The Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, the composer’s birthplace, is internationally renowned for its innovative stagings and musically impeccable productions.

This colourful and exuberant production was staged by Daminano Michieletto, “one of the truly new voices in stage direction today” (L’Unita). Damiano Michieletto made his international debut at the Wexford Opera Festival in 2003 with a highly-acclaimed production of Weinberger’s Svanda Dudák, named Opera Production of the Year by the Irish Times.

Claudio Scimone, a key figure in the international Rossini Renaissance, conducts the Orchestra di Bolzano e Trento and leads a cast of Rossini specialists including Daniele Zanfardino, Olga Peretyatko and Anna Malavasi. Gioachino Rossini LA SCALA DI SETA

Dormont – Daniele Zanfardino
Giulia – Olga Peretyatko
Lucilla – Anna Malavasi
Dorvil – José Manuel Zapata
Blanzac – Carlo Lepore
Germano – Paolo Bordogna

Bolzano-Trento Haydn Orchestra
Claudio Scimone, conductor

Damiano Michieletto, stage director

Recorded live at Rossini Opera Festival, Pesaro, August 2009

bonus
- Cast Gallery
- The making of La scala di seta

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Italian
Running time: 105 mins (opera) + 22 mins (bonus)
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)

R E V I E W:

"the musical aspects are in good hands as Claudio Scimone leads the Haydn Orchestra of Bolzano and Trento, with the piquant Olga Peretyatko’s Giulia miles above the rest of the cast in vocal terms, however involved they all are in the antics imposed by director Damiano Michieletto. Carlo Lepore acquits himself in the interpolated aria, “Alla Gloria,” familiar to those who are obsessive Rossinians in performances by Samuel Ramey and Michele Pertusi. Paolo Bordogna’s Germano is hampered by a vibrato housed in a voice of no particular distinction, though he does execute the fioritura quite well. José Manuel Zapata’s Dorvil requires the audience to suspend its belief in him as a romantic lead, while Anna Malavasi (Lucilla) executes the change from prude to sex-crazy puta in typical comic style."


FANFARE: Joel Kasow

Gioacchino Rossini - La Scala di Seta

Featuring Tullio Pane, Carmen Lavani, Tiziana Tramonti, Ernesto Palacio, Mario Chiappi, Robert Coviello

Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana
Marc Andreae, conductor
Martin Derungs, Harpsichord-master

Basso continuo:
Antonio Mosca (violoncello)
Umberto Ferrari (double-bass)
Filippo Crivelli, stage director

Picture format: NTSC 4:3 (full screen)
Sound format: Stereo
Region code: All Regions
Subtitles: English
Running time: 103 minutes
No. of DVDs: 1

Full review from FANFARE Magazine:
Naxos has brought a sadly neglected Rossini opera back into currency. La pietra del paragone is early Rossini, but all the stylistic elements that characterize his better-known opera buffas are in place: the crescendo, the rhythmic drive, the frenetic act I finale, the abundance of effervescent melodies. There is some borrowing from his earlier works, but later scores owe a debt to La pietra. The overture was used again for Tancredi, the storm was reused for Il barbiere di Siviglia. The tune that was to become Di tanti palpiti is first heard in La pietra, and shortly after act II opens, there is a delightful sextet reminiscent of the sextet from Cenerentola, the one with the rippled Rs. There is an incredible wealth of melody and inspiration in La pietra del paragone, and the story is delightful, too.

Three women want to marry the Count Asdrubale, but he suspects they are fortune hunters interested in his wealth. He receives a message that he is now poor. The message is a trick: he sent it himself. Asdrubale then disguises himself as an African chieftain to see what the ladies think of him now that they believe he is poor. Clarice proves to be the one who really loves him.

The opera was so highly regarded at its premiere it earned Rossini a military exemption. So why have its fortunes dwindled? Most of Rossini’s operas fell into public disfavor for well over a century and are now in the process of being rediscovered. If you like Rossini’s operas, discover this one. It’s a gem.

La pietra has not been recorded as often as Rossini’s major comedies and a few of his serious works have been. In 1972, Vanguard issued a studio-recorded album conducted by Newell Jenkins that featured José Carreras in one of his first recorded roles. It appeared on CD 20 years later and sadly seems to be out of circulation. The other three recordings were made in performance. A Nuova Era album, a co-production of the Teatros Comunale di Modena and Ferrara, is also unavailable at this time (May 2004), and a performance on Bongiovanni is listed as “Special Order.” This new Naxos album is more than likely the only La pietra to be found in the bins.

