Mercadante had lived in Spain, where his operas had been popular and appreciated, and it was here that he had started to think about an opera based on a typically Iberian subject to win the appreciation of the local public: the story of the king of the Asturias Pelagio, who in 718 (or, according to other sources, in 722) defeated the Arabs in the battle of Covadonga. The story have left a strong mark on the composer, for almost thirty years later, in 1855, he entrusted the production of a libretto to Marco D’Arienzo, who had already worked with him writing. First performed at the San Carlo theatre in Naples on 13th February 1857, Pelagio is the last but one of the operas that Mercadante saw on stage but in chronological terms, however, this was his last one.

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

Also available on standard DVD

Written almost two centuries ago by Saverio Mercadante, coveted by many theatres of the day, Francesca da Rimini was, in fact, never staged. Every time it was scheduled for performance, something happened and it got canceled. A long series of incidents prevented it from reaching the stage for as many as 185 years. Its forgotten manuscript, which was only known for its ill-starred fate, suddenly re-emerged five years ago in Madrid, teh city where it was to have been premiered in 1831. The soprano Leonor Bonilla is quite impressive in the part of the protagonist: she portrays the character's psychological frailty as well as her determination wtih a steely vocal technique, spinning out incredible modulations, displaying strong and dazzling vocalizations, easily soaring into the high register and flaunting such an attractive, casual and poignant stage presence that she even dares moving some dance steps with the corps de ballet. Aya Wakizono is an admirable Paolo: endowed with a superb mezzo voice, she seeks and achieves consistency throughout the range, is virtuosic in the coloratura, and fluent. No less demanding is the part of the tenor Lanciotto, with its fearful leaps and ornamentation worth of the Neapolitan Rossini: Mert Sungu might in time get rid of a touch of harshness here and there, but already now he can tackle all the difficulties of the part with a timbric quality and an expressively worth of note...

Written almost two centuries ago by Saverio Mercadante, coveted by many theatres of the day, Francesca da Rimini was, in fact, never staged. Every time it was scheduled for performance, something happened and it got canceled. A long series of incidents prevented it from reaching the stage for as many as 185 years. Its forgotten manuscript, which was only known for its ill-starred fate, suddenly re-emerged five years ago in Madrid, teh city where it was to have been premiered in 1831. The soprano Leonor Bonilla is quite impressive in the part of the protagonist: she portrays the character's psychological frailty as well as her determination wtih a steely vocal technique, spinning out incredible modulations, displaying strong and dazzling vocalizations, easily soaring into the high register and flaunting such an attractive, casual and poignant stage presence that she even dares moving some dance steps with the corps de ballet. Aya Wakizono is an admirable Paolo: endowed with a superb mezzo voice, she seeks and achieves consistency throughout the range, is virtuosic in the coloratura, and fluent. No less demanding is the part of the tenor Lanciotto, with its fearful leaps and ornamentation worth of the Neapolitan Rossini: Mert Sungu might in time get rid of a touch of harshness here and there, but already now he can tackle all the difficulties of the part with a timbric quality and an expressively worth of note...

Also available on Blu-ray

Written almost two centuries ago by Saverio Mercadante, coveted by many theatres of the day, Francesca da Rimini was, in fact, never staged. Every time it was scheduled for performance, something happened and it got canceled. A long series of incidents prevented it from reaching the stage for as many as 185 years. Its forgotten manuscript, which was only known for its ill-starred fate, suddenly re-emerged five years ago in Madrid, teh city where it was to have been premiered in 1831. The soprano Leonor Bonilla is quite impressive in the part of the protagonist: she portrays the character's psychological frailty as well as her determination wtih a steely vocal technique, spinning out incredible modulations, displaying strong and dazzling vocalizations, easily soaring into the high register and flaunting such an attractive, casual and poignant stage presence that she even dares moving some dance steps with the corps de ballet. Aya Wakizono is an admirable Paolo: endowed with a superb mezzo voice, she seeks and achieves consistency throughout the range, is virtuosic in the coloratura, and fluent. No less demanding is the part of the tenor Lanciotto, with its fearful leaps and ornamentation worth of the Neapolitan Rossini: Mert Sungu might in time get rid of a touch of harshness here and there, but already now he can tackle all the difficulties of the part with a timbric quality and an expressively worth of note...

