Revived after 171 years in oblivion, the staging of Rosmonda d’Inghilterra at Bergamo’s Teatro Donizetti proved fascinating for the Italian public. From the excellent cast of singers, Jessica Pratt and Eva Mei gave standout performances. The opera revolves around a tale of love and intrigue surrounding the main protagonists- the famous Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, her husband Henry II of England, and the fair Rosamund de Clifford. Rosmonda is the quintessential innocent, unaware that the man she loves is the King of England and that she has unwittingly become a rival to the much-feared Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. Eleanor, having already had her first marriage annulled for reasons of consanguinity, is unwilling to se her second marriage also fail. Only the faithful page Arturo, secretly in love with Rosmonda, knows that the Queen is aware of her husband’s betrayal; but he too is embroiled in this game of deceit hoping that he will end up winning the girl. The emotional and dramatic development is very effective. There is not a page in this score without some example of brilliant writing, a captivating theme, a moving passage. It all goes to prove how deeply original Donizetti was and how much there is still to be discovered about this underappreciated composer.

Revived after 171 years in oblivion, the staging of Rosmonda d’Inghilterra at Bergamo’s Teatro Donizetti proved fascinating for the Italian public. From the excellent cast of singers, Jessica Pratt and Eva Mei gave standout performances. The opera revolves around a tale of love and intrigue surrounding the main protagonists- the famous Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, her husband Henry II of England, and the fair Rosamund de Clifford. Rosmonda is the quintessential innocent, unaware that the man she loves is the King of England and that she has unwittingly become a rival to the much-feared Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. Eleanor, having already had her first marriage annulled for reasons of consanguinity, is unwilling to se her second marriage also fail. Only the faithful page Arturo, secretly in love with Rosmonda, knows that the Queen is aware of her husband’s betrayal; but he too is embroiled in this game of deceit hoping that he will end up winning the girl. The emotional and dramatic development is very effective. There is not a page in this score without some example of brilliant writing, a captivating theme, a moving passage. It all goes to prove how deeply original Donizetti was and how much there is still to be discovered about this underappreciated composer.

Does Devereux absolute justice and is very good value for money.

Roberto Devereux is not one of Donizetti’s more popular operas but the score contains some very beautiful passages. The mood, however, is tragic, sombre and intensely dramatic, possibly reflecting the composer’s grief over the death of his wife, who had passed away one month prior to the completion of the opera. The libretto is by Salvatore Cammarano (1801-1852), after the play “Elisabeth d’Angleterre” by François Ancelot (1794-1854). The work has great power and Donizetti created one of the most striking roles for soprano in the character of Elizabeth I. The vocal line for the Queen effectively illustrates her tortured soul, her rage and her internal conflict; she is deeply in love with a man who is accused of treason, Roberto (of the title), the Earl of Essex. Elizabeth’s characterization is so powerful that it overshadows everything else in the opera, even the part of Roberto and the tender, more lyrical line of the love between him and Sara. It is a star role for a soprano; the singing is demanding and technically difficult, with extreme coloratura requirements, physically exhausting both in musical and dramatic terms. The whole opera rests on the shoulders of the soprano for it is Elizabeth who carries the plot and who ultimately is the real tragic figure. The execution of Roberto and Sara’s grief over his death are sad, cruel moments of intense suffering but it is the tortured mind of the Queen, her lovelorn heart and her final desperation that best illustrate the fragility of human life and the overwhelming pain of losing somebody that one deeply loved. Personally, I think that this was Donizetti’s attempt of coming to terms with his own grief and perhaps, for this reason, the opera is dramatically convincing throughout even though the plot takes many liberties with history.

This 2-CD offer from Naxos was recorded live in 2006, in Bergamo, Donizetti’s home town. The sound is excellent; the emotive, dramatic power of the opera comes across effectively and the performances are genuinely intense and expressive. The work would definitely have benefited, however, if a decision had been made to reduce the amount of applause captured on the discs. I actually enjoy hearing enthusiastic applause in a live recording; it makes the listening experience all the more authentic, but to have it nearly all the time, after an aria, a duet or one of the superb ensembles, is superfluous and slightly distracting. I believe that limiting it to perhaps a couple of the more spectacular arias and the end of each act would have enhanced the listening experience and the impact of the work.