It was recorded in July 2001 during the Rossini In Wildbad Festival at Kurhaus, Bad Wildbad, Germany. The cast features a number of young singers whose talents range from good to very good. There may not be a young Marilyn Horne or Luigi Alva waiting in the wings, but all deliver performances that do the score justice. There is no one in the cast that will make you wince or reach for the mute button. Conductor Alessandro de Marchi moves the score along nicely. His tempos are somewhat swifter than those of Jenkins on Vanguard, but never sound rushed like Desderi’s occasionally do on Nuova Era.

The recorded sound is acceptable, but not ideal. The singers occasionally seem remote, and the acoustics of the theater lack warmth. Stage noises are minimal and applause following the arias is not intrusive. The libretto gives the Italian text only, but a detailed plot synopsis ties the action to the CD track numbers. A recommendation? If you can find the Jenkins on Vanguard, grab it; otherwise this new Naxos will do very nicely.

David L. Kirk, FANFARE

"Of the many joys that this new DVD from Opus Arte has to offer, the greatest is without question the opportunity to hear this marvellous score in all its glory. Maestro Albert Zedda is perhaps the greatest Rossini conductor of our times...The playing of the Orchestra of the Teatro Real, Madrid, on this DVD is nothing short of sensational - strings light but vigorous, woodwind prominent, brass precise. The tempos are all immaculately judged and Zedda's ability to hold together a large cast of soloists and chorus through some difficult concertati is breathtaking. Wonderful though Pier Luigi Pizzi's production is, it's Zedda who makes this amongst the three or four most absorbing and entertaining Rossini performances in my DVD collection.

What a production it is, though. I can't recall any opera DVD causing me to laugh out loud quite so uncontrollably as this one did - in fact, it gets more amusing as the production advances... Pizzi's production [presents] the drama realistically in the 1970s, in a large chic villa on two floors, complete with swimming pool and outdoor furniture. Grassy platforms on either side of the orchestra pit facilitate a tennis match; maids change the sheets on the beds; Fulvia paints a portrait; Asdrubale and Clarice communicate with each other via telephones; characters jump in and out of the swimming pool. It's all tremendous fun. But more than that, just as Rossini was able to flesh out the characters thanks to an outstanding cast in 1812, so too does Pizzi draw enormously emotional performances from several cast members."

-- Dominic McHugh, MusicalCriticism.com [11/1/2007]

----------------

Gioachino Rossini
LA PIETRA DEL PARAGONE

Baronessa Aspasia – Laura Brioli
Marchesa Clarice – Marie-Ange Todorovich
Cavalier Giocondo – Raúl Giménez
Count Asdrubale – Marco Vinco
Pacuvio – Paolo Bordogna
Macrobio – Pietro Spagnoli

Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro Real (Madrid Symphony Orchestra and Chorus)
Alberto Zedda, conductor

Pier Luigi Pizzi, stage director

Recorded live at the Teatro Real, Madrid, 11 and 13 April 2007.

Bonus features:
- Interviews with Alberto Zedda and Pier Luigi Pizzi
- Illustrated synopsis and cast gallery

Picture format: NTSC 16:9 anamorphic
Sound format: LPCM Stereo / DTS Surround 5.1
Region code: 0 (All Regions)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian
Menu languages: English
Running time: 187 mins
No. of DVDs: 2

A bubbly effusion of Rossini’s music, some new, some re-cycled, all enjoyable.

Rossini’s pre-eminence among his contemporaries was widely recognised after the success of his opera seria Tancredi and comic opera L’Italiana in Algeri in Venice in 1813. The composer was summoned to Naples by the impresario Barbaja and offered the musical directorship of the Royal Theatres, the San Carlo and Fondo. The proposal appealed to Rossini for several reasons. First, his annual fee was generous and guaranteed. Secondly, and equally important, unlike Rome and Venice, Naples had a professional orchestra. Rossini saw this as a considerable advantage as he aspired to push the boundaries of opera into more adventurous directions and did so in the nine opera seria he composed during his seven year stay in the position. Under the terms of the contract, Rossini was to provide two operas each year for Naples whilst being permitted to compose occasional works for other cities.

The composer tended to push the limits of his contract in respect of composing for other theatres. In the first two years he composed no fewer than five operas for other venues, with Il Barbiere di Siviglia being the most successful. This pace of composition and presentation of operas was necessary for a composer to enjoy a decent standard of living. There was also the fact that an opera success in a city far away, at least by the standards of the day, allowed an element of self-plagiarisation. Why waste good tunes - even when a work has been a failure - although this was sometimes taken to excess with straight lifts of music with the words simply altered.

