The singing is of amazingly high quality.. Orgonasova is simply wonderful - vibrant, girlish, fluid, singing off the text and with no problem with the role's sometimes outlandish upper reaches....I can't imagine a finer current exponent of the role. Gimenez is equally good, his tone sweet, his high notes limpid, his passion undeniable...And so we finally have a Sonnambula one needn't apologize for - what a relief! - FANFARE

In 1834 Bellini stated that choosing a good subject for an opera was “more difficult than creating the music itself.” The success of Il Prata, with a plot containing all the ingredients of Romantic popular literature, convinced Bellini and Romani to continue in the same direction and early in August 1828 they decided on their source: The gothic novel L’Etrangere by Charles D’Arlincourt, set in an imaginary medieval Brittany. A new anti-Rossini approach was recognized by Bellini’s contemporaries as a mark of his modernity, featuring a plain vocal style free of ornament and attentive to the emotional meaning of words. Critics were immediately award of Bellini’s innovations in La Straniera. A partial sacrifice of belcanto was inevitable if opera singing was to be once more expressive and dramatic and rid itself of the flowery ornamental and virtuoso style then in vogue. In Bellini’s mature style, coloratura and vocal virtuosity are never a pretext for showing off but always intrinsic to the action. A hallmark of Bellini’s style, the arioso led to a revision of the recitative which, in order to evolve into the arioso, abandoned conventional formulae and so took on an expressive power wholly new in Italian opera at the time. The same search for flexible form is found in the lyric pieces, which Bellini revised in accordance with the needs of the action. The absence of routine numbers meant he did not indulge in the customary practice of self-borrowing from his previous operas or using La Straniera as a source for future works.

Also available on Blu-ray

Premiered in Milan on 6 March 1831, La Sonnambula is regarded as Bellini’s first true masterpiece. The opera teils the story of Amina, who is to marry Elvino, but sleepwalks into the room of Count Rodolfo the night before her wedding. Upon hearing of this deplorable incident, Elvino calls off the wedding. Although Rodolfo confirms her innocence, Elvino remains steel-hearted, until Amina sleepwalks again… This new production of La Sonnambula dazzles with lovingly detailed and imaginative sets which repro­duce a Swiss alpine resort in the 1930s (Bellini himself set the action in a Swiss village). Complete with a majestic mountain panorama, a cable car and a grand salon, not to mention the colorfully dressed resort guests, the settings deploy an enchanting picture book of visual surprises. Director Bepi Morassi interweaves subtle details that reflect the social realities of today, such as a marriage contract.

Vincenzo Bellini
LA SONNAMBULA

Count Rodolfo – Giovanni Battista Parodi
Teresa – Julie Mellor
Amina – Jessica Pratt
Elvino – Shalva Mukeria
Lisa – Anna Viola
Alessio – Dario Ciotoli
A Notary – Raffaele Pastori

Teatro la Fenice Chorus and Orchestra
(chorus master: Claudio Marino Moretti)
Gabriele Ferro, conductor

Bepi Morassi, stage director
Massimo Checchetto, set designer

Recorded live from the Teatro La Fenice, 2012

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish, Chinese, Korean
Booklet notes: English, German, French
Running time: 132 mins
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)

BELLINI La sonnambula • Maurizio Benini, cond; Eglise Gutiérrez (Amina); Antonio Siragusa (Elvino); Simone Alaimo (Count Rodolfo); Sandra Pastrana (Lisa); Gabriella Colecchia (Teresa); Gabriele Nani (Alessio); Teatro Lirico di Cagliari O & Ch • DYNAMIC 55616 (Blu-ray: 141:00) Live: Cagliari 2008

For those of you who may hold the opinion that Vincenzo Bellini was rather a minor composer, you need to see and hear this opera, La Sonnambula (The Sleepwalker), particularly the last 15 minutes or so. The music transcends the heavens, it surpasses anything written by Rossini, Donizetti, or even Verdi. Okay, I guess my enthusiasm is showing a bit, but I truly love this music, however it stacks up in the pantheon of consummate 19th-century Italian composers. The story is simple. The betrothed young village girl, Amina, is discovered in the bed of the local Count in his room at the village inn, he returning to his native environs for the first time in many years. Everyone is shocked, horrified, including the prospective groom, Elvino. Lisa, the young mistress of the inn, also smitten with Elvino, takes advantage to whisk the tenor hero away from his now disgraced intended. It turns out Amina sleepwalks, which the townsfolk and Elvino eventually discover, and after a ravishing double aria for the leading lady in the finale of act 2, all is set well again. The simple tale is charming and if you enjoy bel canto, it doesn’t get any better than this.