The cast of this production is a distinguished one, formed of singers who are not world famous but nevertheless, very effective and dramatically eloquent. Naxos has also issued this recording on DVD and I would like to watch it, just to admire some of the performances live, as on the CD they appear rather powerful. Dimitra Theodossiou, who plays the Queen, is a Greek soprano, best known in Italy where she has performed in all the major theatres, including La Scala in Milan. Outside Italy, she is a little less known but she has performed various leading roles to critical acclaim in Lisbon, Zurich and Vienna. Her interpretation of Elizabeth I, in this Naxos recording, is effective and powerful, particularly in the final parts of Act III when the Queen becomes emotionally unhinged. Her voice is beautifully dark and expressively tortured throughout the opera and her rendition is particularly excellent in the trio with Roberto and the Duke of Nottingham in Act II, and in the scene that follows where she signs Roberto’s death warrant. Theodossiou has here one of her finest moments and when she dismisses Essex, the storm raging inside her is so vividly depicted in her singing that one is left numb, as if one’s blood has congealed in one’s veins. Regrettably, while her voice is flawless in its lowest and middle ranges, in its highest it does not always live up to expectation. She possesses an assured coloratura; however a slight strident tone in the most demanding passages is clearly audible. Here, she compares unfavourably with Edita Gruberova who recorded the role (I believe in 1994) and also sang it on stage (as recently as June 2008), creating a bench mark, with her gorgeous, effortless singing, which makes it a tough act to follow for any other soprano. Massimiliano Pisapia as Roberto is very good, audibly making a believable Earl of Essex for whom Elizabeth could fall. I would like to see him on stage, as from the CD it is impossible to say if he would have the same effect when seen and not just heard. His warm, flexible and expressive tenor voice is at its best in the tender moments with Sara, the Duchess of Nottingham who he is in love with. However, Pisapia’s rendition of the aria Come uno spirto angelico, in Act III, sung when Roberto is alone in the tower, awaiting his death and dreaming of defending Sara’s chastity to her husband, is not only beautifully poignant but also moving. The other members of the cast all give very effective, solid performances, notably Federica Bragaglia, as Sara, who sounds suitably sweet and innocent, in particular during the tender moments with Roberto; and especially American baritone, Andrew Schroeder, who is excellent as the vindictive Duke of Nottingham. His voice is colourful and clear, with threatening nuances when the music and the plot so demand but also capable of warmth, making his performance, alongside those by Theodossiou and Pisapia, very convincing.

Marcello Rota is a distinguished, talented conductor, with an illustrious career that features some of the best orchestras in the world and the most renowned opera houses. He is a very good conductor of opera with a strong dramatic sense. This comes across in his powerful interpretation of Donizetti’s score, assuredly leashing the singers in an emotionally intense rendition but never losing sight of the impact of Donizetti’s music. Rota leads the orchestra and chorus of the Bergamo Musica Festival in an excellent performance. He conducts with clarity, conscious of the sound, making it luminous at times or wonderfully subtle to cushion the soloists’ voices to best effect.

All that is left for me to say is that while this recording of Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux is perhaps not memorable, it is nevertheless an achievement that contains brilliance as well as powerful, dramatic expression. Donizetti’s score lacks the graceful charm of his comic operas, like La fille du régiment or L’elisir d’amore, but it is rich in beautiful, at times, unusual melodies and interesting orchestrations, which always make for enjoyable listening. This live recording from Naxos does it absolute justice and, at only £8.99, it is very good value for money.

-- Margarida Mota-Bull, MusicWeb International

“Roberto Devereux” (1837) saw the light of day during a period of intense creativity for Donizetti. After its premiere and up until 1848, Devereux was performed almost uninterruptedly. In the years that followed it would also enjoy a successful international career, throughout Europe and in the Americas, with versions in French, German, Russian, and Hungarian. When Donizetti moved to Paris in 1838, he enriched the opera with the overture that paraphrases the British anthem “God Save The Queen.” The Queen dominates from her very entrance, a true protagonist, here performed by the great Mariella Devia: her pure voice, perfect intonation, great stage presence, all combined with the technical qualities of her voice, led to an extended standing ovation. It was a great success, too, for Sonia Ganassi (Sarah) and the tenor Stefan Pop (Devereux).