After his first trip to Rome, and the massive success of Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Rossini returned to Naples to find the San Carlo theatre burned down. He composed a cantata for a ceremony to celebrate the wedding of the royal princess. Rather than proceeding with the two operas he was contracted to write for Naples, Rossini then proceeded to enjoy himself around town rather than composing. This led to Barbaja writing a formal letter of complaint to the theatre management about the delay in production, whilst the local papers were scathing. At last, much delayed, the first of the two contracted operas, La gazzetta, (The newspaper), was premiered at the small Teatro dei Fiorentini, Naples on 26 September 1816. It was Rossini’s eighteenth opera and was to be the only comic opera that he wrote for the city. Having given time to the production of Tancredi during the rehearsals of La gazzetta, it was no surprise that Rossini completed the work in a hurry and used music that was well known in Rome and elsewhere and some which would be used again in the near future in La Cenerentola. This is fact, although in the booklet essay with this issue the writer contends that the hand-written score of La gazzetta shows evidence of much care. Being popular with the local audience if not with the local press, it had twenty-one performances. The work was soon withdrawn and not seen again until revived in Rome one hundred and forty years or so later.

The action of La gazzetta takes place in a Parisian inn where several guests are staying. Don Pomponio, a local big mouth, extols the virtues of his daughter and has advertised the fact in the local papers as he seeks to marry her off. To cater for local tradition at the Teatro dei Fiorentini the role of Don Pomponio was written in Neapolitan dialect and is sung here by a native of the city Marco Cristarella Orestano. I cannot vouch for the veracity of his Neapolitan patois but he certainly enters into the spirit of his character. Whilst not being the most mellifluous of baritones his quick patter is delivered with good Rossinian taste and skill (CD 1 Trs. 4-6). Don Pomponio is unaware that his daughter, Lisetta, is in love with Filippo, owner of the inn. Judith Gauthier sings this high role with warm tone, pleasing vocal purity and characterisation (CD 1 Tr. 8). In the duets with her father (CD 1 Tr. 14) and her lover (CD 2 Tr. 4) she characterises the role particularly well. Her lover, Filippo, is sung by Giulio Mastrototaro, one of a clutch of more than adequate lower-voiced males who appear in the cast. Whilst not being outstanding they play a vital part in making the opera truly comic.

Of the other pair of lovers the warm-tones of Sicilian soprano of Rossella Bevacqua contrasts nicely with those of Doralice (CD 1 Tr. 12). Alberto, in search of a wife confuses her with the lady advertised in the ‘Gazzetta’ and which confusion is all part of the improbable fun. While not written to feature any of the high-voiced tenors that Barbaja had under contract in Naples, the role has high tessitura as well as a low dramatic requirement. In this performance it is sung by American Michael Spyres. The following year at Bad Wildbad Spyres sang the role of Otello, written for the great Andrea Nozzari famous for his florid singing and powerful lower notes. Spyres has the range, with a strong baritonal patina, however, whilst being ardent he lacks security and easy divisions in the coloratura in the more florid writing (CD 2 Tr. 6). As Madama La Rose, Maria Soulis’s mezzo is rich and flexible (CD 2 Tr.2).

The enjoyment of this typically Rossinian froth depends so much on the cast and the conductor being sympathetic to the idiom. This is the case here with Christopher Franklin on the rostrum drawing a vibrant performance from orchestra, chorus and soloists. In what is obviously an updated staging proceedings are interrupted by warm applause at the end of most set numbers. The tracks are generous allowing for those who want to get rid of the extensive recitative; personally I do not find this troublesome – at least not in this lively performance. There is some stage noise.

The booklet has a good track-related synopsis as well as an informative essay on the background to the opera, both in English and German. There are artist profiles in English. The background essay addresses the problem of the composition of the Act 1 quintet (CD 1 Tr. 10) and whether Rossini himself composed it. Listen and see if you recognise the music. Rossini enthusiasts will want to pursue the research and solution carried out by Gossett and Scipioni and which is discussed at length in the former’s Divas and Scholars (Chicago, 2006). Also interesting is how a producer butchered their efforts at Pesaro in 2001 (pp. 246-247). The production concerned can be seen as reprised at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, in 2005 on Oopus Arte OA0953D. Interestingly, Gossett contends that the first authentic production of the critical edition was in Britain at the 2001 Garsington Festival. It was at this venue that the British premiere of Rossini’s Armida - which I attended - was produced in 2010.

