Classical Music

REVIEW:

A suave account of Rossini’s classic comedy, with Riccardo Chailly and his La Scala forces clearly enjoying the piece and a top-quality cast fulfilling the requirements of all the principal roles.

– BBC Music Magazine

Performed for the first time in its original uncut version, this production of Guillaume Tell was the jewel in the crown of the 25-year history of the ‘Rossini in Wildbad’ opera festival. Rossini’s final, great, operatic masterpiece is a story of liberation, the oppressed Swiss attaining their ideal of emancipation by hounding the tyrannical Habsburgs out of their country. Although it was composed for the complex demands of the Paris Opéra, numerous dances, choruses and arias were dropped for reasons of practicality. These are restored in the present recording which also includes the stunning finale of the shorter 1831 version of the opera.

Musicians and critics realized soon after it's 1829 Paris Op�ra premiere that Rossini's Guillaume Tell was a far-reaching masterpiece. And yet some of the features that made it so unique have militated against it entering the standard repertory. The 1992 critical edition made a "complete" Guillaume Tell, even an ur-Tell possible, but still not many companies have performed the work without substantial cuts. The first complete DVD release of the work's original version finds the Rossini in Wildbad Festival, celebrating it's 25th anniversary, performing Tell for the first time in it's entirety.

ROSSINI Ermione • Roberto Abbado, cond; Sonia Ganassi ( Ermione ); Marianna Pizzolato ( Andromaca ); Gregory Kunde ( Pirro ); Antonino Siragusa ( Oreste ); Ferdinand von Bothmer ( Pilade ); Nicola Ulivieri ( Fenicio ); Irina Samoylova ( Cleone ); Cristina Faus ( Cefisa ); Riccardo Botta ( Attalo ); Prague CCh; Bologna Teatro Comunale O • DYNAMIC 33609 (DVD: 143:00)


I am only aware of two recordings of this opera, both released on CD. The earliest, from 1987, was on the private Legato label and featured Montserrat Caballé, Marilyn Horne, Chris Merritt, and Rockwell Blake; it was conducted by Gustav Kahn. The only commercial recording on Erato was from 1988 with Cecilla Gasdia, Margarita Zimmerman, Chris Merritt, and Eresto Placido, conducted by Claudio Scimone. It was reviewed in Fanfare 11: 5 by David Johnson, who called it “A very important recording.” Unfortunately, as Johnson mentioned, the Erato set is severely cut, while the Legato issue is complete, as is this DVD.


Ermione is probably the least performed of Rossini’s operas. The first modern performance was at the Rossini festival in Pesaro in 1987. It is the one on the Legato CDs. I was fortunate enough to see a performance of this opera in the summer festival of the San Francisco Opera in 1992. The libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola is based on Racine’s tragedy Andromaque. Although in Racine’s play the principal character is Andromaca, Tottola made Ermione the star. The story takes place in ancient Greece. King Pirro, the son of Achilles, is in love with Andromaca. However, Ermione is in love with Pirro and resents his feelings for Andromaca. Andromaca has a child who is imprisoned by the Greeks, and Pirro offers to free him if Andromaca weds him. The arrival of Oreste complicates the plot, since he is in love with Ermione. Ermione persuades Oreste to kill Pirro, which he does. The major difference is that in Racine’s version, Ermione commits suicide at the end, but in this opera she merely faints.


Rossini’s score was quite different from most of his works. The Overture is interrupted by the chorus of Trojan prisoners lamenting the fall of Troy. As Johnson said: “In form, Ermione is one of his boldest experiments, with virtually no detachable ‘numbers,’ no sure-fire arias that come to an end and beg for applause.” There are three tenor roles, all calling for high Cs, and even high Ds. Gregory Kunde is a fine Pirro, Antonino Siragusa is an impassioned Oreste, and Ferdinand von Bothmer a good Pilade.