In the last and most dramatic aria in “Roberto Devereux,” one of the four Tudor period operas composed by Donizetti in 1837 (along with “Anna Bolena,” “Maria Stuarda,” and “Il Castello di Kenilworth,”) the protagonist, Queen Elizabeth I of England, exclaims: “I do not reign, I do not live.” This statement encapsulates great operatic themes, and it is the culmination of an opera that reveals the passions of characters who live among palace intrigues. Written in the mature period of the leader of Italian romanticism, the opera displays a great vocal virtuosity, and is an example of Donizetti prizing the voice above all in the genre. The staging, by South African director Alessandro Talevi, who has been very successful in great opera houses as well as with more experimental theatre, places the play in an undetermined period, focusing on the chiaroscuro. Bruno Campanella conducts the production with Mariella Devia in the lead. “This was a most promising start to the season, a first-class rendition of a neglected work and a joyful confirmation of Mariella Devia’s well-deserved place in bel canto history.” (Bachtrack.com)

The thorny subject of marital violence is set against a hilarious backdrop in this one-act farce where, contrary to what we are used to seeing in opera, tenor and baritone do their best to free themselves of the female protagonist, to whom both are married. No doubt, Gaspar's aria on the joys of chastising one's wife in the way she deserves causes a few raised eyebrows nowadays, but the funny side is genuine and the music brilliant, making of this forgotten little opera a true gem. Donizetti composed Rita, ou Le mari battu, which would be staged posthumously at the Opera-comique on 7th May 1860, with Caroline Lefebvre as protagonist. The concise story of the waspish innkeeper Rita, her husband Peppe and first husband Gaspare, the latter believed dead in a shipwreck, unrolls in a single act, effectively divided into eight closed numbers: one aria for each singer, three duets, one trio and the finale. The apex of this delightful divertissement, both from the point of view of the action and the music, is the duet where the two men rival each other, albeit in a way that is diametrically opposed to what we are used to seeing on an operatic stage: instead of contending for the female protagonist, like all respectable tenors and baritones in love, they gamble her away, both desperately trying to lose. The writing is that of a consummate composer, flowing and refined. Characters are portrayed with terse effectiveness, situations never trespass into the grotesque. The result is a perfect balance of all elements, which makes of Rita a small but significant example of Donizetti's musical experience in the 1840s, an experience that can truly be called European.

Featuring:
Conductor: Claudio Scimone
Orchestre de l'Opera de Wallonie
Stage Director: Stefano Mazzonis di Pralafera
Scenes: Jean-Guy Lecat
Costume Designer: Fernand Ruiz
Choreographer: Antonaeta Alexieva
Rita - Priscille Laplace
Peppe - Aldo Caputo
Gaspar - Alberto Rinaldi
Opera Royal de Wallonie, 2010

ARTISTS: Cast: Gregory Kunde, Paoletta Marrocu, Simone Del Savio, Andrea Papi. Orchestra e Coro del Bergamo Musica Festival Gaetano Donizetti, Marcello Rota, conductor.

Notes in Italian, English, Japanese
Subtitles in Italian, English
Disc Format: DVD
Picture Format: 16:9, NTSC
Region Code: 0 (All Region)
Sound Format: Stereo PCM, Dolby Digital 5.1
Running Time: 120 Minutes

Recorded live at the Teatro Donizetti, Bergamo, 9/2010

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

This new release from Opus Arte is a live recording from the Glyndebourne Opera House, Lewes, taken in October of 2015, of the first ever professional UK staging of Donizetti’s Poliuto. This masterpiece is rarely performed, but is nevertheless a masterwork that shows the magnanimous genius of this bel canto opera composer. The exhilarating American tenor Michael Fabiano sings the role of Poliuto, and fellow world-class singers Ana Maria Martinez and Igor Golovatenko round out a spectacular cast. “Every now and then the world of opera unearths a forgotten masterpiece […] Poliuto needs at least three world-class singers, and Glyndebourne has them” (What’s on Stage) Extra features include “Passion & Faith: Preparing for a UK premiere” and “Love & Opression: An interview with Mariame Clement.”

