We might hear more of Ariane, Martinů’s penultimate opera, if it were not so couched in of-its-time, 1950s psychology: the Minotaur is effectively Theseus’s alter ego, and the demons he must slay are his own – you know the drill. As it is, this recording, made live in 2014 in Essen, is the first in around 30 years – and it’s very much worthwhile, thanks to a strong, idiomatic cast, conductor Tomáš Netopil’s sympathy with the score, and the Essen orchestra’s flowing, characterful performance. In just one act, lasting around 45 minutes, it’s a brief and relatively light traversal of the gruesome story; after Ariane’s long, final aria – beautifully sung by Simona Šaturová, with heart-stopping high notes – the ending is almost throwaway. There’s room on the disc for Martinů’s 1938 Double Concerto, a restless, defiant, Stravinsky-esque piece shaking a fist at the gloom of its time.