Sonia Ganassi is an excellent Ermione; she portrays the fury of the character with great success, and is vocally very good. Marianna Pizzolato has a warm mezzo voice and is a fine Adromaca. Roberto Abbado conducts the score’s formal structure brilliantly.


However, the production takes place in never-never land. There is absolutely no connection with ancient Greece. The stage is a unit set with no color; it has rising levels and underground dungeons. Fortunately, it does not upset the drama. What era the costumes are designed for is a mystery to me. Despite the production, the opera is worth seeing. Since both CD recordings are probably out of print, Rossini lovers should not hesitate to purchase this set, even though it is on two DVDs when it could have been simply on one.


FANFARE: Bob Rose
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Recorded: Adriatic Arena – Pesaro, Italy; August 10th-13th, 2008 NTSC All Region; 16:9; Dolby Digital 5.1/LPCM 2.0; Approx. 182 mins. Subtitled in French, Italian, English, German & Spanish

This selection is a Hybrid Multichannel Super Audio CD. The Stereo Hybrid
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Surround and Stereo programs require an SACD player for playback.

The genesis of Rossini’s first full-scale opera Demetrio e Polibio is shrouded in speculation, but its initial intention as a ‘family opera’ for the tenor Domenico Mombelli, with roles for his daughters and a libretto by his wife seems clear. Its narrative of political turmoil, romance, kidnap, and the ultimate blessings of true love and unity is a prelude to subjects to which Rossini would frequently turn in future triumphs. The composer’s facility for melody and his genius for combining voices into the loveliest of duets is already much in evidence in this confident but rarely heard debut.

Rossini’s Péchés de vieillesse or ‘Sins of Old Age’ is a series of thirteen volumes of piano works which were the main musical occupation of his last decade. The 24 pieces of volume twelve are of breathtaking variety, including flavours from Bach and Chopin, opera and the music-hall. Some revel in witty dances and bravura pianistic display, and one was written overnight to help a friend out of fi nancial debt. Alessandro Marangoni’s playing ‘sparkles and seduces over and over again’ (Toronto Star on Volume 2, 8.570766).

If you enjoyed the first volume in this new series (as I did), you will find Volume 2 equally appealing. Alessandro Marangoni doesn't have the impish sense of humor of Paolo Giacometti on Channel Classics, and he's notably slower in just about every piece. But it never seems as though his tempos are dragging, perhaps because his pacing is well-tailored to the larger sound of his Steinway piano (Giacometti plays on a crisper-toned "authentic" instrument). In the gentler numbers, such as Une caresse à ma femme, or the lovely Barcarolle, some listeners might well prefer Marangoni's greater lyrical expansiveness, even as his graceful take on Assez de memento: dansons fails to banish the relative darkness of the preceding Memento homo (let alone evoke a Satie-like humor). Still, he captures the witty program of Un petit train de plaisir, comico-imitatif quite well, while the Valse torturée sounds all the more quirky for being taken seriously. In short, this recital offers a perfectly valid and entertaining alternative viewpoint to Giacometti, and is well recorded besides.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Gioachino Rossini’s remarkable life and career is well known: the opera composer who, with the world at his feet, appeared to retire at the age of 37. He had around 17 years of huge success with operas such as Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and after completing his last opera Guillaume Tell, he had another 39 years of ‘silence’. The second period of his life was in fact anything but silent, and Rossini would later turn up with pieces such as the Stabat Mater and the wonderful Petit messe solennelle.

More private were the creations which became collected as the Péchés de vieillesse or ‘Sins of Old Age’, which are contained in fourteen volumes. Some of these are for voice and piano, others, such as volume IX, include pieces with strings, harmonium and horn, the solo piano works from which appear at the end of this programme. Album de Chaumière or ‘The Cottage Album’ is the no doubt ironically twee title given to volume VII, the first of the albums for solo piano. This consists of 12 pieces ranging from titles such as Petite polka chinoise to works of a grander scale such as Une pensée à Florence. Rossini’s attitude with these works is frequently ironic and often deceptive. Confronted with a title such as Prélude inoffensif, one might expect something other than the extended lyrical aria which in fact appears. The generally light character of many of the pieces is interspersed with more searching, funereal atmospheres such as that in Un profound sommeil, and Un cauchemar – literally ‘A Nightmare’. In these pieces we are not so very far removed from the symbolic cries of the owl in Leoš Janá?ek’s ‘On a Overgrown Path.’ On the complete opposite there are parody-like pieces such as the bombastic Marche which closes Vol. VII.