Picture Format: 16:9, 1080p HD
Sound Formats: LPCM 2.0, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Region Code: 0 (Worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Japanese, Korean
Running Time: 117 mins, 15 mins (Bonus)

Also available on Blu-ray

This new release from Opus Arte is a live recording from the Glyndebourne Opera House, Lewes, taken in October of 2015, of the first ever professional UK staging of Donizetti’s Poliuto. This masterpiece is rarely performed, but is nevertheless a masterwork that shows the magnanimous genius of this bel canto opera composer. The exhilarating American tenor Michael Fabiano sings the role of Poliuto, and fellow world-class singers Ana Maria Martinez and Igor Golovatenko round out a spectacular cast. “Every now and then the world of opera unearths a forgotten masterpiece […] Poliuto needs at least three world-class singers, and Glyndebourne has them” (What’s on Stage) Extra features include “Passion & Faith: Preparing for a UK premiere” and “Love & Opression: An interview with Mariame Clement.”

Picture Format: 16:9
Audio Formats: PCM 2.0, DTS 5.0
Subtitles: English, French, German, Japanese, Korean
Region Code: 0 (Worldwide)
Running Time: 117 mins, 15 mins (Bonus)

This is a seminal score, and the Act 2 finale is quite simply one of the best sustained ensemble passages in Italian opera.

The new Poliuto is older in its origins than the Latham-König one on Nuova Era taken from performances given at Rome in 1988 and reviewed last year. That had certain textual advantages, most notably the inclusion of Poliuto's solo "Fu macchiato" following the recitative "Veleno e l'aura" in Act 2, where for the first time the hero's character has some musical life. In other respects this version, recorded in the Vienna Konzerthaus in 1986, is distinctly preferable. Even in textual matters, such as the inclusion of the fine trio for Poliuto, Paolina and Nearco, it can offer reasonable competition.

The recording is also said to be live, though apart from cheers and applause at the end of acts, one would not know it. The Rome recording was altogether too live, with clatter and chatter, comings and goings and various other customary and tiresome signs of life. Recorded sound was an updated version of the kind of thing older collectors probably remember from the so-called "Golden Age of Opera" series on the 'private' EJS label. That is to say, it was sometimes startlingly vivid and sometimes frustratingly remote. The singers of the Rome performances gained some respect but, as recorded, rarely gave pleasure. In short, the Nuova Era issue was welcome for want of a better, and now a better has come.

The sound is clear and well-balanced, orchestral and choral work have some refinement and the soloists vary from adequate to distinguished; the best is Ricciarelli. Memories of Elizabeth Connell in the Nuova Era recording caused quite unnecessary alarm and despondency; Ricciarelli softens the role, turns it inward, imparts an anxious tenderness. Notes that are loud and high are fewer than remembered. Passages such as the Act 1 aria ("Di quai soayi lagrime") and "Ah! fuggi da morte" in the Prison scene become exceptionally beautiful. The baritone and bass, too, are remarkably good, Juan Pons and the noteworthy Laszlo Polgar both singing with finely concentrated tone and plenty of authority. As for Carreras (this was before his illness), the performance is interesting principally as it shows, still more clearly than other recordings did, the direction his career was taking. His recent Eleazar in La juive shows him still pursuing this, with broad passage-notes, the heroic forte varied with a separate head-voice for piano, a tendency to lose quality when the higher notes are under pressure. Characterization seems not to go much beyond a generalized sincerity, but that may also be a limitation of the role itself: I have never quite understood why tenors have found it so attractive.

On the other hand, it becomes ever more easy to see why the opera survives. Despite some banalities, it's a seminal score: Verdi, for instance, must have known it and had it working inside him from (at least) Il trovatore to Aida. There are many fine things in it, and the Act 2 finale is quite simply one of the best sustained ensemble passages in Italian opera.

-- Gramophone [3/1990]

After Il Fortunato inganno and La Zingara, the Martina Franca Festival has revived another neglected masterpiece by Donizetti, Pietro il Grande o sia il Falegname di Livonia. First staged in Venice in 1819, this work met with good success and was performed until 1827. The silence that followed is justifiable only on account of the enormous success reaped by works such as Elisir d’amore, Don Pasquale and Lucia di Lammermoor, for in Pietro il Grande there is no lack of inspiration and Donizetti’s creativity is, quite the opposite, generous and surprising.

