Sammartini’s first concerti grossi, those of his Op. 2, are considered to be among the composer’s masterpieces. These intensely inspired pieces, composed with such vigorous spirit, sometimes hardly seem to fit the measured form of the concerto grosso. Sammartini’s themes enjoy a pliant lyricism, at times melancholic, at others passionate and vehement. The contrapuntal development is always masterful, both learned and extraordinarily subtle in nature, taking unexpected and thoroughly expressive turns, often through refined chromaticism and an original use of harmony. The continuous, inexhaustible variety of Sammartini’s thematic invention leaves no room for predictable developments; it constantly introduces new elements, with often truly beautiful results. I Musici, founded in 1951, is the oldest chamber ensemble still active today. Over the years, they have become world-renowned for their promotion of 18th century Italian music, most notably Vivaldi and his Four Seasons, which they first recorded in 1959, and which has sold over 25 million copies in various editions, the last of which was for Dynamic in 2012.

If today no one questions the greatness of Mozart, the most famous composer in Europe at the end of the 18th century was probably Antonio Salieri. For many years court composer of the Austrian Emperor, Salieri wrote an enormous amount of music, some of the best of which remains that composed for the theatre. Les Danaïdes was premièred at Paris’s Opéra on 26th April 1784 and met with a triumphant success. The present recording, qualitatively very high also from a technical point of view, dates from 1983 and features an extraordinary Montserrat Caballé in great vocal form. Gianluigi Gelmetti conducts the renowned RAI Orchestra.

SALIERI: Falstaff

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Also available on standard DVD

The 2017 edition of the Reate Festival of Italy staged two operas composed by Nino Rota (1911-1979). Mostly known for his cinema soundtracks, Rota was able to merge the great Italian operatic tradition of Rossini, Puccini and Verdi into a contemporary musical language. I due timidi is drawn from a text of Italian writer Suso Cecchi d’Amico and the libretto of La notte di un nevrastenico was written by Riccardo Bacchelli. An all-star cast is featured here, including Giorgio Celenza, Sabrina Cortese, Daniele Adriani, Antonio Sapio, Chiara Osella, and Carlo Feola, among others. The Reate Festival Orchestra, led by Gabriele Bonolis, accompanies the soloists perfectly. This release is the world premiere recording of these works, and has been filmed in high-definition. Subtitled are available in Italian, English, German, French, Japanese, and Korean.

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REVIEW:

I due timidi is a gorgeous piece. Rota doesn't quite muster Puccini’s final layer of harmonic interest and novel orchestration but he rivals his senior for melodic generosity and is brilliant with vocal characterisation and linguistic clarity.

The performances are simply staged with a touch of commedia dell’arte and allowed to blossom in all the right ways by the conductor Gabriele Bonolis. There’s some ragged orchestral work but lovely singing that indulges Rota’s irresistible legatos. Daniele Adriani stands out as the male lover Raimondo in I due and as the Commendatore in La notte. His is not a classic Italian tenor sound, rather something with more grain but still adequate smoothness and notable presence.

– Gramophone

Also available on standard DVD and Blu-ray

The 2017 edition of the Reate Festival of Italy staged two operas composed by Nino Rota (1911-1979). Mostly known for his cinema soundtracks, Rota was able to merge the great Italian operatic tradition of Rossini, Puccini and Verdi into a contemporary musical language. I due timidi is drawn from a text of Italian writer Suso Cecchi d’Amico and the libretto of La notte di un nevrastenico was written by Riccardo Bacchelli. An all-star cast is featured here, including Giorgio Celenza, Sabrina Cortese, Daniele Adriani, Antonio Sapio, Chiara Osella, and Carlo Feola, among others. The Reate Festival Orchestra, led by Gabriele Bonolis, accompanies the soloists perfectly. This release is the world premiere recording of these works, and has been filmed in high-definition. Subtitled are available in Italian, English, German, French, Japanese, and Korean.

-----

REVIEW:

I due timidi is a gorgeous piece. Rota doesn't quite muster Puccini’s final layer of harmonic interest and novel orchestration but he rivals his senior for melodic generosity and is brilliant with vocal characterisation and linguistic clarity.

