A succinct profile of Gaetano Donizetti’s Il Paria might be summed up thusly: a melodramma (according to the libretto) whose dramatic lines are sure, decisive, unique and original. Within an exotic context, it portrays a tale whose elements are social, religious, humanitarian and psychologically transparent, and it brings this tale to a rapid and baneful end. Cast members Patrizia Cigna and Filippo Castiglioni joined Marco Berdondini and the Pro Arte Marche in this 2001 Italian live recording.

The Furioso all’isola di San Domingo is a perfect vehicle for a Donizettian commentary on the anguish of despair, irresolution and heartbreak with a leavening of self-awareness that is both amused and cathartic. It is no coincidence that the plot derives from Cervantes. Poor Cardenio is to suffer, but never so much as when - as a result of a suitable storm sequence - his unfaithful Eleonora is washed up in 6/8 on the beach. Is this really an opera semi-seria? The printed libretto declares it to be an opera seria in due atti but tradition has allotted the lesstaxing description mostly on behalf of the buffo bass, the black slave Kaidamà of the trenchant wit who is the opera’s star turn. Donizetti offers us a double irony: his slave is the one character liberated from emotional excess, and his comments are the one serious element of this comédie humaine. As a genre opera semi-seria had been expiring quietly when Donizetti wrote Il furioso. The essential Italianità of an opera with something-for-everyone was in decline. Even so the choice of a plot demanding all the virtues and vices, volatile, haphazard, inconsequential - only half-serious (what anathema this must have unleashed oltralpe) proved irresistible to a composer longing to abandon predictability. In this opera we are at the matrix of Donizetti’s attitude to genres. “Comic” and “Tragic” are not necessarily contradictory forces. It would be relatively easy to confirm that each and every one of his opere serie, however dark and imposing, contains at least one wry joke - at least one leavening allusion to the inherent comedy that underpins all our destinies, while each and every one of his opere buffe that keeps its head above farse has its moment of sober reflection.

Video Format: DVD 9
Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Subtitles: Italian, English
Running Time: 153 Minutes
Region Code: 0
Sound Format: Stereo PCM

Also available on Blu-ray

This opera, which had fallen into oblivion, was revived in 1973 in the Dutch city of Zaanstad (the Saardam of the libretto) and staged at Bergamo’s Teatro Sociale as part of the Donizetti Festival in a new critical edition made for the Donizetti Foundation by Alberto Sonzogni. In the plot, the Tsar Peter the Great works incognito as a carpenter at the shipyard of Sardaam to acquire technical knowledge to carry back home. On the podium, the knowledgeable Roberto Rizzi Brignoli leads the orchestra of the Donizetti Opera, assisted by the internationally renowned cinema director Davide Ferrario. In the cast, Andrea Concetti (a successful artist who has sung throughout the world) is joined by singers who are emerging in the belcanto repertoire, such as Giorgio Caoduro, Juan Francisco Gatell, Irina Dubrovskaya and Aya Wakizono.

DONIZETTI Gianni di Parigi • Giacomo Sagripanti, cond; Ekaterina Lekhina ( Princess of Navarra ); Edgardo Rocha ( Gianni ); Roberto de Candia ( Grand Sénéchal ); Slovak Ch of Bratislava; O Internazionale d’Italia • BONGIOVANNI 20025 (DVD: 110:05 Text and Translation) Live: Palazzo Ducale, Martina Franca 7/2010


One can take note of certain amateurish aspects of Bongiovanni’s production. The camera occasionally lurches to find a singer who moved on stage. The English titles are clumsily translated, as are the excellent notes in the accompanying booklet. The microphones placed on the front of the stage do not always pick up singers well as they move upstage. The number of cameras used would appear to be minimal, so there is little variety to the kinds of shots we get.


Despite those shortcomings, this is a delight, and should be of interest to anyone interested in the bel canto period of opera. Gianni di Parigi is not one of Donizetti’s masterpieces, but neither is it one of his weakest scores. It is an intriguing combination of Rossinian comedy (particularly in the first act) and Donizetti’s own brand of long-lined lyricism (mainly in the second). The writing is always tuneful, often inspired, and occasionally original. The opera is filled with arias, duets, and ensembles that impress themselves into your mind and stay in the memory.