Italian/English libretto included.

R E V I E W S:

" Pietro il Grande ossia Il falegname di Livonia was premiered to open the 1819-20 Carnival season at the Teatro San Samuele in Venice, a city that saw the birth of many of the light operas of the decade, including quite a few by Rossini. The premiere took place on Dec. 26, 1819. It was the fourth of Donizetti’s operas to be performed during his life, and the first of Donizetti’s to achieve any kind of performance history...
When I was first asked to review this recording, I expected a very Rossinian opera buffo. It is, to a large extent, but I was still able to see tiny glimpses of Donizetti’s own personality come shining through. An example is the lyric pathos of Annetta’s “veder l’amato bene” in the finale to Act I. There are other lovely numbers, including the duet for Pietro and the Magistrate: “Ser Decuppia siete voi”, definitely a forerunner of the delightful “Cheti, cheti” in Don Pasquale and Carlo’s aria “Il dolce nome e tenero”....
Martina Franca often uses unfamiliar, but talented young singers, as is the case here. I particularly enjoyed the Madame Fritz of Rosa Anna Peraino, the Pietro of Vito Priante and the intentionally obnoxious Magistrate of Giulio Mastrototaro. But the entire cast contributes to the success of the performance...
This is a recording I can recommend not only to Donizetti completists, but to all who appreciate Italian opera."
- Tom Kaufman, Opera Today

Composed for Venice in 1837, just a year-and-a-half after the fantastic success of Lucia di Lammermoor, Pia de' Tolomei "pleased altogether", in the composer's words. He revised it a couple of times thereafter and it was shown at various theaters as distant as Malta until 1855, after which it disappeared. It takes place in 13th-century Siena: Pia is married to Nello; his cousin Ghino loves her but she refuses his advances. Ghino angrily accuses Pia of adultery with an unknown man, who turns out to be Pia's brother, Rodrigo, and Nello imprisons her. Ghino eventually feels remorse and confesses his deception, but not soon enough to save Pia from being poisoned by Nello.

One of the formal weaknesses of the opera is that Rodrigo is a mezzo-soprano role, and that type of travesty never quite works; but even elsewhere, the fact that Pia is so passive, added to generally formulaic writing, keeps the opera from being a winner. Still, there are some fine Donizettian tunes and scenes, and it's worth hearing.

This live performance finds a remarkably committed cast struggling uphill against Donizetti's lack of true inspiration, but the singers turn out a satisfying experience in the end. The star is Patrizia Ciofi as Pia. She delivers a specific, focused reading, beautifully sung and filled with as much textual and tonal nuance as the score allows. Her voice has gained body in the middle and the top still gleams. Ghino is sung by tenor Dario Schmunck, and he exhibits a fine, ringing tenor and good Donizettian style; his opening aria and cabaletta and the second half of his duet with Nello are exciting, vigorous parts of the score, and he tears into them well. Baritone Andrew Schroeder has a nice snarl as Nello, but aside from the cabaletta to his duet with Ghino he has pretty ordinary music. Rodrigo is given similarly uninteresting music, and Laura Polverelli sings it well enough. The chorus sings with as much involvement as the cast, which is saying a great deal, and the orchestra plays with verve under Paolo Arrivabeni. Recommended for Donizetti completists.

--Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com

Italian/English libretto included.

All Regions | NTSC | Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS, PCM Stereo 2.0 | Colour | 16:9 | 137 min.

In recent years not only music festivals but also important opera theatres have turned their attention towards the neglected masterpieces of the lyrical repertoire. Thus also Venice’s Teatro La Fenice, in a commendable effort, staged this Pia de’ Tolomei by Donizetti, with some of the best singers available today for this type of repertoire. Initial response to this opera, which was performed for the first time in 1837, was ambiguous, so much so that Donizetti re-worked it as many as three times. The version here recorded is that of the critical edition recently published by Ricordi, with the tragic finale originally conceived by the composer. The listener will undoubtedly wonder, once more, at Donizetti’s wealth of melodic inspiration, especially when it comes to the character of Pia, wonderfully interpreted, here, by Patrizia Ciofi. Subtitles in 7 languages.