MAZZONI Antigono • Enrico Onofri, cond; Michael Spyres ( Antigono ); Geraldine McGreevy ( Berenice ); Pamela Luciarini ( Demetrio ); Divino Sospiro • DYNAMIC 7686/1–3 (3 CDs: 196:58) Live: Grand Auditorium, Lisbon 1/21–22/2011


Antonio Mazzoni was a fairly prolific Italian composer in the middle and late 18th century (1717–1785), and he wrote Antigono for the opening season of one of the world’s shortest-lived opera houses: the Ópera do Tejo in Lisbon. It opened on March 31, 1755, and was destroyed seven months later by an earthquake. (Its site is now a navy dockyard.) The libretto is by the famed Metastasio, and Mazzoni was clearly considered an important figure in his time. Metastasio wrote the librettos of the only three serious operas performed in the seven months of life for the opera house in Lisbon, and the choice of Mazzoni to write the music for one of them demonstrates his reputation at the time. He wrote perhaps 19 operas (we aren’t sure), many of which have not survived. Antigono is performed here in a critical edition edited by Nicholas McNayr.


Some people argue that works that have been forgotten lie in obscurity for good reason. Others argue that there is often merit in undiscovered works, whether or not they reach the stature of greatness. I tend to fall into that latter category. Antigono is no undiscovered masterpiece; a good many of its arias go along like sewing-machine music, humming along without making real impact. However, there are a number of arias and ensembles that do hold the attention of the listener, and reward that attention. This is an opera that is neither great nor terrible, but in that vast middle range. It will provide pleasure to those who enjoy hearing something out of the ordinary. The musical style is best described as late Baroque, with plenty of vocal ornamentation required of the cast. There are some passages of striking originality, including a brief solo harp interlude before the final scene. This is the type of opera against which Gluck rebelled, but we don’t have to choose between Gluck and that which he opposed; we can have both. Dynamic’s performance is very well sung, despite the need for a large and accomplished cast of soloists. I do wish a more imaginative and energetic conductor were on the podium, though Onofri gets some energy going in the march in the middle of the first act, and in general manages real energy in the faster music. However, he doesn’t seem to be able to sustain the musical line or intensity at slower speeds and in the more gentle numbers.


Each of the six characters has at least one challenging aria that makes excessive technical and expressive demands. With four soprano roles, one would ideally like tonal differentiation, but that might be asking too much. What is remarkable here is that all four sing very well. We may be a generation lacking in the great Verdi and verismo singers that we had in the middle of the 20th century, but we surely have more fine Baroque and Classical singers who can turn out roulades and trills with ease. In addition to the four sopranos, the role of Alessandro is sung by a countertenor, and Martin Oro manages it fairly well but without the vocal ease of the great ones. The only traditional male voice in Antigono is the title character, sung by the American tenor Michael Spyres. His is a triumphant performance. His singing of his first aria “Tu m’involasti un regno” is jaw-droppingly spectacular in its technical feats.


I wish Dynamic had a more thoughtful approach to their productions. They make a libretto available on their web site, and I did download and print it, but it is an inconvenience. They could offer the set at two prices, with a higher one including the libretto. In addition, they have misspelled at least one and probably two of the names of their singers. Geraldine McGreevy uses the upper case “G” even on her own web site, but Dynamic spells it Mcgreevy throughout. And all other recordings and web site references to soprano Pamela Luciarini spell her name with one “c,” whereas Dynamic spells it with two. The notes about the opera are informative but the plot summary is rudimentary and too brief. The recorded sound is well balanced and clear, and the audience is not intrusive at all. The only applause we hear is at the ends of acts. Anyone with an interest in opera before Mozart is likely to find this of interest, particularly in this fine performance. It might even be preferable on a recording, because one can listen to one act at a time (each act is an hour or longer), and one can skip past some of the recitatives (sorry, purists).


FANFARE: Henry Fogel

A gorgeous performance from Eva Mei and Michele Pertusi with the Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro La Fenice in one of Massenet’s most loved and performed operas, Thaïs.