I was pleased to get this disc for review because I have been hearing the praises sung for young Cuban American coloratura Eglise Gutiérrez for a few years now, and have not had much opportunity to see or hear her. (She was the fairy godmother in Massenet’s Cendrillon, which I enjoyed, but that opera is hardly prime bel canto land.) I am here to report Gutiérrez is the real deal. Vocally she harkens back to the days of the true Bellini divas, to Giuditta Pasta and Maria Malibran. The young singer’s top range is incredible and solidly in place, everything is precisely on key, sung easily and cleanly. Vocal agility is excellent: Gutiérrez has not the slightest problem with Bellini’s pyrotechnics and she ornaments tastefully and often, like the best of bel canto songbirds. If her acting and stage presence are at times rather ordinary in this 2006 rendering, we should remember that La Sonnambula does not require the histrionics of a Tosca. The young soprano’s portrayal is very charming here, certainly a plus for the production.

Sets are kept simple and traditional, with rustic pastoral settings evoked by a grassy forestage and colorful painted backdrops. It is lovely to watch and far outshines its more famous Metropolitan Opera counterpart (to be seen again this April with Diana Damrau). The costumes, if anything, seem a bit too lavish and colorful for peasant wear, but sumptuous to the eye; I am not complaining. Staging is strictly traditional, as this little charmer of an opera almost necessarily requires. The visual realm is almost completely in service to the music here, and when La Sonnambula is performed in this fashion cannot fail to please even the most jaded opera goers.

Warning: now comes the caveat! Unfortunately, the tenor Elvino is disappointing. Antonio Siragusa sings well and with excellent pitch control, but has an annoying nasal vocal tone, especially when he pushes the voice, that quite spoils his part in the proceedings. It is something you can get used to when he sings alone, but next to the ravishing voice of Gutiérrez and the other fine voices on this set in duets and ensembles, it is continually noticeable and jarring. The Count Rodolfo is sung by veteran Simone Alaimo, who still brings plenty of rich baritone beauty to the role and just the right touch of innocent paternal concern for the beleaguered Amina. Another standout vocally is young Sandra Pastrana as Lisa, who also handles Bellini’s fioratura with delightful expertise and is a big asset to this production. Smaller roles are likewise filled with quite good singers, and the orchestra from the Teatro Lirico Cagliari gives us an impressive rendition of Bellini’s wonderful score. The chorus, a particularly integral part of La Sonnambula, also turns in a first-class performance. It really seems a shame to me that Gutiérrez could not have been paired with a tenor who could at least have gotten out of her way here, let alone the hopeless wish for a Juan Diego Flórez or Lawrence Brownlee in the role. If that had happened this would be a La Sonnambula for the ages; as it is, it’s still very good.

As is to be expected these days, the Dynamic Blu-ray is quite sharply detailed and in exceptionally vivid colors, with state of the art audio formats providing excellent sound. The only current Blu-ray competitor is a recent release to be found on the C Major label. I have not seen it, but soprano Jessica Pratt is also a rising young coloratura star and from what I have heard on YouTube, is very, very good as Amina. The tenor is also promising. Also worth your attention is the VAI DVD issue with Anna Moffo from 1956. Moffo doesn’t have a clue about bel canto style but her young voice is ravishing, the production charming, and she is very lovely to watch, even before her famous nose job. Check out what all the furor was about! The Mary Zimmerman-directed production from the Met has a great cast, but archly ridicules the original story while failing to make much sense itself. As for this disc, it could have been a world beater, but if you can get used to the nasal tenor, it is still very enjoyable. Recommended.

FANFARE: Bill White

Bellini: La sonnambula (1957)

Joan Sutherland is known for her great recordings made during the sixties of Donizetti and Bellini alongside powerhouse Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti. Sutherland, however, had other remarkable stage partners. Among them was Alfedo Kraus. This live recording was made in San Francisco in 1966. The partnership of Alfredo Kraus and Joan Sutherland in this opera is a matchless experience, and makes listeners realize the formidable performing needs of the Italian Romantic Opera.