First DVD recording
First recording of the new critical edition

R E V I E W:

A work far better than its reputation, an attractive production, splendid singing and acting.

Donizetti composed Pia de’ Tolomei during the summer and autumn of 1836 in Naples, where he was living at the time. In December he set out for Venice, where the premiere was planned for February the next year at the Teatro La Fenice He travelled via Livorno and Genoa but when he arrived in Genoa he was met by the news that the theatre had been destroyed by fire on the night of 12/13 December. He realized that there was a great risk that the premiere would be jeopardized. However the production was moved to Teatro Apollo and the premiere took place on 18 February 1837 as planned. Fanny Persiani, who had been the first Lucia di Lammermoor a couple of years earlier, took the title role. The opera was not an immediate success and Donizetti reworked it twice. The second time was for Naples in 1838, where the censors enforced important changes and a happy ending. The present production is based on the critical edition published by Ricordi, where the original tragic finale is restored.

History often repeats itself and on 29 January 1996 Teatro La Fenice was again destroyed by fire. After seven years of intense reconstruction work a Phoenix arose from the ashes. Its inauguration took place on 14 December 2003, almost to the day 167 years after that first disaster. When Pia de’ Tolomei was scheduled less than 1½ years later the performances were carried through without mishap and the result can be seen and heard on this wholly attractive set of DVDs.

“Why is it attractive? I’ve read that this is one the worst of Donizetti’s operas.” I can hear more than one jaded opera-freak’s distrustful grumble. Yes, I have read that too and I wasn’t all that hopeful when I started viewing. Things began badly by mistake I started playing the second disc first and ended up hopelessly at sea. “What has happened before and why don’t we know that?” was my reaction. I shouldn’t blame Dynamic but since the disc I put in my player was in its usual place on the right-hand side of the opened box and to the left was the booklet, I didn’t even notice the admittedly very large 2 on the label. Unfortunately disc 1 was obscured by the booklet. However, when starting from the beginning, I found the plot and layout fully comprehensible – which is not always the case with these more obscure operatic byways. The origin of the story is to be found in a few lines in Dante’s Divina Commedia and according to some scholars they refer to events in the poet’s own time, taking place in 1297. A poem on the subject had been published in 1822 and in April 1836 a play by Giacinto Bianco was staged in Naples. Donizetti must have known it and been inspired by it. His librettist Salvadore Cammarano was no mean author – no one can deny the dramatic qualities of Lucia di Lammermoor. This drama unfolds with few digressions from the main story in what is certainly a clear-cut libretto.

The plot goes along these lines: Ghino is in love with Pia but she is married to Nello, his cousin, and turns him down. In revenge he informs Nello that Pia is going to have a secret meeting with a lover. Her visitor is however her brother Rodrigo, who has just escaped from captivity. Rodrigo manages to escape Nello’s guards but Pia refuses to tell her husband who the visitor was and is condemned to imprisonment for life in his castle. Ghino visits her there and promises to set her free if she becomes his. She tells him who the visitor was and Ghino decides to tell Nello the truth. On his way he is attacked and mortally wounded. He manages to tell Nello about Pia’s innocence and Nello rushes to the castle to save her, since he has ordered Ubaldo to poison her. He arrives too late but before she dies Pia reconciles her brother to her husband. OK, this may not be a masterpiece of a story or a libretto but there are standard works that are not one iota better.

Secondly the music is fully worthy of the drama. Rarely in Donizetti’s operas is everything perfect. This was his 61st opera in twenty years – if we include often far-reaching revisions of some works. There was little time for him to go back and tidy up details. In most of his works he tends to lapse into clichés. That said, it is remarkable how often he avoids the temptation; how frequently he finds new expressions, new structures. In Pia de’ Tolomei he has long abandoned the recitative-aria-recitative pattern and builds long, continuous scenes – not seamless as later Verdi but still pointing forward to his brilliant successor. He is stuck in the aria-cabaletta pattern, rather along the same lines as middle period Verdi. In addition he far too often builds the cabalettas and other numbers on the almost mechanical rum-ti-tum rhythm with which we are also well acquainted from early and middle Verdi. But it really doesn’t matter as long as it is captivating – and very often with Donizetti it is. The opening chorus of act 2 – the first thing I heard in my reverse-order listening – is one stirring example. Rodrigo, a trouser role, has a rousing cabaletta in the dungeon scene in act 1 and in the same act there is a fine cabaletta duet for tenor and baritone that should be a splendid recital item. More original are Pia’s big solos which make her a close relative to the likewise ill-fated Lucia di Lammermoor. Technically this role requires the same amount of florid singing and sensitive pianissimo singing and it should be an attractive role for any good lyric-dramatic soprano. The leading tenor also has a couple of vocally and dramatically attractive arias. Then there is a beautiful duet for Pia and her brother Rodrigo – for soprano and mezzo-soprano – accompanied by plucked strings.

