Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Freddie Mercury and Monsterrat Caballe’s operatic opus Barcelona shows exactly the type of creative and musical genius lay in the heart of Queen’s exuberant and playful front man. It also shows what his fans and the world of music have missed out on since his tragic death in 1991.
Even if you don’t like opera or think its grandness is more in keeping with a society that has long since having no relevance in 21st Century Britain, the listener cannot help marvelling at the absolute beauty of the sensational score and the thrusting dynamic of the two vocalists whose mutual admiration and love comes through each and every delicate note. One of the reasons that the music resonates so well, why it seems to flow almost perfectly is that it captures a moment of time; the history that had built up in preparation for the announcement for Barcelona to be awarded the 1992 Olympics oozes out of every pore in Freddie Mercury and Monsterrat Caballe voice. The timbre in Freddie’s voice seems somehow changed as if the weight of expectation that the city had for him gave him a gravitas that was never there during the entire history of Queen’s phenomenal success. This was a Freddie somehow changed, somehow transformed from the pleasure seeking, hedonistic and wonderful flamboyant rock star to a man who sought salvation in another art form, to be altered from the very core outwards.
The change was sparked by a chance visit to the opera, in that moment he arguably saw his musical equal, a woman of immense musical stature that he was captivated by her voice and presence. Meetings arranged many years later and others bought on board made the final result one of the finest moments in both artists’ lives.
Barcelona isn’t just an album; it is a combination of a meeting of minds, of genres and of talent, real talent that in which in any other hands could not have done justice. The opening notes of the title track go a long way to confirm that. The song is so powerful, so lofty in its aspiration that there are probably only two or three Queen songs that can match the burning intensity which is delivered by the two vocalists. On the special edition that was released in 2012, that intensity is heightened, it is taken to a level that had remained unheard outside of Freddie Mercury’s mercurial mind until that point and where the orchestra kicks in, the result is just sublime.
In that song, an homage to both the admiration and friendship that came about working together, not only was Freddie seemingly reborn but it introduced Ms. Caballe to an even greater audience than those that enjoy Opera as a medium. The opening lyric says it all, I had this perfect dream…this dream was me and you.” Nothing in life is truly perfect; it is an absurd statement that gets handed down by all, no matter what we think as music lovers, for if that was the case why bother listening to another album if the one that you have just heard is the most perfect thing ever created. However by suggesting that the ideal of perfection is held within a dream it allows the possibility to flourish. The dream is exactly what the artist or the listener holds in their hands before the C.D. or the album is played, before the allusion is shattered, the vision is there, the perfect plan for the perfect album and whilst it won’t reach that state of perfection at least it has been strived for. The ambition, no matter how lofty is what drives people. To have that one moment where nothing else in the Universe matters is the desire but it can also become a nightmare. However in Barcelona, the song and the album, Freddie would never perhaps come close again in the short time that he found he had left to live whilst recording the album.
The process of going from Rock superstar to someone who felt so perfectly at ease in another medium is perhaps most music fans understanding. It would be the same as seeing the likes of Justin Bieber suddenly leave the pop world and become the pinnacle and posterboy of Progressive Rock, of seeing Michael Ball leave his outstanding performances in stage shows behind to become the giant of Heavy Metal, something’s just don’t bare thinking about. In Freddie Mercury though, operatic tracks such as The Fallen Priest, The Golden Boy, Exercises in Free Love and the superb How Can I Go On transformed the man into an titan, albeit sadly, very briefly. Monsterratt Caballe’s own input into the album also marks it out as a divine piece of work, an album that needed her value as much as she wanted to be on it. In another’s opera stars hands, it’s doubtful that Freddie Mercury would have succeeded in showing he was more than just a frontman of one of the finest bands to come out of the U.K.
No matter your feelings on the merit of opera in a world that has changed beyond the boundaries that seemed set in stone for ever, there is absolutely no doubting the beautiful genius that is on offer. Simply stunning!
Ian D. Hall