If you like Rossini’s music for his comic operas you will enjoy this performance and have the somewhat naughty pleasure of identifying the music he borrowed and from where - a hint do not always look to what he had composed before La gazzetta. A full libretto, in Italian can be accessed at the Naxos site.

-- Robert J Farr, MusicWeb International

REGIONS: All Regions
PICTURE FORMAT: 1080i
LENGTH: 155 Mins
SOUND: 2.0 & 5.1 PCM
SUBTITLES: ENGLISH/FRENCH/GERMAN/SPANISH/ITALIAN/CATALAN
NO OF DISCS: 1

The Nobel Prize-winning writer Dario Fo applies his inventive genius to Rossini's comic opera in its premiere DVD release. Recorded in 2005 under the musical direction of Maurizio Barbacini, Fo's production brings fresh vitality and colour to the story of Lisetta, and of her father's attempts to find a husband for her through an advertisement in the newspaper La Gazzetta.

Lisetta: Cinzia Forte
Don Pomponio: Bruno Praticò
Filippo: Pietro Spagnoli
Alberto: Charles Workman
Madame La Rose: Agata Bienkowska
Doralice: Marisa Martins
Monsù Traversen: Simón Orfila
Anselmo: Marc Canturri

Orchestra Academy of the Gran Teatre del Liceu
Intermezzo Choir
Musical Director: Maurizio Barbacini
Stage Director: Dario Fo.

Recorded live at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, on 1st and 3rd July 2005. Plus Illustrated synopsis & cast gallery. Interview with Dario Fo. Reviews ‘…ironic and sensual, friendly but with a light taste of satire, La Gazzetta by Rossini has been reborn in this production that has the distinctive stamp of Fo, who has been able to handle with strength the Rossinian chaos without neglecting - and here his major virtue - the music.’ El Periodico de Catalunya

La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie) marked a culmination of the convergence of serious and comic elements in Rossini’s work. The result is an ideal hybrid: a tragic opera with a happy ending that rises to the status of true opera seria. With its outstanding dramatic and musical qualities it remains one of Rossini’s greatest and most successful operas, a constant presence in the repertoire since its triumphant 1817 première in Milan. This performance is conducted by Alberto Zedda, who made his conducting début in 1956, produced the first critical edition of La gazza ladra, and is widely acknowledged as one of the world’s foremost authorities on the operas of Rossini.

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

Also available on standard DVD

La Gazza Ladra is an "opera semiseria" which developed from the middle of the eighteenth century with the vogue for "Larmoyant" tales. By Rossini's time this genre was classified into a rigidly defined series of conventions: a drama with a happy ending, in which the innocent victim, unjustly condemned, should be saved from the scaffold at the eleventh hour and the rascal persecutor punished. The social setting of these operas always delt with a conflict between a feudal aristocracy ( that in La Gazza Ladra is replaced by arrogant welders of power ) and a world of humble people , nearly always peasants. - Known as 'The Thieving Magpie' in English, La Gazza Ladra deals with a servant girl accused of stealing some silverware with which the magpie of the title has actually absconded for its nest. Seemingly lightweight, the opera was rooted in a true story in which a young woman was actually put to death for the bird's "crime". - The overture neatly melds episodic colour with the weightier drama of symphonic sonata form. It features a parade of effects and lovely themes, including an especially famous one introduced by an oboe, that anticipates the characters and action to come, and then, following a spectacular crescendo, reworks several of these themes in a mini-development section.

Conductor: Lu? Jia
Director: Damiano Michieletto
Fabrizio - Paolo Bordogna
Lucia - Kleopatra Papatheologou
Giannetto - Dmitry Korchak
Ninetta - Mariola Cantarero
Fernando - Alex Esposito
Gottardo, il Podesta? - Michele Pertusi
Pippo - Manuela Custer
Isacco - Stefan Cifolelli
Prague Chamber Choir
Orchestra Haydn di Bozano e Trento
Rossini Opera Festival, Pesaro, 2007

Region: All Region
Sound Format: LPCM 2.0; Dolby Digital 5.1/DTS HD 5.1; Picture Format: 16/9
Length: 201 mins.
Sung in Italian
Subtitled in Italian, English, German, French & Spanish.

This recording should allow newcomers to enjoy this most melodic and romantic of Rossini’s opera seria.