Thirdly the production is visually pleasing. The sets are of the modern-minimalist kind, with strict geometrical constructions and evocative lighting. Sometimes screens with texts are inserted. The costumes are timelessly-historical, if you can accept the contradiction in terms. The soldiers’ armoury could be anything from late 13th century to the Thirty Years’ War while Pia’s nightdress could be from the latest issue of Vogue. The grouping of the soldiers in the mass-scenes is also decorative though hardly based on dramatic necessity.

Fourthly the singing and acting of the principals is uniformly at the highest level. It has been a long time since I saw a DVD production with such high quality singing even from the comprimarios. Patrizia Ciofi’s Pia is ravishingly sung, deeply felt and convincingly acted. She seems in a state of mental disturbance from the very outset - an innocent victim. Technically speaking she is brilliant with fluent coloratura and the gift of delicate embellishments. Dario Schmunck is a lyrical and ardent Ghino – a singer I eagerly look forward to hearing again. His acting may be rather reticent but is still efficient. Andrew Schroeder is a powerful and dramatic Nello and sings with glowing tone. Laura Polverelli’s Rodrigo is also a character not to be taken lightly. In the smaller parts Carlo Cigni, sporting a magnificent basso cantante, is surely predestined for a grand career. The chorus have a lot to do, especially the male soldiery. They are vivid and powerful but not always the most homogenous of ensembles. The orchestra play well and Paolo Arrivabeni is obviously deeply inspired by this long neglected score.

Is it a forgotten masterpiece? Maybe not but it is far better than some works regularly performed and should not be returned to the archives for the eternal sleep. If it is, the Teatro La Fenice forces have seen to it that it will not be totally forgotten and opera lovers with a taste for the unusual should hasten to acquire this set. Technically this set is fully worthy of the occasion. There is a good booklet and subtitles are available in seven languages.

A work that is far better than its reputation, in an attractive production with splendid singing and acting. Should be snapped up by all opera lovers with a feeling for the unusual.

-- Göran Forsling, MusicWeb International

Classical Music

DONIZETTI Marino Faliero • Bruno Cinquegrani, cond; Giorgio Surian ( Marino Faliero ); Rachele Stanisci ( Elena ); Ivan Magri ( Fernando); Luca Grassi ( Israele ); Luca Dall’Amico ( Steno ); Domenico Menini ( Gondolier); Bergamo Music Fest Gaetano Donizetti O & Ch • NAXOS 8.660303-04 (2 CDs: 144:24) Live: Bergamo 2008


Composing the score for Marino Faliero was an important project for Gaetano Donizetti in late 1834 because for the first time he had received a commission to create a work for Parisian audiences. Paris in those years was the glamorous opera capital of the Western world; to work there meant the real possibility of great fame and much fatter purses. The commission had come from expatriate Gioachino Rossini’s Théâtre Italien, then a thriving Paris showcase for new Italian opera works in their original language. Because of previous commitments, Donizetti was forced to work on his score in Italy. When he finally arrived in Paris he was induced to make major revisions to what he had already written, whether at the behest of Rossini or because he felt the opera inadequate to please Parisian tastes in its original state, we do not know; perhaps some of both.


Donizetti’s new work was to be blessed with the participation of four of the best singers then performing, including soprano Giulia Grissi and tenor Giovanni Battista Rubini, but also cursed with the ill fortune of appearing in the theater directly after I Puritani , the highly regarded new work of Vincenzo Bellini, both at the March 12, 1835, premiere in Paris and later that year at its London premiere with the same singers. Operagoers in both cities picked favorites, and I Puritani won out. The famous singing foursome was dubbed the “I Puritani Quartet,” not the “Faliero Quartet.”