THAIS - Eva Mei, soprano; Michele Pertusi, bass-baritone; William Joyner, tenor; Christophe Fel, bass; Orchestra e Coro del Teatro La Fenice di Venezia/Marcello Viotti; Pier Luigi Pizzi, director, set and costume designer; Live recording

After the CD recording of Thaïs, which marked the beginning of Dynamic’s collaboration with Venice’s prestigious Teatro La Fenice, here is now the DVD version of this enthralling opera, by the captivating music and dramatic development. The title role, in this excellent production, is sung by an Eva Mei in great vocal form, who gives an interpretation of extraordinary depth. Beside her, the famous bass-baritone Michele Pertusi, as Athanaël, shows once again his unquestionable style. On the podium is Marcello Viotti, music director of the Venetian theatre. The story of the conversion of the beautiful courtesan, and the clash between spirituality and sensuality have been portrayed brilliantly by Pier Luigi Pizzi, one of today’s most talented opera directors. The visual quality of this production is indeed one of its strong points, and the DVD recording will not fail to fascinate the viewer. - French, English, Italian, German and Spanish subtitles. NTSC

Also available on standard DVD

Jules Massenet’s five act opera-comique is presented on this new release by Patrick Davin and his Orchestra of the Opera Royal de Wallonie-Liege. Manon is Massenet’s most performed opera, which has maintained its spot in the repertoire since its composition. The enduring opera “quickly conquered the world’s stages.” Annick Massis stars in the title role. The French soprano has enjoyed a long stage career, frequently performing in Mozart’s operas and many bel canto roles.

'- 2 DVDs | - All Regions | - NTSC | - Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS, PCM Stereo 2.0 | - Colour | - 16:9 | - 160 min.

Every operatic composer has a title that marks a turning point, one that raises him from being almost unknown to sudden fame. For B

JULES MASSENET: Michelle Breedt; Patrizia Ciofi; Carmela Remigio; Teresa di Bari; Alessandra Palomba; Giorgio Surian; Nicola Ebau; Bruno Lazzaretti; Riccardo Novaro; Emenuele Giannino; George Mosley; AlessandroPerucca; Orchestra & Chorus del Teaatro Lirico di Cagliari/Emmanu JULES MASSENET: Cherubin.

Mascagni’s “poème dramatique en deux actes” had its première in Monte Carlo on 16 March 1905, with Geraldine Farrar in the leading role. An Italian version was immediately staged in Rome. I presume that the only previous recording of this brief opera, recorded in Budapest in 1995 under Marco Pace and starring Katia Ricciarelli, was sung in Italian, so here we have a first for the original in French.

If beginnings were everything this opera would be at least as good as “Das Rheingold”. If, a bit more logically, we compare Mascagni’s dawn with Puccini’s prelude to Act III of Tosca, we must surely recognize the difference between the inspired natural poet and the cunning purveyor of effects.

The trouble with the cunning purveyor of effects is, they work so damn well. I’m prepared to give Mascagni the benefit of the doubt over his daybreak prelude, however. As the music gathers power and momentum the chorus here proves ragged and few in numbers, while the orchestra is short on strings. The booklet note-writer, Alberto Cantù, admits that the “Inno del Sole” from “Iris” is “something else again”, but I daresay this one would come off too, given a better chance.

This deeply poetic opening sets the stage for what is ostensibly a rustic village wedding in the foothills of the Piedmont Alps. In a series of dances and general invitations to merriment we may note the inventiveness of Mascagni’s orchestral colouring and his continual veering away from the stereotyped music which could so easily have been called upon for such a situation. Then comes the bridegroom-to-be and we get a tenor aria.

This, of course, is where the cunning purveyor of effects scores. Puccini at this point would have come out with something like “Recondita armonia”. Mascagni follows the words with vocal writing that is melodious and expressive without actually blossoming into a melody as such. But wait a moment, are we perhaps listening for the wrong thing? When a Richard Strauss opera breaks into a soliloquy for a leading character, with vocal writing which is similarly melodious and expressive without blossoming into a melody as such, we accept this happily because it’s what we expect. We therefore have to get away from the idea that Mascagni is trying to write a Puccini-tune and not quite managing it and listen more attentively to what he is actually doing. We may then appreciate the mastery of his orchestral backdrop, which in its motivic interest, thematic entwining and variegated colour places Mascagni firmly among the Middle-European post-romantics. Post-romantic, too, is the somewhat acidic tinge to the vocal lines. If we are reminded of Puccini, it is more likely to be the later Puccini of “La Fanciulla del West”, where he, too, began to head in this same direction.