La donna del lago is the twenty-ninth in the sequential list of Rossini’s operatic titles and the fourth of the nine opera seria Rossini wrote under his contract as musical director of the Royal Theatres of Naples. It was the first opera by a noted composer to be based on any of Walter Scott’s romantic works. Whilst nowadays the most famous is Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Scott’s popularity as a source of operatic libretti expanded rapidly after Rossini’s example. It was at the San Carlo theatre, Naples, with its professional orchestra and fine soloists, that the composer could let his musical invention find its fullest expression. He did not need to resort to the more static and traditional operatic conventions that still pertained elsewhere. In no other Naples opera seria does Rossini expand his musical invention more effectively than in act one of La donna del lago.

Rossini had returned to Naples in the beginning of June 1819 after the premiere of Adelaide de Borgogna (see review) in Rome and by early September he had completed the composition of La donna del lago. Circumstances blighted the premiere on 24 September when the opera had a lukewarm reception. It was considerably more successful at subsequent performances and remained in the San Carlo repertory for a further twelve years. The Act 2 rondo, Tanti affeti, roused Naples audiences when sung by Isabella Colbran, Rossini’s mistress and in 1822 his first wife. Within five years of its composition La donna del lago was heard all over Italy as well as in Dresden, Munich, Lisbon, Vienna, Barcelona, St. Petersburg, Paris and London.

The vocal demands of Rossini’s opera seria for Naples have always been a challenge to later performances. He wrote to suit the superb company contracted by the renowned impresario Domenico Barbaja who had first tempted the composer to Naples. Alongside the vocally formidable Colbran, the roster included the tenors Giovanni David and Andrea Nozzari, both notable for their ability with stratospheric coloratura singing. Rossini’s writing for the two tenors has since proved problematic in a period when voices of the type seemed to have dried up. By 1860 La donna del lago was forgotten until its revival in Florence in 1958. It was heard at the Camden Festival, London, in 1969 and at Houston in 1983 in a production that was also seen at Covent Garden. The emergence from North and South America in the late 1970s of voices who could tackle the tenor roles written for the Naples duo stimulated the Rossini revival by the Pesaro Festival who presented La donna del lago in 1981 and 1983 and followed with other opera seria written with the duo in mind. A live recording from the Pesaro performances featuring Katia Ricciarelli as Elena, Lucia Valentini Terrani as Malcolm and Samuel Ramey as Douglas was issued by CBS on its Masterworks Label (M2K 39311 nla). An audio recording from the 1992 sequence of La Scala performances conducted by Muti appeared from Philips (PH 438 211-2 nla). A DVD version of this Werner Herzog production is available from Opus Arte (see review). The work is scheduled for a shared production by leading European opera houses in 2011.

The story of La donna del lago is set in 15th century Scotland at a time of regular border warfare and insurgency. Elena lives near the shores of Loch Katrine with her father, Douglas, who has been exiled by the King. Although her father has promised her to the rebel chief Rodrigo di Dhu, she loves the young highlander Malcolm, a ‘trousers’ role. After rowing over Loch Katrine, Elena meets and offers shelter to Uberto who had become separated from his hunting party. Uberto is in fact the King against whom Douglas and Rodrigo are in conflict. The incognito Uberto falls in love with Elena and later gives her a ring promising that if ever in difficulty or danger it will secure the help of the King. After the defeat of the rebels and the death of Rodrigo Elena seeks out Uberto and discovers his true identity. The King keeps his promise, pardons Douglas and gives Malcolm Elena’s hand in marriage. The opera concludes with much rejoicing.

La donna del lago opens without an overture, one of the few of the composer’s operatic works to do so. Instead, Rossini seeks to conjure up the atmosphere of the Scottish Highlands in sixteen bars of orchestral introduction followed by a chorus of shepherds (CD 1 tr.1). This is followed by a particularly effective reflective aria for Elena Oh mattutini albori with distant horns (tr.2) that also serve as a melodic motif for her. In the Opera Rara recording, Elena is sung by a soprano as it is on the CBS issue. In the present case we hear the experienced Rossinian mezzo Sonia Ganassi. Vitally, her more soprano-like timbre is fine for the contrast with her lover Malcolm, sung by the low mezzo Marianna Pizzolato, in their duet (CD 1 trs. 16-17) and elsewhere. I greatly admired Ganassi as a dramatic Sinaïde in Moïse et Pharaon (see review). In the role of Elena she encompasses the tessitura without difficulty whilst bringing her full range of tone to characterise the heroine’s many moods (CD 1 tr. 2 and CD 2 trs. 22-23) and particularly in her duets with Uberto (CD 1 trs 3-4 and CD 2 trs. 9-11) as well as in the ensembles. Her Tanti affetti is particularly affecting (CD 2 tr. 22). I did feel Ganassi was outgrowing the eponymous Cenerentola (see review) a fact wholly confirmed by hearing the younger, and lower-toned, Marianna Pizzolato live in the role in her British debut with Welsh National Opera (see review). Like Ganassi, Pizzolato sings with smooth, even, well articulated tone and excellent legato across her considerable vocal range. She exhibits no gear-change to the lowest notes. There are no rasping chest tones in her very musical and well-characterised interpretation (CD 1 trs 11-13 and CD 2 trs. 14-15). This duo reflects excellent casting and represents a significant strength in this performance.