The performances are simply staged with a touch of commedia dell’arte and allowed to blossom in all the right ways by the conductor Gabriele Bonolis. There’s some ragged orchestral work but lovely singing that indulges Rota’s irresistible legatos. Daniele Adriani stands out as the male lover Raimondo in I due and as the Commendatore in La notte. His is not a classic Italian tenor sound, rather something with more grain but still adequate smoothness and notable presence.

– Gramophone

Also available on Blu-ray

The 2017 edition of the Reate Festival of Italy staged two operas composed by Nino Rota (1911-1979). Mostly known for his cinema soundtracks, Rota was able to merge the great Italian operatic tradition of Rossini, Puccini and Verdi into a contemporary musical language. I due timidi is drawn from a text of Italian writer Suso Cecchi d’Amico and the libretto of La notte di un nevrastenico was written by Riccardo Bacchelli. An all-star cast is featured here, including Giorgio Celenza, Sabrina Cortese, Daniele Adriani, Antonio Sapio, Chiara Osella, and Carlo Feola, among others. The Reate Festival Orchestra, led by Gabriele Bonolis, accompanies the soloists perfectly. This release is the world premiere recording of these works, and has been filmed in high-definition. Subtitled are available in Italian, English, German, French, Japanese, and Korean.

-----

REVIEW:

I due timidi is a gorgeous piece. Rota doesn't quite muster Puccini’s final layer of harmonic interest and novel orchestration but he rivals his senior for melodic generosity and is brilliant with vocal characterisation and linguistic clarity.

The performances are simply staged with a touch of commedia dell’arte and allowed to blossom in all the right ways by the conductor Gabriele Bonolis. There’s some ragged orchestral work but lovely singing that indulges Rota’s irresistible legatos. Daniele Adriani stands out as the male lover Raimondo in I due and as the Commendatore in La notte. His is not a classic Italian tenor sound, rather something with more grain but still adequate smoothness and notable presence.

– Gramophone

ROSSINI / NIEDERMEYER: Robert Bruce (French pasticcio of La

GIOACCHINO ROSSINI: Marianna Pizzolato; Marco Vinco; Maxim Mironov; Bruno De Simone;Barbara Bargnesi; Jose Maria Lo Monaco; Alex Esposito; Prague Chamber Choir/Lubomir Malt; Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna/Donato Renzetti; David Fo, director, set and costume designer; L GIOACCHINO ROSSINI: Italiana in Algeri, Dramma giocoso in two acts.NTSC All Region; LPCM 2.0; Dolby Digital 5.1; Color; 16/9; 150 mins; Subtitled in Italian, English, German & French.

Composer: Rossini Gioachino
Title: L’EQUIVOCO STRAVAGANTE
Performer: ERNESTINA: MARINA PRUDENSKJA
GAMBEROTTO: BRUNO DE SIMONE
BURALICCHIO: MARCO VINCO
ERMANNO: DMITRY KORCHAK
ROSALIA: AMANDA FORSYTHE
FRONTINO: RICARDO MIRABELLI
CONDUCTOR: UMBERTO BENEDETTI MICHELANGELI
DIRECTION: EMILIO SAGI
Scenes: FRANCESCO CALCAGNINI
Costumes: PEPA OJANGUREN
CORO DA CAMERA DI PRAGA
Maestro del Coro: Pavel Vanek
ORCHESTRA HAYDN of BOLZANO E TRENTO


PROGRAM INFORMATION:
L’Equivoco stravagante stages the classic situation of the young girl who does not intend to be wedded to the traditional rich braggart but prefers a timid young man who is short of money; this time the expedient used to drive off the undesired wooer is to have him believe that in reality the girl is a young boy who has been castrated - or in the euphemistic parlance of the time a musico. Seasoned with fanciful language, made up of bold neologisms and licentious double meanings, with expressions that are in turn silly, absurd, or hyperbolic, Gasbarri’s libretto offers no few aspects of modernity, while Rossini’s music already contains the melodic invention, the frenzied rhythms and musical eccentricities that within just a few months were to propel the composer unstoppably towards worldwide success.

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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.

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.