The story is a piece of fluff. Gianni is the heir to the throne of France, and is committed to marry the Princess of Navarra, but he wants to get to know her and see if he likes her. The Princess is herself due to arrive at an inn where she has reserved rooms and the kitchen, but Gianni, pretending to be a rich but oafish “Signor Burghese,” offers the innkeeper enough money to take the inn over, and then invites the Princess to dine with him. She suspects that this might be the Prince, but plays along. There are a number of comic situations involving the innkeeper and his daughter, and the Senechal who accompanies the Princess as well as Gianni’s page, but all ends happily (including the page pairing off with the innkeeper’s daughter).


Much of the success of this release is the performance. Gianni was written for the greatest stars of the day: The demanding tenor title role was composed for the great Rubini, who sang the premiere. The Uruguayan tenor Edgardo Rocha is a name new to me, but I will seek out other performances. He studied some with Rockwell Blake, and has a bit of Blake’s hardness of sound at full volume, but only a bit. Rocha’s ability to sing softly and gently, with a remarkably sweet tone, is extremely appealing, as are his ringing high notes (up to D) and his agility in florid passages. Although he kindly lets the final bow at the curtain calls go to the soprano lead, in fact I think it is as a tenor vehicle that this opera makes its strongest mark.


The Princess is a typical Donizetti soprano role, with long-breathed lyric lines combined with coloratura fireworks. Ekaterina Lekhina sings it very well. Her eastern sound is not what we normally associate with this music, and she lacks the flair of Rocha, but her singing is lovely and accurate and she has a winning stage personality. The duet for the two of them near the opera’s end, “Nulla di più perfetto … questo mortal beato” is top-drawer Donizetti, and the two sing it wonderfully. Roberto de Candia’s voice is a bit grainy, but his singing is solid and he inhabits the buffo role of the Grand Sénéchal completely.


The rest of the cast is very good. There may not be a jaw-droppingly sensational standout like the tenor, but all sing attractively and all are clearly having fun with the opera and the production. That production is simple and traditional; the entire opera takes place at the inn, attractively presented, with costumes that seem to come from the 1950s (but are consistent throughout and not at all ill-suited to the opera). The orchestra is a touch scrappy, but the musicians know the style and Sagripanti keeps things moving without ever losing suppleness in his phrasing. As indicated in the opening of this review, the production values are fairly shoddy, and there are no extras on the DVD, but that should not deter you from exploring this. I expect to return to Gianni often.


FANFARE: Henry Fogel

DONIZETTI Gemma di Vergy • Roberto Rizzi Brignoli, cond; Maria Agresta ( Gemma ); Gregory Kunde ( Tamas ); Mario Cassi ( Conte di Vergy ); Leonardo Galazzi ( Guido ); Kremena Dilcheva ( Ida) ; Dario Russo ( Rolando ); Bergamo Musica Festival Gaetano Donizetti O & Ch • BONGIOVANNI 20024 (DVD: 140:00) Live: Bergamo 2011


I certainly applaud the Donizetti Festival in Bergamo for staging a rare production of their namesake composer’s Gemma di Vergy , as seen here from the festival’s 2011 season. Pretty much neglected by opera companies in the modern age since it was championed by Montserrat Caballé in the mid-1970s, Gemma contains some little heard and quite entertaining music by composer Donizetti that deserves wider exposure. Of course Caballé, as was her wont, was not singing Donizetti’s version, but her own, with simplified and smoothed-over vocal lines replacing much of the composer’s bel canto fioratura. The Spanish diva sang the title role well enough in that style, but none of her recordings are, at least in my opinion, a truly satisfactory representation of the original opera.


The story itself, like Bellini’s Beatrice di Tenda and Donizetti’s earlier Anna Bolena , tells of an aristocratic wife (here a Countess) repudiated by a husband because she has not borne an heir. The locale is France in the final years of the 100 Years’ War during the victorious ascendancy of Joan of Arc. It is instructive to note that all of these sanctimonious gents wishing to move on from barren marriages seem to have a comely lass waiting in the wings, more than ready to take up conjugal duties. Unlike Beatrice or Anna, Gemma does not go quietly or nobly into the night. She is more into the cat-fighting mode, trying to kill her new rival, the lady Ida de Gréville, and inadvertently inciting her faithful Saracen retainer Tamas (secretly in love with her) to kill the Count. Gemma spurns this rather extreme act of devotion (those crazy Saracens!) and Tamas kills himself rather than be taken by the count’s loyal followers. In fact, the opera ends quite unhappily for everyone, but in a welter of melodious, engaging music.