Another problem – not Mascagni’s fault – is that we are used to hearing Puccini and Strauss better sung than this. David Sotgiu has a quite pleasing voice when singing quietly, and at first I wondered if he would be able to present the case for not singing this sort of music full blast. Alas, he fails to expand and drive the music home to us. And this is only the beginning … Giorgio is actually described as “fragile and suffering”, but opera is about suspended disbelief and a fragile Giorgio can’t deliver the goods any more than a fragile Butterfly or a genuinely tubercular Violetta.

Thus far, however, we might go along with the portrayal, since Giorgio, the presumed bridegroom, actually introduces in this aria the first blight on the idyllic scene, the first faltering suggestion that things are not what they seem. For this is an arranged marriage – arranged for fairly cynical reasons I won’t go into here – and the lady’s not going to play. Amica, we soon discover, is passionately in love with Giorgio’s “solid and vigorous” brother Rinaldo, who has been driven out of the home. However, while Amica rejects Giorgio’s overtures, she does not reveal who it is she really loves. Here, and in the subsequent confrontation with her foster-father Camoine, we find that Anna Malavasi has a voice that is not always soundly produced, but with something of the scale to get the music across. There is a frisson to the singing which has been lacking so far.

Rinaldo, in response to a letter from Amica, arrives on the scene. The two love each other as much as ever and Amica reveals the marriage that is being forced on her but, also in this case, does not say who the intended bridegroom actually is. Rinaldo curses the man “who seeks to have your love” and they flee to the mountains. Giorgio catches sight of them in the distance, without recognizing Rinaldo, and gives chase, intending to avenge himself on the “thief of love”. Just to add to the drama, a thunderstorm is brewing.

The music has by this time developed from its innocent, colouristic beginnings to a tense, darkly-hued symphonic web driving the action forward. Mascagni now gives full vent to his orchestral mastery with the longest of his many intermezzi – 10:18 in this performance. It should be said that, while the orchestra is rough and ready and the strings undernourished, Manlio Benzi has all the right ideas about how the music should go and this piece comes off pretty powerfully.

Act II takes place in a wild ravine. Giorgio confronts the couple, then draws back on recognizing Rinaldo. Rinaldo is equally astonished. At this point his fraternal love proves stronger than his love for Amica. He accuses the latter of having lied to him and, pitying his weak brother, who has now collapsed in a faint, renounces to her: “His ghost would always rise up between us; and if he lived, each kiss that you gave me would seem to be stolen from my brother”. “If you loved me”, he continues, “let your heart not be deaf to my begging voice … you alone hold Giorgio’s fate in your hands, make him a gift of your pity, of your love”. He leaves, clambering up the sheer rock face. Amica, still declaring her love for Rinaldo, attempts to follow him up the cliff, but falls into the torrent below. Giorgio has by now come to and as the opera ends Rinaldo attempts to rejoin his brother.

All this action is underpinned by powerful orchestral writing, basically a continuation of the intermezzo. Pierluigi Dilengite’s rather hoarse, barking baritone is unable to express much against this backdrop and even Anna Malavasi is reduced to ungainly shouting. This means that the effectiveness of the opera is not really proved either way. Could a Gobbi or a Taddei have given Rinaldo at this point the humanity which Mascagni evidently wants? Could a Callas have involved us emotively in Amica’s desperate final gesture (maybe Geraldine Farrar was able to do this)?

My worry is that, while I think this opera may be musically a masterpiece – it certainly exhibits rare mastery – it may fail to engage us at the human level we expect of an operatic masterpiece. Rinaldo’s sacrifice is, logically, completely useless and even silly. It’s obvious that the lady’s not for turning – he seems to expect her to switch her love from one to the other rather as a bath-tap switches from hot to cold water by moving the lever from left to right – so his own loss is of no benefit to his brother. Surely he could not have imagined otherwise? On the other hand, I’ve tried juggling the situation in my mind to produce a number of alternative endings, but most of them seem worse still. The cunning purveyor of effects might have thought of something, though, and exacted suitable changes from his librettist.

