go through?" I thought that night Rolando was very gifted and perhaps a little crazy, with a strong passion for suicidal situations. That evening, he opened his recital with the ' Dichterliebe'. It was the first time I heard them live. Before listening to them I thought Rolando was the sensitive type for these poems and their melodies, that what I already knew of him from his Des Grieux or his Rodolphe and his Werther, would fit into those romantic and cynical Schumann love songs for Clara, and Heine's poetry. I loved it. As often with his voice, and subtle expressions.

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