The Bergamo sets are simple yet effective. Painted risers and some props come and go, along with a gorgeous blue stained-glass backdrop with medieval themes. Traditional costumes are finely detailed and rich-looking, probably much too fine for war-ravaged France, but an operatic excess I can easily live with. It is when the action and singing begins on stage that the warning lights begin to go off. In fact, there is very little action, period, and what does occur seems rather amateurishly staged. The singers mostly stand and sing, and like Caballé, they don’t really do bel canto . That particular style of singing was losing cachet by 1834 when this opera premiered, but in modified form it was still central to Donizetti’s work. The lack of that type of expertise from this cast is disappointing. Young soprano Maria Agresta sings quite passionately in the demanding title role (Caballé said it was more difficult than singing three Norma s) but her voice spreads rather unpleasantly in higher register. Neither bass Leonardo Galeazzi as Guido, the Count’s retainer, nor baritone Mario Cassi as the Count really have enough voice fully to command their roles. Cassi, although good-looking in the part, could benefit from some acting lessons. The best singer seen here turns out to be veteran American tenor Gregory Kunde in the role of Saracen Tamas. Kunde’s voice occasionally displays a bit of the ravages of a long career, but he still possesses a ringing tenor top and generally turns in a fine performance. The Festival chorus is given little to do, but they sing quite satisfactorily and the orchestra is led in some brisk pacing by Maestro Roberto Rizzi Brignoli.


This is the first Bongiovanni DVD I have seen. The label’s video capture of the stage production uses pretty straightforward basic camerawork but looks professionally rendered. Sound is fine in stereo with no surround option available. Subtitle choices are limited to Italian, English, and Japanese. To my mind, despite a sincere effort here, poor Gemma is still looking for a good representative recording of her opera. This Bergamo DVD will serve to replace the Caballé discs as a place-holder until something better comes along.


FANFARE: Bill White

A collection of wholly agreeable music, stylishly written and elegantly performed. The emphasis is on charm, lyricism, and vivacity—something to serenade and divert the listener. Donizetti treats the soloists as vocalists; the music is always expressive. For the most part, this music is played in reconstructions and in others’ orchestrations. But all seems most sympathetically researched and, where necessary, edited and arranged. The Clarinet Concertino mixes pathos and good humor, and the hunting finale of the Oboe Concertino is ear catching. The work for English horn (cor anglais) was written for a now defunct instrument; the cor anglais sounds slightly uncomfortable here, despite the player’s best efforts, and is cast as a theme and variations, the theme reminds of one used by Schubert in his music for Rosamunde. Beginning the CD is a short fancy for woodwind nonet, rather Mozartian, and closing the program is the most operatic music here, written for the funeral of a violinist, and culminating in the manner of a Rossini overture, with a crescendo. If the music appeals, then this release can be regarded as a winner. The recording is excellent: airy, tangible, and well defined.

Colin Anderson, FANFARE

Also available on Blu-ray

Gaetano Donizetti
DON PASQUALE

Don Pasquale – Alessandro Corbelli
Norina – Danielle de Niese
Malatesta – Nikolay Borchev
Ernesto – Alek Shrader
A Notary – James Platt
Servant – Anna-Marie Sullivan

Glyndebourne Chorus
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Enrique Mazzola, conductor

Mariame Clément, stage director

Recorded live at the Glyndebourne Festival, 2013

Bonus:
- Behind the Curtain
- Danielle de Niese introduction
- Staging the Opera
- Cast gallery

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Korean
Running time: 128 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

Despite meeting with success upon its premiere in 1836, Gaetano Donizetti himself considered his Belisario to be a step below his finest effort, 1835s Lucia di Lammermoor. Composed in a style befitting its elevated, heroic and noble subject matter (high declamation, monological rather than dialogue driven, highly symphonic in style, etc…), it nonetheless worked in the theater and testifies to Donizetti’s superior inventiveness and theatrical sense. Recorded live at the Teatro Donizetti in Bergamo, Italy in 2012, this Bongiovanni release marks the opera’s first appearance on DVD.