Alessandro Marangoni is a young pianist and a rising star whose reputation will in no way be harmed with these recordings. Whatever one thinks of these ‘Sins of Old Age’ they are certainly a fascinatingly enigmatic and eclectic mixture of Rossini in all moods. Fans of the Petit messe solenelle must certainly investigate these pieces, as the thick piano chords and bouncy bass lines which crop up in that work are certainly not absent here. Fans of Rossini’s operas are also kept well fed with rich melodic invention, if performed instrumentally rather than vocally. This Naxos recording is very good, with a rich, deep piano sound, if captured in a rather dry and tubby acoustic. The impression is one of a front room soirée rather than a concert hall performance, which isn’t such a bad thing for these pieces. I do however feel that a slightly more sympathetic space might have helped Alessandro Marangoni when trying to give a more legato feel, or in varying the colour and mood. The pieces come across a little on the lumpy side sometimes, and the contrast between some of the works is less startling than might otherwise have been the case.

This new series will have to compete with the recordings by Stefan Irmer on MDG, and although there is no information on the instrument used in the Naxos recording – other than that it is a Steinway & Sons from the Angelo Fabbrini collection, it gives the impression of being an older instrument, a quality it would then share with the MDG recordings. The bass has a pleasant rounded quality, and the usual Steinway brightness only really shines through in the upper registers at higher volume. Any reservations I may have can be accounted for as a matter of personal taste, so nothing I say should stop anyone from dropping into their local retailer and bagging this remarkable release forthwith. This is going to turn into another of Naxos’s eminently collectable sets, and on this showing will prove to be worth it at almost any price.

-- Dominy Clements, MusicWeb International

Volume 11 in this series of Gioachino Rossini’s piano music completes Alessandro Marangoni’s monumental project to record all 200 or so individual works comprising the Peches de vieillesse or ‘Sins of Old Age’ (including some preliminary sketches.) Highlights include all four duets from the collection, from the highly operatic Le gittane to Un sou, in which two beggars try to sell the collar of their dead dog. Rossini’s sacred or pious songs, such as the surprisingly intense Ave Maria (su due note) prompted Richard Wagner’s response, “the Parisian salons have turned into prayer cells… extraordinary!” The closing piece of this edition is appropriately a setting by Rossini of his own name. Alessandro Marangoni studied piano with Maria Tipo. A winner of several national and international awards, including the prestigious ‘Amici di Milano’ International Prize, he has appeared throughout Europe, America and China as a soloist and as a chamber musician.

This volume completes Naxos’ very enjoyable four-disc set of the complete Rossini overtures. Think about it: that’s a lot of orchestral music from a composer known almost exclusively for his vocal works–three or four Bruckner symphonies’ worth, and what would you rather listen to? This last installment includes two really popular overtures: The Barber of Seville and Il Turco in Italia, but much of the musical interest lies in the less familiar pieces.

Ricciardo e Zoraide, for example, has an unconventional form, ending quietly with a lengthy aria for solo flute, preceded by a romantic horn solo. Torvaldo e Dorliska reveals that Rossini was always ready with a new and interesting take on his signature “crescendo.” This one ends, not with the conventional climactic tutti, but with a series of more lyrical phrases for the violins. Armida’s opening march leads to another insanely difficult horn solo (the MET’s player blew it horribly at the performance of the opera that I saw). Rossini must have worked with some astoundingly fine individual players.