As I have indicated, the casting of the tenors taking the roles written for the Naples duo of David and Nozzari is always likely to be a challenge in this and other Rossini opera seria written specifically with them in mind. In the Opera Rara recording the two roles were sung with musicality and appropriate vocal dexterity as well as allure. But nobody knows the Rossini vocal scene better than scholar and conductor Alberto Zedda, the guiding light of this venture that was recorded at Bad Wildbad, but separately from the annual summer Festival there. That he has succeeded in the tenor casting here to the extent he has is a considerable achievement even if it does not quite match the vocal mellifluousness of the Opera Rara duo. Both tenors encompass the vocal demands. I admired Russian tenor Maxim Miranov in the DVD of Dario Fo’s hyperactive staging of L’Italiana in Algeri at Pesaro in 2006. I noted how he kept good vocal form as he was required to involve himself in physical activity and whilst not being distracted from the peripheral goings-on (see review). Here he has no such distractions and is able to show off his light, highly flexible vocal skills to maximum effect (CD 1 trs. 3-10 and CD 2 trs. 8-13). His slightly dry tone lacks the vocal allure of Kenneth Tarver for Opera Rara, let alone the likes of Juan Diego Florez. However the high Cs ping out with similar security and accuracy. This is also true of the German Ferdinand von Bothmer as Rodrigo, who is required to go down to a baritonal low. He achieves this feat as well as bringing strength and appropriate vigour and characterisation to his role. If he doesn’t quite match Gregory Kunde on the Opera Rara issue in the evenness across his considerable range, that is merely to compare the excellent with the very good (CD 1 trs 18-21 and CD 2 trs. 12-13).

As Elena’s father, Wojtek Gierlach sings strongly if without much distinction (CD 1 tr. 15). In the minor tenor role of Serano the Belgian Stefan Cifolelli sings well with a good Italianate squilla that differentiates him nicely from his tenor counterparts. The soprano tones of the Russian Olga Peretyatko as Albina is likewise well sung with purity and vocal strength in the ensembles. The highest compliment I can pay the Prague Chamber Choir is that they sound Italian and sing their many contributions with vigour. It is vigour, allied with a feel for the genre of the music, brought to the proceedings by Zedda, that is perhaps an even greater recommendation for this issue than the undoubted strength of the soloists.

The booklet has an introductory essay by the conductor, a full track-listing and separate track-related synopsis, all in English and German. Also to be welcomed are the artist profiles given in English only. There is applause after individual items and scene ends and this becomes more enthusiastic as the opera proceeds. The Opera Rara issue, from live performances at the Edinburgh Festival in August 2006, eliminates the applause, whilst benefiting from the frisson of a live performance. Perhaps Naxos could investigate this procedure for their recordings at Bad Wildbad. That is as may be. The applause did not destroy my considerable enjoyment of this excellent performance that adds another Rossini opera to Naxos’s burgeoning catalogue of the composer’s works.

-- Robert J Farr, MusicWeb International

Director Werner Herzog and conductor Riccardo Muti combine with the finest of casts to lavish Rossini’s rarely-performed Neapolitan masterpiece, set in feudal sixteenth century Scotland, with the genius it deserves. June Anderson is an outstanding Elena (the Lady of the Lake) in the 1992 production of the melodrama based on Sir Walter Scott’s poem.

Sung in Italian with English subtitles

Giacomo V, Re di Scozia Rockwell Blake
Douglas d'Angus Giorgio Surjan
Rodrigo di Dhu Chris Merritt
Elena June Anderson
Malcolm Groene Martine Dupuy
Albina Marilena Laurenza
Serano Ernesto Gavazzi
Bertram Ferrero Poggi

Part nine of this mid-price collection, this DVD includes a 24 page booklet with libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola.