Classical Music

This work is captivating in its intensity and focuses on aspects of and moments in Tasso's rich, eventful life. Indeed, Donizetti seems to have been so actively involved in drafting his subject that he may well have seen in Tasso not a little of himself. After all, both composer and poet hailed from Bergamo. Reports at the time indicate the opera was initially received with considerable warmth and, on occasion, outright enthusiasm. Yet this success proved short-lived. The growing vogue for tragic subjects in opera probably made Torquato Tasso seem an odd hotchpotch of unrelated elements with a finale that, for all its outstanding approach to the music, in dramatic terms had neither a properly happy nor unhappy ending. The fact remains, however that the music of Torquato Tasso is highly inventive – outstandingly so. If today's audiences can strike a balance between the several approaches to stagecraft in this opera, Torquato Tasso will reveal new delights for the eye and ear and so become one of the finest instances of Donizetti at his most experimental and charismatic.

An opéra-comique by an Italian composer? This was a rarity in its day, but after the “barely averted disaster” of its opening night, Donizetti’s La Fille du régiment became a popular success, not least for the high Cs demanded from Tonio in the famous tenor aria "Ah! mes amis, quel jour de fête!" The story revolves around Marie, the canteen girl of the Regiment, whose lover Tonio joins the army to be near her just as she is claimed for marriage into nobility. This acclaimed Teatro Donizetti production was considered by turns “hilarious… tender and moving… [and] overwhelmingly brilliant.” (Bachtrack)

Dom Sebastien, based on Scribe’s French libretto, was presented in Paris on November 13th, 1843. It was a popular success, though Donizetti was not completely satisfied with this work and, already during the first performances, began making changes. Scribe’s libretto was translated, at the end of 1843, into Italian by Giovanni Ruffini and, at the same time, into German by Leo Herz, who was the resident director at the Vienna Imperial Theater. Donizetti used Ruffini’s Italian libretto to effect his changes. At the beginning of 1844 the second version of Donizetti’s Don Sebastiano was ready. The Emperor wanted this opera to be presented in German; therefore Ruffini’s libretto was replaced by the Leo Herz’ German language version which had been prepared with the objective of almost completely following the rhythmic articulations of the Italian version. Therefore, the second version of Don Sebastiano, rewritten by Donizetti, was performed for the first time in Vienna on February 5th, 1845, in German, and Donizetti himself directed this and the following two performances, which means that the Viennese version is unquestionably authentic and represents the very last work of the Maestro. Unfortunately, at this point, Donizetti was already mentally disturbed and could no longer look after his work. The retouched libretto no longer fit with the music of Donizetti; therefore, all the rewritten parts of the libretto were also musically re-edited so that they are not truly attributable to Donizetti. This was the Italian version, re-edited, thus not authentic, which was published in 1865. All the successive performances in Italian were, thus, apocryphal; Donizetti had nothing to do with them. The fortunate discovery of the original text by Giovanni Ruffini, led to the revival of the second version, preferred by Donizetti, and in Italian instead of German.

This opera, which had fallen into oblivion, was revived in 1973 in the Dutch city of Zaanstad (the Saardam of the libretto) and staged at Bergamo's Teatro Sociale as part of the Donizetti Festival in a new critical edition made for the Donizetti Foundation by Alberto Sonzogni. In the plot, the Tsar Peter the Great works incognito as a carpenter at the shipyard of Sardaam to acquire technical knowledge to carry back home. On the podium, the knowledgeable Roberto Rizzi Brignoli leads the orchestra of the Donizetti Opera, assisted by the internationally renowned cinema director Davide Ferrario. In the cast, Andrea Concetti (a successful artist who has sung throughout the world) is joined by singers who are emerging in the belcanto repertoire, such as Giorgio Caoduro, Juan Francisco Gatell, Irina Dubrovskaya and Aya Wakizono.

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.