So what can we say? The musical riches of this opera demand a hearing. From this version you’ll get some idea of the orchestral mastery and the sureness with which it progresses from an idyllic beginning to a darkly dramatic conclusion in a short space of time. Anna Malavasi’s singing in the first act, at least, gives a fair hint of the sort of frisson the music could presumably have all through with a high-octane international cast. And, in spite of the positive judgement on Manlio Benzi, a Gavazzeni in the pit might have helped the singers by creating more transparent textures. Unfortunately I am unable to say whether the Ricciarelli/Pace version is any better. Michael Oliver’s Gramophone review (2/97) reports a fairly effective performance, very poorly recorded. The present recording has all the bangs and thumps we expect from a live theatre production but is technically more than acceptable. The likelihood of another version seems remote. It has become a truism among Mascagni lovers that his operas – post-Cavalleria – are a treasure-house of wonderful music which is in abeyance because the singers with the heft to cope with them are a lost breed. This is not the only recording which seems to prove them right on both counts.

-- Christopher Howell, MusicWeb International

Artists:
Charles Workman, Steve Davislim, tenors; Marco Vinco, bass-baritone; Laura Aikin, Ainhoa Garmendia, sopranos; Michael Maniaci, countertenor; Marisa Martins, Jossie Perez, mezzo-sopranos; Liceu Grand Theatre Orchestra, Harry Bicket, conductor; Thomas MacManus, choreographer; Francisco Negrin, director.

Audio Format: LPCM 2.0 | Region Code: 0 | Format: NTSC, 16:9
Booklet: English, French, Italian, German | Subtitles: English, German, Italian, French, Spanish, Catalan
Running Time: 148 minutes
Location: Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona | Recorded: October 7, 2009 Packaging: DVD Keep Case

L’arbore di Diana is a two-act opera buffa by the composer Vincent Martin y Soler with a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, first performed in Vienna in 1787. Popular throughout Europe at that time, this comic pastorale includes a plot that centers on an apple tree with apples that mutate in the presence of chaste and wanton individuals in the goddess Diana’s garden, and an unhappy god of Love who schemes to destroy the apple tree. Diana’s Tree is a trove of flowing melodies and a feast for the eyes.

“…immersed in an unreal atmosphere that takes advantage of cutting edge technology and an intelligent use of lighting and sound, …[transposing] the fable and satire..to modern times..with genius, explaining the story without confusing it.” – Pablo Meléndez-Haddad, ABC, October 2009.

“…Francis Negrin’s work has managed to maintain the piece’s narrative and to underline its best comical moments.” – Roger Alier, La Vanguardia, Oct. 2009.

WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING!
Elena de la Merced; Veronique Gens; Cecilia Diaz; Saimir Pirgu; Juan Francisco Gatell; Luca Pisaroni; Carlos Chausson; Josep Miquel Ramón

Orquesta Titular del Teatro Real (Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid)/Christophe Rousset

Irina Brook, director

NTSC All Region; 16:9; SS 5.1/LPCM 2.0; Approx. 140 mins.
Subtitled in Italian, English, German, French & Spanish
Recorded in High Definition on November 14th-18th, 2007, Teatro Real, Madrid

Il Burbero di buon cuore is a dramma giocoso in two acts composed by Vicente Martín y Soler to a libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte, based on one of the most popular and amusing French comedies by Carlo Goldoni, Le bourru bienfaisant. The recording of Il Burbero di buon cuore confirms the collaboration between Dynamic and Teatro Real of Madrid (which started with the release of the double CD in World Premiere Recording La Conquista di Granata by Emilio Arrieta). This opera had been absent from Madrid’s stages since 1792. In October 1789, in fact, Mozart composed two “substitute arias” for this opera: Chi sa, chi sa qual sia KV 582 and Vado, ma dove? Oh Dei! KV 583, which, given their superior musical quality, have opportunely been inserted in this edition of the opera, sung by Véronique Gens. Soprano Véronique Gens appears also on Dynamic’s DVD Agrippina by Handel, which won the Record Academy Award 2007 in Japan in the category DVD opera. Director Irina Brook is the daughter of the famous British director Peter Brook, at her debut in Teatro Real. She sets the action in today’s times and mixes several styles and epochs, creating a very well lit and bright setting with a very effective result. The touch of classical and baroque expert Christophe Rousset perfectly enhances the music. The French conductor delivers a lesson of style extracting from the Symphonic Orchestra of Madrid a sweet and smooth sound ideally harmonized with the partitura.