ALL REGIONS
Running time: 167 mins
Picture format: 4:3
Sound format: Dolby Stereo

R E V I E W S:

Composed for Naples in 1819, La donna del lago, another of Rossini's serious operas, is based on a poem by Sir Walter Scott, whose appeal to Italian opera composers soon became rampant; the most famous is Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. The mists, the madness, the melodrama of Scott's work well-suited the burgeoning Romantic style of the early 1800s, and within the next five years La donna del lago was presented in opera houses as far-flung as St Petersburg, Paris, Graz, and Barcelona. After 1860 it disappeared until a revival in Florence in 1958; the present video dates from 1992, when La Scala mounted it for the composer's bicentennial. The story of 16th century Scotland and its border wars holds no interest whatsoever, but the opera contains some of Rossini's most luscious--not to mention vocally challenging--music. The writing for the two tenors is particularly florid and difficult, with frequent excursions into the stratosphere.

Musically, this production more than copes with Rossini's hurdles, with Riccardo Muti leading the La Scala forces with precision, snap, and even delicacy in the score's several pastoral moments. June Anderson, as Elena (the eponymous "Lady") is in top form, looking lovely and singing with more warmth than she frequently has and with no problems with the fiorature. Her final rondo, the famous "Tanti affetti", properly brings down the house. Both tenor parts are superbly taken. As Uberto (truly King James in disguise), Rockwell Blake's machine-gun way with fast coloratura remains miraculous, with endless breath and no difficulty with his top Cs and Ds. Chris Merritt is equally fine as Rodrigo, another of Elena's suitors, and the vocally competitive second-act trio (in which they're joined by Elena) is one of the performance's high points. That having been said, neither tenor's voice is very lovely. As Elena's third suitor, Malcolm, mezzo Martine Dupuy does not erase memories of Marilyn Horne, and at any rate, the then-habit of composing a man's role for a woman seems uncomfortable. Giorgio Surjan's handsome bass voice is most welcome as Douglas, Elena's father.

The ugly, gloomy, but elaborately expensive-looking sets by Maurizio Balo (were the Scots cave dwellers in the 16th century?) create atmosphere if not any particular visual delight. Franz Blumauer's costumes are huge and furry (save for Elena's elegant, blue, hooded number), and director Werner Herzog does not elicit anything special from the singers. Picture and sound are excellent, and there are subtitles in English. In all, this set serves Rossini's rich bit of Romanticism well.

--Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com

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 Gioachino
LA CENERENTOLA
Conductor: Evelino Pidò
Director: Daniele Abbado
Cenerentola - José Maria Lo Monaco
Don Ramiro - Maxim Mironov
Dandini - Roberto De Candia
Alidoro - Nicola Ulivieri
Don Magnifico - Paolo Bordogna
Clorinda - Eleonora Cilli
Tisbe - Alessandra Volpe
Orchestra & Chorus Fondazione Petruzzelli, Bari
Teatro Petruzzelli, Bari, 2010
Media: 2 DVDs

Abbado’s Cenerentola is set in a modern, realistic time.
Quoting the director’s own words, the ”emptiness of the stage leaves room for creativity, as the characters keep on changing and disguising their true identity. I have stuck to Rossini’s original notes while neglecting all the legends linked to the character of Cinderella”. We all know that Rossini and librettist Jacopo Ferretti in fact had gone a long way from Perrault’s fairy tale.
In the rather empty, bare stage the few scenographic elements strike the attention: the colorful costumes, the two giant chandeliers, the 1970’s kitchen.
The singers are young, talented and with very good acting skills.
Evelino Pidò conducts with a light, energetic touch that well suit the entire production.

Lively and involving … a fine addition to the expanding list of Rossini operas on Naxos.

Rossini’s La cambiale di matrimonio was his first opera to be performed, premiered in 1810 at the Teatro San Moise in Venice. It ran for thirteen performances, which was not bad in the fast-paced Italian opera business. At the time Rossini was still a student at the Bologna Conservatory and in fact La cambiale di matrimonio was his second opera; Demetro e Polibio, written for another opera company was not premiered until 1812.

The libretto to La cambiale was by the experienced hand of Gaetano Rossi, who wrote the librettos for Tancredi and Semiramide. La cambiale isn’t quite in that class; it is based on a five-act comedy from 1790 which owes a lot to the comedies of Goldoni. The plot concerns the English merchant, Tobia Mill (Vita Priante), who desires to wed his daughter to a Canadian business contact Slook (Giulio Mastrototaro) very much as a business transaction. The daughter Fanny (Julija Samsonova) is in love with Eduardo Milfort (Daniele Zanfardino). The plot is helped along by Mill’s clerk Norton (Tomasz Wija) and the maid Clarina (Francesca Russo Ermolli). Needless to say all ends happily with Slook returning home disappointed.