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

Also available on standard DVD
A jewel of bel canto, and Bellini’s last masterpiece, I puritani encapsulates every major theme held dear by the Italian romantic generation: a love triangle, quid pro quos, a shattered love affair leading to madness, set in Cromwell’s England with its lot of political rivalries. It is also an ode to resistance and to freedom, echoing the political struggles that the Italian peninsula was facing in the 1830’s. But it is mainly a testament to Bellini’s unique musical brand, a genius combination of melodic brightness, post-Rossinian ornaments, and a profound and melancholic lament that owes much to traditional Neapolitan songs. It is therefore one of the most vocally demanding operas of the repertoire, and to face this challenge, the Teatro Real of Madrid called on four exceptional singers : the great diva Diana Damrau is Elvira, Javier Camarena is Arturo (both triumphed at the Metropolitan Opera of New York in the same opera in early 2017), as well as baritone Ludovic Tezier and bass-baritone Nicolas Teste. Catalan director Emilio Sagi offers a staging both elegant and simple, and bel canto expert Evelinò Pido, along with the Teatro Real Orchestra and Chorus, brings forth every nuance of this immense and unforgettable score.

Also available on Blu-ray

A jewel of bel canto, and Bellini’s last masterpiece, I puritani encapsulates every major theme held dear by the Italian romantic generation: a love triangle, quid pro quos, a shattered love affair leading to madness, set in Cromwell’s England with its lot of political rivalries. It is also an ode to resistance and to freedom, echoing the political struggles that the Italian peninsula was facing in the 1830’s. But it is mainly a testament to Bellini’s unique musical brand, a genius combination of melodic brightness, post-Rossinian ornaments, and a profound and melancholic lament that owes much to traditional Neapolitan songs. It is therefore one of the most vocally demanding operas of the repertoire, and to face this challenge, the Teatro Real of Madrid called on four exceptional singers : the great diva Diana Damrau is Elvira, Javier Camarena is Arturo (both triumphed at the Metropolitan Opera of New York in the same opera in early 2017), as well as baritone Ludovic Tezier and bass-baritone Nicolas Teste. Catalan director Emilio Sagi offers a staging both elegant and simple, and bel canto expert Evelinò Pido, along with the Teatro Real Orchestra and Chorus, brings forth every nuance of this immense and unforgettable score.

Bellini: I puritani (Recorded Live 1961)

Federico Sacchi; Patrizia Ciofi; Danilo Formaggia; Nicola Amodio
The Bratislava Chamber Chorus
Orchestra Internazionale d’Italia/Luciano Acocella, conductor
Denis Krief, director

NTSC All Regions
DTS 5.1; PCM Stereo 2.0
Color Picture: 16:9 widescreen
Duration: 136 minutes
Subtitles: Italian, English, French, German, Japanese

WORLD PREMIERE DVD RECORDING

This is the version of I Capuleti e i Montecchi made for La Scala, where it was first staged on 26th December 1830, featuring two female voices in the roles of Romeo and Juliet. This opera is usually performed with a tenor as Romeo, but at La Scala Bellini found a different singing troupe which obliged him to cast not the en travesti warrior of Rossinian manner (like Tancredi, Arsace, Malcolm) but a wholly female Romeo, ardent and authoritative yet at the same time languid, sensual and soft. The choice of this Capuleti at the 2005 Martina Franca Festival was also dictated by the availability of Patrizia Ciofi. This great specialist of romantic belcanto had never been offered the role of Giulietta in Capuleti, a role, which is absolutely ideal for her vocal talents.

Classical Music

Also available on Blu-ray

Beatrice di Tenda is a tragic opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini, from a libretto by Felice Romani. The opera is Bellini's penultimate opera, coming after Norma (1831) and before I puritani (1835).