The performances, as with the other volumes in this series, are crisp, fleet, and shapely, with excellent solo winds nicely balanced against well-coordinated strings. Conductor Christian Benda also takes care to handle the percussion with good taste and common sense. For example, he reserves the cymbals for the very end of The Barber of Seville, an effective decision.

If you’re looking for the complete Rossini overtures, the only other option you have is Marriner’s set on Philips. These performances, on the whole, have just that much more more character and sparkle. They deserve your consideration.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

This is an audio-only (i.e., with no video content) Blu-ray disc playable only on Blu-ray players.

R E V I E W: Up to now, the standard collection of Rossini overtures has been Neville Marriner’s correct but somewhat flat-footed series on Philips. This new project promises to improve on that set considerably. Christian Benda’s Prague Sinfonia has all of the discipline of Marriner’s ensemble, but with an extra sprightliness and vivacity—bright piccolo and wind sonorities plus crisp percussion—that the earlier set doesn’t match. There’s more sheer fun in the music making on this new release, a quality that’s fully in evidence and properly exploited, even in Rossini’s most serious music (The Siege of Corinth, for example).

The selection of works is well chosen for maximum variety. Ermione, one of Rossini’s most remarkable and undervalued masterpieces, has an overture featuring choral interjections that are extremely arresting. The Sinfonia in D ‘al Conventello’ is an early work that predates Rossini’s operatic career, but reveals much of the composer to come. Elisabetta, Regina d’Inghilterra uses the first version of what later became the overture to The Barber of Seville. The Siege of Corinth reveals the sophisticated composer of his last, Parisian period, although Rossini evidently borrowed some of this piece from his contemporary, Mayr.

The only possible criticism that I could level at these performances might be that in the more heavily scored works, such as La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie), the trombones could penetrate the texture with more sharpness; but this is a very small point in what otherwise is a wholly winning, very well engineered disc. I look forward eagerly to the rest of this cycle. It’s sounds like it may well become the series of choice.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com
Review of standard CD Version

Rossini wrote some of music’s most masterful and lovable operas. His gift for comic and tragic forms was matched by a relish for characterisation, qualities that are always evident in his overtures. La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie) is perhaps the most famous, one of the world’s most popular concert openers. But in Otello he reveals his more complex turns of phrase and in Le siège de Corinthe the writing is dramatic and colourful. The overture for Elisabetta, Regina d’Inghilterra was used again a year later by Rossini for Il barbiere di Siviglia. This is the first of four discs of the complete Rossini Overtures.

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

Also available on standard DVD

The Biblical story of Belshazzar's hubristic arrogance set against the valour of the young warrrior-leader Cyrus provided the 20-year-old Rossini with a dramatic story with West-Eastern resonances which still speak to us today. For the title role of Cyrus, Rossini wrote what would be his longest-ever contralto role, to which the great Rossini singer Ewa Podles is both naturally attracted and ideally suited. She is partnered by two young stars of Rossini singing, Jessica Pratt and Michael Spyres, and a conductor-scholar, Will Crutchfield, of immense experience and sympathy.

What the press said:
''In the title role, the booming contralto Ewa Podles gives the kind of old-style, intensely felt performance that is her trademark. As Amira, the soprano Jessica Pratt established herself in two daunting arias as a brilliant new presence on the bel canto scene.'' New York Times

Gioachino Rossini CIRO IN BABILONIA
(Blu-ray Disc Version)

Ciro – Ewa Podles
Amira – Jessica Pratt
Baldassare – Michael Spyres
Zambri – Mirco Palazzi
Argene – Carmen Romeu
Arbace – Robert McPherson
Daniello – Raffaele Costantini
Ned Keene – George von Bergen


Bologna Teatro Comunale Chorus and Orchestra Will Crutchfield, conductor


Davide Livermore, stage director

Recorded live at the Rossini Opera Festival, Pesaro, August 2012

Bonus:
- Cast gallery

Picture format: 1080i High Definition Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Japanese, Korean
Running time: 165 mins
No. of Discs: 1 (Blu-ray)