La cambiale di matrimonio has not been that frequently on disc; not that the work is lacking in the necessary qualities but probably more because of the extensive dialogue – there is a great deal of it. In fact, in another composer’s hands it could have become little more than a comic play with songs. Instead Rossini creates a series of brilliant ensembles which certainly make the piece worth hearing.

This performance was recorded live at the Rossini in Wildbad festival with a cast which included four native Italians. This shows: the recording is vivid and entrancing, capturing the lively performance with dialogue rattling along at quite a rate of knots; there is also a bit of stage noise. The drawback is that Naxos provide only a detailed synopsis; you can download an Italian libretto but there doesn’t seem to be an English one which might put people off.

There are only four solo numbers - arias for Fanny and Clarina, entrance Cavatinas for Mill and for Slook. As was to become his wont in his serious operas, Rossini drives the plot through a series of duets, trios and ensembles with the first of his famous multi-part, dramatic finales.

The cast are perhaps not perfect, but their performances are all infectious. Priante and Mastrototaro are both a delight as the pair of buffo basses, making light of the fact that the tessitura of the parts seems to go rather high. They throw off Rossini’s roulades with a degree of abandon. Samsonova does not sing Fanny with quite the right amount of entrancing ripeness, at times her tone becomes a bit slender above the stave. Her account of the duet with Slook - where she has to repeatedly tell him that she will never be his - is inclined to be untidy, but this might also be the effect of the dramatic moment. These are not serious problems, she fits into the ensemble nicely. Zanfardino’s Milfort does not get an aria, though he duets with Samsonova; Zanfardino has a nicely slim lyric voice.

Wija and Russo Ermolli provide strong support in the important roles of Clarina and Norton. Russo Ermolli impresses in her aria. This Clarina is a young woman not a blowsy old maid and Russo Ermolli captures this nicely.

Under the lively direction of Christopher Franklin the Württemberg Philharmonic Orchestra acquits itself well, providing vivid support. They use a harpsichord for continuo.

This is a lively and involving account of Rossini’s first opera. Whilst not perfect, it does bring out the comic drama of the piece and is certainly a fine addition to the expanding list of Rossini operas on Naxos.
-- Robert Hugill, MusicWeb International

Gioacchino Rossini IL VIAGGIO A REIMS

Madame Cortese - Anastasia Belyaeva
Baron von Trombonok - Vladislav Ouspenski
Contessa di Folleville - Larissa Youdina
Count Libenskof - Daniil Shtoda
Marchesa Melibea - Anna Kiknadze
Don Alvaro - Alexeï Safiouline
Corinna - Irma Guigolachvili
Belfiore - Dmitry Voropaev
Modestina - Olga Kitchenko
Lord Sidney - Edouard Tsanga
Don Profondo - Nikolaï Kamenski
Maddalena - Elena Sommer
Don Prudenzio - Alexeï Tanovitsky
Don Luigino - Andreï Iliouchnikov
Antonio - Pavel Chmoulevitch

The Academy of Young Singers of the St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theatre
The St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra
Valery Gergiev, Conductor

Alain Maratrat, Stage Director

Recorded live at Le Châtelet, Paris in December 2005

Bonus Material:
Illustrated Synopsis / Cast Gallery

Picture format: NTSC 16:9 Anamorphic
Sound format: DTS Surround / LPCM Stereo
Region code: 0 (All Regions)
Menu Language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian
Running time: 135 minutes
No. of DVDs: 1

Gioachino Rossini
IL TURCO IN ITALIA

Selim – Marco Vinco
Fiorilla – Alessandra Marianelli
Geronio – Andrea Concetti
Narciso – Filippo Adami
Prosdocimo – Bruno Taddia
Zaida – Elena Belfiore
Albazar – Daniele Zanfardino

Prague Chamber Chior
Orchestra Haydn di Bolzano e Trento
Antonello Allemandi, conductor
Guido De Monticelli, stage director

Filmed at the Teatro Rossini, Pesaro, Italy, 18 August 2007.

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: Dolby Digital 2.0 / Dolby Surround 5.0 / DTS 5.0
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Running time: 165 mins
No. of DVDs: 1