This is the story of Beatrice Lascaris di Tenda, the woman who was the widow of the condottiere Facino Cane and later the wife of Duke Filippo Maria Visconti, in 15th century Milan. Filippo has grown tired of his wife Beatrice she regrets her impetuous marriage to him after her first husband's death, a marriage that has delivered her and her people into the Duke's tyrannical power. In Beatrice very diverse elements coexist: there are music patterns already experimented in Norma and used here to their utmost potential, side by side with new ways and techniques, which would be treasured by Verdi. Compare, in particular, Ernani's Filippo II and the dark and vacillating Filippo Maria Visconti tormented by remorse, ready to go back on his decision to condemn Beatrice, who once helped him, to death or Eboli and the anguished Agnese or Manrico in Verdi's Trovatore and Orombello at the end of Beatrice, locked in the tower's cell.

One should also note that the concluding choruses anticipate some of Verdi's rhythmic patterns, "with a roughness, even, which up to then had been alien to Bellini". Self-quotes and approaches similar to ones already used by Bellini in earlier works are undoubtedly present but do not invalidate the final result, which, heterogeneous as it may be, is worthy both from the point of view of dramaturgy - with characters and situations that are well drawn - and of the music.

The chorus plays an even more important part here than in Bellini's earlier operas, not only commenting on the action but advising and comforting the protagonists, in the true tradition of classical Greek drama.

Format: NTSC 16:9
Region Code: 0 (All)
Recorded: live from the Teatro Massimo Catania
Subtitles: Italian, English, German, French Spanish, Korean
Booklet notes: Italian, English

Vincenzo Bellini’s first great operatic success I Capuleti e i Montecchi is based on an Italian version of Romeo and Juliet in which the feuding clans seek reconciliation through the wedding of Giulietta and Tebaldo. Giulietta’s lover, Romeo, begs her to elope with him, but fate has other plans for the couple. Topped with the ‘agile coloratura runs and lyrical grace’ (New York Times) of soprano Jessica Pratt, this acclaimed production takes place in the historical and beautifully atmospheric Teatro La Fenice, the same venue in which I Capuleti e i Montecchi had its triumphant premiere in 1830.

REVIEWS:

Ruben Amoretti makes for fierce Capellop and Luca Dall’Amico’s solid bass lends gravitas to Lorenzo. Omer Meir Wellber conducts a sympathetic account of the score, well played by La Fenice’s orchestra.

--Gramophone

Naxos has recently been reaching back into archives from the not too distant past for some of its home video releases of opera. The latest one is this recording of a performance of Bellini’s sixth opera taken from a staging in Venice in 2015. The staging by Arnaud Bernard in most respects observes a traditional interpretation of Felice Romani’s libretto...Bernard achieves some really striking friezes, as seen in the closing tableau for Act Two and a wonderful visual effect for Giulietta’s funeral procession.

Capellio, Giulietta’s father is given an imposing performance by Rubén Amoretti. His bass is strong and solid with an appropriately sepulchral aspect to his tone. His contribution is my choice for the most fearsome Cappellio available.

Vocally [Sonia Ganassi's] mezzo has a fine sheen to it, especially in the upper register where her tone could be described as glowing...[she] gives a fine performance of Romeo. Jessica Pratt’s Giulietta is notable for her polished acting. Her every gesture is in tune with the heroine’s increasingly desperate situation. Her concentration on her character doesn’t lag for an instant, as witnessed her performance of the long opening recitative before “Oh! Quante volte”, in which she presents a singularly riveting, three-dimensional portrait. Platt’s voice is in splendid shape on this occasion, her singing is poised and the tone is always brightly expressive. There is little of the uneven vocal production which sometimes affects her singing. Both stars’ voices meld quite beautifully in their duets and leave nothing to be desired [in] some of Bellini’s most ravishing music.

The chorus and orchestra are in excellent form and respond beautifully to the energetic baton of Omer Meir Wellber. He offers plenty of rhythmic drive but rarely did I sense that the music was rushed, as is so often the case in recent performance practice of early 19^th century operas. The production has some incredibly beautiful costumes from the late Renaissance period and the High-definition camera work does real justice to that aspect of the production.

--MusicWeb International (Mike Parr)

With more than a dozen separate performances of Norma starring Maria Callas to choose from, recorded between 1949 and 1965 (including two for EMI; the others all “private”), what’s a person to do? Since it’s absolutely necessary for every fan of great singing and/or this opera to own at least one, no matter how many Sutherlands or Caballés are already in their collection, I recommend this one.