I am certainly not familiar with all the 65 or so librettos Donizetti set or partially set to music; very few people are. I have heard and read enough of them, however, to know even though the story is based on a work by Lord Byron, Marino Faliero probably doesn’t rank in the top 20. The story is of Faliero, the 55th Doge of Venice, already the titular head of the citizen government of the 14th-century city-state. Feeling disrespected by the ruling Council of 40 for not pursuing stiffer penalties against his political enemies and others who are bandying his wife’s name about as an adulteress, Faliero joins a conspiracy against the ruling elite and declares himself Prince of Venice. The uprising fails and Faliero is imprisoned. To add insult to injury his wife, Elena, informs the Doge before his execution that the rumors are true, she has been unfaithful with his tenor nephew Fernando, who had been killed off in act II. The Doge is initially angry, but comes to a better state and forgives Fernando and his wife before going off to the block. The Dogaressa, bereft of both lover and husband, will hie to a nunnery. So, what’s not to like here? A cheating wife who precipitates the death of her young lover? A political leader not content with his own power who acts foolishly and treacherously on spurious reasoning? Who can’t get into that? Donizetti mitigates the infelicities of the libretto to some extent with very good, if not great, music. He does not match the level of inspiration Bellini achieves in I Puritani , but this work is not chopped liver, either.


The singing on this recording is generally quite good. The vocalists understand the need to ornament repeat passages, especially in Donizetti’s cabalettas, and do so with varying degrees of success. Young tenor Ivan Magri and young soprano Rachele Stanisci perform the best, although as Fernando, Magri is killed in act II, and Stanisci, as Elena, does not appear in act II at all. Magri can go a bit flat at times, but both voices handle the bel canto style and soar when necessary. Both hold the potential of good careers to come. Baritone Luca Grassi competently sings the substantial role of Israele, leader of the conspirators. The disappointment in the pack is the singing of Giorgio Surian as the Doge, Faliero. Surian has developed a wide vibrato; some would call it a flutter or incipient wobble. That makes him difficult to listen to for long and spoils some of the ensemble pieces as well. There is also very little separation in tonal quality between bass and baritone in their several numbers together. The partly student Bergamo Festival Donizetti Orchestra plays surprisingly well and supports the singers in excellent fashion under the baton of bel canto specialist Bruno Cinquegrani. The chorus is a bit ragged at times; it sounds like they need more rehearsal time.


To my knowledge, this Naxos CD release (and its DVD counterpart) is only the fifth recording of Marino Faliero. The modern-era revival in Bergamo in 1966 was captured live and issued on Melodram LPs with some locally known singers (I don’t believe this recording ever made it to CD). In 1977 a live production for RAI Turin featured possibly the best Faliero in bass, Cesare Siepi. He is accompanied by the well-sung Israele of Lucinio Montefusco, the Elena of Marisa Galvany, and the Fernando of Giuliano Cianella, the last two of which lack any clue about bel canto style. In addition, the tenor ducks high notes throughout and more than one number is transposed to a lower key. This set is still available in quite good mono sound on Myto and Bongiovanni. A 1999 release from Hungary on the Agora label, which I have not heard, apparently suffers from a badly inadequate tenor. There is a Hardy DVD filmed in Parma in 2002 with some major voices, including Rockwell Blake as Fernando, Mariella Devia as Elena, and Michele Pertusi as the Doge, which is arguably better than the current set, although it too has some problems. Devia is not really a bel canto type either, and by 1992 Blake’s voice was distinctly unlovely, although he still retained his excellent mastery of Donizetti style.


The Naxos booklet contains an article about the opera, a synopsis keyed to the track listing, and short bios of key performers. An Italian-only libretto is available on the website. The stereo sound is excellent; the enthusiastic audience does not intrude on the performances. Marino Faliero is a pretty good opera still wanting a definitive recording. Those who want to see it might opt for the 2002 Hardy DVD or the Naxos release of the current set. This quite substantial and inexpensive CD edition can fill in quite well on the shelf while we wait and hope.


FANFARE: Bill White