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

Also available on Blu-ray

Opera Vlaanderen of Antwerp continues its Rossini Cycle under the musical direction of conductor Alberto Zedda (87), with the rarely performed opera Armida. Armida is clearly a tenor opera par excellence, as we have four tenors here among the main roles. Enea Scala , Robert McPherson, Dario Schmunck and the young Adam Smith. Director Mariame Clément and her usual set designer Julia Hansen will also return to Opera Vlaanderen after the successfull Giasone by Cavalli released by Dynamic. They are now taking a critical look at the world of the Crusaders. Clément sees Armida as the incarnation of the concept of ‘love’, which in itself is magic and for which noble and heroic knightly ideals are cast aside. However, it is a love that turns into a destructive frenzy.

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

Also available on standard DVD
Opera Vlaanderen of Antwerp continues its Rossini Cycle under the musical direction of conductor Alberto Zedda (87), with the rarely performed opera Armida. Armida is clearly a tenor opera par excellence, as we have four tenors here among the main roles. Enea Scala , Robert McPherson, Dario Schmunck and the young Adam Smith. Director Mariame Clément and her usual set designer Julia Hansen will also return to Opera Vlaanderen after the successfull Giasone by Cavalli released by Dynamic. They are now taking a critical look at the world of the Crusaders. Clément sees Armida as the incarnation of the concept of ‘love’, which in itself is magic and for which noble and heroic knightly ideals are cast aside. However, it is a love that turns into a destructive frenzy.

ROLLA Violin Concertos: in Bb; in D; in A • Paolo Ghidoni (vn, cond); O da Camera del Conservatorio di Mantova • DYNAMIC 714 (60:30)


Dynamic’s release of violin concertos by Alessandro Rolla makes available three of the 21 works in the genre written by the violinist, teacher, conductor, and composer. Those versed in the lore of Nicolò Paganini will remember Rolla as the teacher to whom Paganini’s father brought the young prodigy, who read one of Rolla’s concertos at sight while waiting for the master to appear. That anecdote alone (not cited in the booklet notes by Mariateresa Dellaborra) should lend these works a special interest for aficionados of the violin. The notes cite the sources from which Marco Pinotti transcribed each of the three concertos for performance. Listeners will notice from the outset that the winds (oboes and horns) that Rolla incorporated in his orchestral textures serve a more important function than merely fluffing up the blanket of orchestral sound. The solo part of the first movement of the Concerto in Bb-Major explores a range and variety of technical devices (though, surprisingly, not double-stops) far in advance of Giovanni Battista Viotti but hardly so daring as those of Paganini. Paolo Ghidoni serves as a bold and technically alert champion, playing the solo part of this concerto with a big-toned ardor, accompanied from some distance behind—despite the recorded sound’s clarity—by the orchestra, which, for its part, occasionally detours into a byway of contrasting affect. The first movement’s cadenza sounds brilliant without making onerous demands on the soloist. The slow movement opens with a theme of near-Mozartean purity, in both the orchestral and solo parts; Ghidoni embellishes it with sweet figuration, much of it in the violin’s higher registers, leading into the final movement, an elegantly lyrical “Rondò.”


The Second Concerto on the program, in D Major, falls into the same three movements, the first opening with an orchestral tutti that includes darker threads among the brighter ones. Once again, the solo part lies in a somewhat higher tessitura than those in Viotti’s and Pierre Rode’s concertos, although the passagework remains similar, at times uncannily reminiscent of particular figural turns in Viotti’s celebrated Concerto No. 22, though the interaction between solo and orchestra has grown more conversational in Rolla’s concertos. The slow movement enshrines passages of melting cantabile and leads to a “Rondò” that again recalls Viotti’s concertos. If the D-Major Concerto recalls Viotti, the final one on the program, in A Major, suggests Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, especially in the first movement’s orchestral thematic statements, although the violin part still bears traces of Viotti’s influence. Ghidoni sounds particularly rich in the few passages in the lower register that Rolla provides for the soloist in this movement. The simple and straightforward slow movement leads to a “Rondò polonaise,” recalling in its themes rondos by Viotti and Louis Spohr. These concertos should prove interesting in their own right for collectors who delight in exploring the violin literature’s byways but should also ingratiate themselves with general listeners—and they could provide a technical missing link between Viotti and Mozart for violin students. Warmly recommended.


FANFARE: Robert Maxham