R E V I E W:



MARTÍN Y SOLER Il burbero di buon cuore • Christophe Rousset, cond; Elena de la Merced ( Angelica ); Carlos Chausson ( Ferramondo ); Véronique Gens ( Madama Lucilla ); Salmir Pirgu ( Giocondo ); Cecilia Diáz ( Marina ); Juan Francisco Gatell ( Valerio ); Luca Pisaroni ( Dorval ); Josep Miquel Ramón ( Castagna ); Madrid Teatro Real O • DYNAMIC 33580 (2 DVDs: 140:00) Live: Madrid 11/2007


The plot to Il burbero di buon cuore was taken from a 1771 play by Goldoni, Le bourru bienfaisant . As with all of Goldoni’s mature comedies, stereotypes of commedia dell’arte and old Roman farce are humanized with vivid personal detail. Thus, the Bartolo-like antagonist, Ferramondo, isn’t a conventional blusterer, but a kindly, well-intentioned man who is easily irritated and possesses a hair-trigger temper. His niece, Angelica, is too frightened to do more than equivocate before her uncle. This, of course, only drives him quickly up a wall. The other figures surrounding them are similarly more than expected—such as Ferramondo’s nephew, emotive Giocondo, a master of bad financial decision making, who desperately tries to live up to his uncle’s standards; and Giocondo’s wife, Lucilla, a spendthrift who dearly loves her husband, and doesn’t realize the monetary hole they’re in. (Not for nothing is the opera described as a dramma giocoso , which is usually taken to mean a work that mixes buffo and semi-seria elements.) Even the servant, Castagna, is deftly characterized, an alert, ironical philosopher who lectures Giocondo on living within his means. Lorenzo Da Ponte, not surprisingly, creates a clever libretto out of this material, and Martín y Soler provides a thoughtful setting that starts simple—not unlike Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro —only to grow in technical complexity and expressive depth as matters become more complicated.


Speaking of Figaro brings to mind the friendly rivalry of the two composers on Viennese operatic stages, best known for Mozart’s wink at Martín y Soler’s success with a musical quote from Una cosa rara (1786) in Don Giovanni (1787). Mozart also wrote a pair of substitute arias for Louise Villeneuve, the original Lucilla, when Il burbero was revived in 1789. They’re used in this performance, though one could wish the originals had been offered as a purely audio alternative among the extras. (There are also some significant cuts here, including material relating to a sub-plot involving the placement of Angelica in a nunnery so that Giocondo can acquire her dowry.)


The time and setting have been changed in this production, and we find ourselves in modern times, in the lobby of a moderately shabby hotel, still showing signs of former quality—along with a broad ragbag of typical hotel bric-a-brac from the late 19th century on up to the present. Irina Brook’s direction makes excellent and understated use of the lobby layout and its many appropriate props, with characters working, relaxing, and eating—in short, engaging in activities one would expect to occur where they are, instead of being placed in empty, sterile environments where they can only sit and wait for their lines. To her credit, the actors’ movements and reactions seem both natural and inevitable.


But you have to watch out when you change an opera’s time and location. They’re tricky things. Even here, with so much being handled well, the act I finale is problematic. Why should Ferramondo and his chess partner, the placid Dorval, suddenly express horror followed by anger at finding a man they don’t know in Marina’s hotel? The answer lies in the original setting. Marina wasn’t a hotelier, but a housekeeper, and the house belonged to Ferramondo. To find an unknown man upon entering one’s own house—and with only unmarried women present!—would have caused any man of the period grave concern.


There’s a casting choice that causes minor problems of its own, as well. Luca Pisaroni is a young bass-baritone, not more than 25 by his looks, yet there are several references in the libretto to his advanced age. Whether he was first choice for Dorval or not, he sings well, and acts in a pleasant if generalized “situation comedy” manner that works. Given a choice between having him shown at his proper age or disguised to look 20 years older or more isn’t a contest, as such disguises rarely work in realistic settings.


