Mazzoni: Antigono / Onofri, Spyres, Mcgreevy, Lucciarini

$24.99
Label
Dynamic
Release Date
January 28, 2014
Format
Added to Cart! View cart or continue shopping.


    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      MAZZONI, ANTONIO MARIA
    • PERFORMER
      Onofri, Spyres, Lucciarini, Mcgreevy, Oro, Montenegro, Quintans
    Product Details ⌄
    Works ⌄

    1. Overture

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    2. Act I: No: tutto o berenice (Ismene)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Ana Quintans

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    3. Act I: Di vantarsi ha ben ragione (Ismene)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Ana Quintans

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    4. Act I: Io di Demetrio amante! (Berenice)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Geraldine McGreevy

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    5. Act I: A torto spergiuro (Demetrio)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Pamela Lucciarini

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    6. Act I: Povero Prence! (Berenice)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Geraldine McGreevy

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    7. Act I: Io non so se amor tu sei (Berenice)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Geraldine McGreevy

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    8. Act I: March

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    9. Act I: Tutto alla tua fortuna cede (Clearco)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Maria Hinojosa Montenegro

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    10. Act I: Tu m'involasti un regno (Antigono)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Michael Spyres

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    11. Act I: Che Alessandro m'ascolti (Ismene)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Ana Quintans

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    12. Act I: E pena troppo barbara (Berenice)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Geraldine McGreevy

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    13. Act I: Or chi dirmi osera (Demetrio)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Pamela Lucciarini

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    14. Act I: Contro il destin (Demetrio)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Pamela Lucciarini

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    15. Act II: Che prigioniero e vinto (Alessandro)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Martin Oro

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    16. Act II: Di due ciglia il bel sereno (Clearco)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Maria Hinojosa Montenegro

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    17. Act II: D'Antigono il pungente parlar (Alessandro)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Martin Oro

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    18. Act II: Sai qual ardor m'accende (Alessandro)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Martin Oro

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    19. Act II: Misero me (Demetrio)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Pamela Lucciarini

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    20. Act II: Basta cosi (Berenice)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Geraldine McGreevy

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    21. Act II: Che ascoltai! Berenice arde per me! (Demetrio)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Pamela Lucciarini

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    22. Act II: Piango e ver (Demetrio)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Pamela Lucciarini

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    23. Act II: Or non v'e chi felice (Alessandro)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Martin Oro

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    24. Act II: Perche due cori insieme (Ismene)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Ana Quintans

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    25. Act II: Dunque nascesti ingrato (Antigono)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Michael Spyres

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    26. Act II: Sfogati o ciel se ancora (Antigono)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Michael Spyres

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    27. Act II: Demetrio, ah fuggi almeno (Berenice)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Geraldine McGreevy

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    28. Act II: Non temer - Per pieta (Demetrio, Berenice)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Geraldine McGreevy, Pamela Lucciarini

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    29. Act III: Non lo speri Alessandro (Antigono)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Michael Spyres

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    30. Act III: Di, che ricuso il trono (Antigono)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Michael Spyres

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    31. Act III: Custodi, a voi consegno quel prigionier (Clearco)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Maria Hinojosa Montenegro

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    32. Act III: Che pretendi, amor tiranno? (Ismene)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Ana Quintans

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    33. Act III: Dunque l'offerta pace Antigono ricusa (Alessandro)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Martin Oro

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    34. Act III: Guerrier, che i colpi affretta (Clearco)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Maria Hinojosa Montenegro

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    35. Act III: Vedermi una vittoria sveller di man (Alessandro)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Martin Oro

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    36. Act III: Gia che morir deggi'io (Demetrio)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Pamela Lucciarini

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    37. Act III: Harp Interlude

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    38. Act III: Berenice che fai? (Berenice)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Geraldine McGreevy

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    39. Act III: Ma Demetrio dov'e? (Antigono)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Michael Spyres

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri

    40. Act III: Padre, sposa, ah dunque insieme (Chorus, Demetrio)

      Composer: Antonio Maria Mazzoni

      Ensemble: Divino Sospiro

      Performer: Pamela Lucciarini

      Conductor: Enrico Onofri




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