Opera Rara presents a new Opera Rara Classics boxset with a limited edition of three sought-after opere serie by Gioachino Rossini, performed by international bel canto champions, including Gregory Kunde, Jennifer Larmore, Carmen Giannattasio and Ildebrando D'Arcangelo. Premiered only ten months apart in 1819, these three operas fell out of the repertoire soon after Rossini's death but have, over the last few decades, been rehabilitated in the operatic canon for the joy of Rossini lovers. Remastered to the best audio quality and featuring a specially commissioned essay by Rossini specialist Eleonora Di Cintio, these recordings, unavailable for many years, will delight opera collectors and Rossini fans.
Verdi begun composition on his Messa da requiem on the occasion of Gioachino Rossini's death and finished it following the death of nationally revered writer Alessandro Manzoni; It received a full performance in 1874 and was an instant triumph. The work itself is stylistically varied, dramatically operatic in some parts and tending toward sacred polyphony in others. This classic recording features the excellent Rundfunkchor Leipzig conducted by the famed operatic and symphonic conductor, Giuseppe Patane.
Opera Vlaanderen of Antwerp continues its Rossini Cycle under the musical direction of conductor Alberto Zedda (87), with the rarely performed opera Armida. Armida is clearly a tenor opera par excellence, as we have four tenors here among the main roles. Enea Scala , Robert McPherson, Dario Schmunck and the young Adam Smith. Director Mariame Clément and her usual set designer Julia Hansen will also return to Opera Vlaanderen after the successfull Giasone by Cavalli released by Dynamic. They are now taking a critical look at the world of the Crusaders. Clément sees Armida as the incarnation of the concept of ‘love’, which in itself is magic and for which noble and heroic knightly ideals are cast aside. However, it is a love that turns into a destructive frenzy.
Giovanni Battista Velluti, born in 1780, was the last heir of the great Italian castrati. His exceptional voice, both powerful and agile, and his impressive vocal mastery opened the doors to the most prestigious opera houses in Europe. His talent for highly complex vocal ornamentation had a lasting influence on the style of vocal interpretation in the 19th century. Franco Fagioli immerses himself in Velluti's theatricality to recreate the full extent of his genius, and gives a superb performance of his most famous roles, accompanied by the Orchestre de l'Opera Royal de Versailles.
Few of Gioachino Rossini's operas are less well known than Adina. This production by Rossini Opera Festival and Wexford Opera Festival revives a masterwork of glittering arias and rich orchestral textures. The oriental tale, where Adina is a slave in a Baghdad seraglio, is set by Rosetta Cucchi on a giant and colorful wedding cake. The vocal star Lisette Oropesa "gave a splendid rendition as Adina. Her voice was brilliant, shiny on top, warm and round in the middle." (Bachtrack) World Premiere Recording on DVD and Blu-ray
Although the whole performance is top-notch, the main reason for owning this Cenerentola is the warm, delightfully human, and stunningly sung Cinderella of Joyce DiDonato. There is no paucity of fine, recorded Cenerentolas (Bartoli, Larmore, Baltsa), but DiDonato, an under-recorded American mezzo, catches precisely the right tone of vulnerability and goodness in the character while never stinting on the coloratura fireworks we expect from the role. She's always in character--modest and kind; it's a beautiful, understated portrayal.
The rest of the cast is excellent as well. José Manuel Zapata's slim tenor may not have the ping of a Vargas or the brilliance of Florez, but he's got all the "little notes" needed for the Prince and is unafraid of heights. Paolo Bordogna's Dandini is well sung, but the voice has a fast vibrato that may not agree with everyone, and Bruno Pratico's Don Magnifico articulates every single note and refrains from mugging--a good combination. The sisters are nicely characterized by Patrizia Cigna and Martina Borst, and bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni delivers Alidoro's music, including the aria Rossini added for him in 1820, with a good tonal center and dignity.
Conductor Alberto Zedda includes a brief chorus penned by another composer at the start of Act 2, and he leads with suavity if just a bit less flair and energy than this opera seems to want. The orchestra and chorus are good enough. The first CD ends at an awkward spot, but had the offending few minutes been added to the second CD it would have reached a dangerously long 80 minutes and three seconds. (It would have been easier if the extra chorus had been cut!) Bicker, bicker--this is an excellent performance, at a great bargain price. --Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com
Rossini's ceaseless wit and invention are best exemplified in his series of operas. His colorful orchestration and command of both comic and tragic elements can be savored in this second of four volumes of the complete symphonic overtures. Guillaume Tell, with it's overture in four movements, includes a scene for five solo cellos. La scala di seta (The Silken Ladder), one of his most popular pieces, opens with an overture of charm and elan. Volume 1 (8.570933) was described by MusicWeb Internationals "an admirable start to what looks like being a very desirable series".
The Barber of Seville is Rossini's most popular opera. It's effervescent overture (written originally for another work!) presents a perfect platform for the amusing plot in which the barber, Figaro, stage-manages a romance between Count Almaviva and Rosina, and puts to flight the old suitor, Dr Bartolo. 'Largo al Factotum' is one of the most popular arias in opera - nearly 200 years after it's first performance it is still one of the great show-stoppers. But why was the opera received with boos and catcalls at it's first performance in 1816, and why did Rossini return to the plot and environment presented so sublimely by Mozart? Opera writer Thomson Smillie and actor David Timson present the background in their informative but entertaining manner.
Rossini's brilliant satirical opera, Il Turco in Italia, is as notable for it's considerable use of ensemble set pieces as for it's many memorable tunes. The plot revolves around the tangled romance of the Turkish nobleman, Selim, on a visit to Naples to experience Italian life at first hand, and of his former mistress, Zaida, with whom he is finally reunited. Among the many highlights is the masterful duet of Geronio and Selim, in which the Turk tries to persuade the ageing husband to sell him his wife, the capricious Fiorilla.
Rossini’s comic masterpiece The Barber of Seville was based on Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais’s French play Le Barbier de Séville and is the ultimate opera buffa. The score is a compendium of the composer’s wittiest and most brilliant writing, and includes the famous entrance aria Largo al factotum and a raft of superbly dynamic ensembles. This vibrant and youthful production features Florian Sempey, one of the world’s best Figaros, the ‘Rossini tenor’ Michele Angelini, vivacious and critically admired Catherine Trottmann, and the award-winning team of acclaimed director Laurent Pelly and conductor Jérémie Rhorer who directs his spirited period ensemble Le Cercle de l’Harmonie.
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REVIEW:
The cast are in modern dress but the interaction of characters is so forceful as to sweep away any lurking objections. Add to this some very fine singing, particularly from Michele Angelini’s glorious high tenor as Almaviva, and there is a great deal here to admire and enjoy.
![Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia / Rhorer, Le Cercle de l'Harmonie [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/3707679-2418372.jpg?v=1786831992&width=800)
![Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia / Rhorer, Le Cercle de l'Harmonie [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/51mOAk9mjAL.jpg?v=1786831992&width=800)
![Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia / Rhorer, Le Cercle de l'Harmonie [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/3707679-2418372.jpg?v=1786831992&width=400)