Most of the rest of the cast is similarly strong. Both Pirgu and Gatell possess effective lyric tenors, with the former getting the lion’s share of the work. His act I aria, “Degli anni sui fiore,” seems meant for a slower tempo than the quick, prosaic one Rousset wished upon it, but Pirgu floats an attractive tone and displays a pleasing sense of phrasing. Gens and Merced are vocally and interpretatively excellent, with the patricianly tone of the former and the sweetness of the latter providing good contrast. Ramón’s bass is little tested by his secondary aria, but he does a fine job overall. The best acting and some of the strongest singing comes from Chausson. He plays the choleric but large-hearted Ferramondo with a focus and attention to details of characterization that would grace a quality production of a Sardou play; yet he doesn’t lack for the customary verbal agility and solid, resonant depth of a basso buffo . Only Diaz seems overparted, her intonation sometimes suspect, her tone gray except at the bottom of its range when it blossoms out magnificently. The Madrid SO is in fine shape, and aside from rushing three slower arias, Roussett conducts sympathetically and with a light, engaging touch.


The camerawork is good, focusing on elements of action rather than whoever is singing—so you really do get to view all of what’s going on at any given time. Sound is Dolby Digital 5.1, and Linear PCM 2.0. Subtitles are available in Italian, English, German, French, and Spanish. The video format is 16:9.


In short—with a few noted reservations—this is a fine cast in an unusually well-directed production of an entertaining, forgotten opera. It’s far above the standard cut of modern premieres for works of its period, and really could stand as an example of how to build a stage environment that works with singers and helps develop their characters instead of narrowing their actions. Do I think this represents the edge of a new trend? Not a chance. Do I think Il burbero di buon cuore is worth a viewing or several? Without question.


FANFARE: Barry Brenesal

MARTÍN Y SOLER Il burbero di buon cuore • Christophe Rousset, cond; Elena de la Merced ( Angelica ); Carlos Chausson ( Ferramondo ); Véronique Gens ( Madama Lucilla ); Saimir Pirgu ( Giocondo ); Cecilia Diaz ( Marina ); Juan Francisco Gatell ( Valerio ); O Sinfónica de Madrid • DYNAMIC 58801-2 (2 CDs 136:20) Live: Madrid 11/2007


This performance has been previously released on a Dynamic DVD and was reviewed in Fanfare 33:4 by Barry Brenesal. The opera opened in 1786, the same year as Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro , and both were revived in Vienna three years later. In the revival of Il bubero di buon cuore , since Martín y Soler was then in the court of Catherine the Great in St. Petersburg, Mozart wrote two new arias for Madama Lucilla. “Chi sa qual sia l’affano” and “Vado, ma dove, o Dei?,” which are beautifully sung on this recording by Véronique Gens, the first aria on CD 1, track 18, and the second on CD 2, track 4.


The libretto, by Lorenzo da Ponte, was taken from a 1771 play, Le bourru bien-faisant by Carlo Goldoni. The plot concerns two young lovers who after many intrigues and disguises finally receive the approval of their bad-tempered uncle Ferramondo. The booklet contains a well-written version of the complicated plot.


Carlos Chausson in the star role of Ferramondo has a resonant basso buffo, Pirgu and Gatell are both fine lyric tenors. Pirgu has a longer role and displays an attractive tonal quality. Diaz as Marina is the weakest member of the cast but her contralto is best at the bottom of her range. Roussett is a fine conductor, and the sound is fine.


As Barry Brenesal wrote in his review of the DVD of this production: “In short—with a few noted reservations—this is a fine cast in an unusually well–directed production of an entertaining forgotten opera.”


The booklet contains a list of the tracks, notes by Danilo Prefumo translated into English by T. A. Shaw as well as a plot synopsis. I have found that the DVD is not easily available today, and therefore recommend this interesting CD of what is an entertaining opera for all those who admire classical music.


FANFARE: Bob Rose

Libretto and liner notes in Italian and English.

A feast for the ears and for the eyes is what Vicent Martín i Soler and Lorenzo Da Ponte conceived 222 years ago with this playful opera about the struggle between Diana and Love. L’arbore di Diana, staged at the Gran Teatre del Liceu for the first time, is a two-act opera buffa by the composer from Valencia Vicent Martín i Soler with a text by the famous Lorenzo Da Ponte.