It has long been my favorite, but almost every edition on discs (except for the one on Opera d’Oro) has had pitch problems: in the middle of the first Norma/Adalgisa duet, the pitch sneaks up to make the scene almost a half-tone sharp, and after a normalization, does so again at “Ei tornera”, although not quite so drastically, until the end of the opera. (I’m referring specifically to the Fonit-Cetra release of 1986, but most of the others have been the same.) This may not seem drastic to many, but it slightly alters the tone of all the voices–Mario del Monaco sounds like a gigantic mouse at times–and skews the drama, even if the speeding up does add a sense of false urgency. This new Myto edition claims to have corrected these problems, and indeed it has. The sound remains excellent 1955 broadcast, by the way.

And Callas is in her easiest, most expressive, trouble-free voice. Just listen to the “Casta diva”–impeccably sculpted, words and text perfectly combined, sung with scrupulous attention to dynamics. And the bridge between it and the cabaletta, “Fine al rito”, is half statement, half thinking out loud. “Ah, bello a me ritorna” is sung with such assuredness that you’d be fooled into thinking this music was easy–truly bel canto, making song as expressive as ballet and speech together. Callas is remarkably tender with Adalgisa in their first duet beginning “Ah! Rimembranza”, singing with a smooth-as-silk legato. And later on in the opera her rage is terrifying, lashing out at Pollione with (what seems like) clenched teeth.

Ebe Stignani, who had been singing for more than 30 years when this was recorded, still makes a formidable, believable Adalgisa despite sounding more than mature; her phrasing and sensitivity to the music and text put all criticism on the back burner and she and Callas seem to have nothing but respect for one another in their duets. Mario del Monaco is his normal, reliable, leather-lunged self, offering thrills galore. You get the feeling that he’s even trying to temper his delivery with the occasional caressed phrase, but he can’t resist making huge sounds. You cannot argue with the ordinary, vaguely bland but solid Oroveso of Giuseppe Modesti. Tullio Serafin leads masterfully, but the usual pre-Sutherland cuts are made to this opera. This is very highly recommended.

-- Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com

This stellar production features a pair of operatic superstars, namely Grammy-nominated tenor Lawrence Brownlee and soprano supreme Sarah Coburn, who continually appear in the lead roles in top houses worldwide. The remaining characters are beautifully portrayed by distinguished singers from Lithuania and Kazakhstan. Providing brilliant and sensitive choral-orchestral support is the Grammy-nominated Maestro Constantine Orbelian (“the singer’s dream collaborator”) leading the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra and the Kaunas State Choir. In June 2021, Orbelian was named Music Director and Principal Conductor of New York City Opera. Bellini’s I Puritani is considered by many to offer the most beautiful music among some of his best-known operas, several of which are sublime masterpieces of the spectacular bel canto style of singing.

REVIEWS:

Bellini’s last opera, I Puritani, gets an excellent outing in this new recording. Sarah Coburn leads the cast as Elvira, and her voice suits the role perfectly. Her colororatura is perfect, her phrasing immaculate. Constantine Orbelian conducts with great sensitivity and detail. It is an all-round idiomatic and very welcome release.

– Opera Now

This performance of Bellini’s old warhorse bids fair to overtake all previous commercial recordings of it, In part this is due to the perfectly-balanced cast, but also to the energetic approach of all singers concerned, the lean but not irritating orchestra, and the fact that this issue finally restores all cuts to the score.

Some bel canto lovers will dislike Orbelian’s straightahead conducting. He does not linger unnecessarily on certain phrases or high notes, and allows only a bit of rubato in the phrasing of both orchestra and singers. Yes, Brownlee is allowed to linger a bit on his high D-flat in “A te, or cara” and Coburn to hold her high note in “Son vergin vezzosa.” Live with it. (Brownlee also sings the written but often inaccessible high F in “Credeo a misera.”) Otherwise, this is a wonderfully taut reading and, unlike José Lopez-Cobos who also conducts taut performances of bel canto operas, Orbelian injects life and feeling into the orchestra musicians. They do not sound like a bunch of automatons playing on autopilot.

Bottom line, I really enjoyed this recording and consider it the finest overall Puritani on the market.

– The Art Music Lounge