Composed by Giacomo Meyerbeer
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra with Alastair Miles , Russell Smythe , Nicola Bassi , Gaetana Carcano , Michele Cavara
Conducted by David Parry
2. Fedra, opera Aria: Se fiero, Ippolito
Composed by Johannes Simon [Giovanni Simone] Mayr
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra with Penelope Walker , Teresa Belloc , Pio Botticelli , Marietta Castiglioni , Pietro Genti
Conducted by David Parry
3. Le nozze in villa, opera Trio: in lei vegg'io
Composed by Gaetano Donizetti
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra with Diana Montague , Paul Nilon , Penelope Walker , Fanny Eckerlin , Pietro Genti
Conducted by David Parry
4. Lo sposo in provincia, opera Trio: O soave mia
Composed by Giacomo Cordella
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra with Nuccia Focile , Fiona Kimm , Paul Nilon , Cristoforo Bastianelli , Gaetana Corini
Conducted by David Parry
5. Zelmira, opera Duet: Perché mi guardi e piangi
Composed by Gioachino Rossini
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra with Eiddwen Harrhy , Della Jones , Isabella Colbran , Antonio Ambrogi , Michele Benedetti
Conducted by David Parry
6. L'Esule di Granata, opera (heroic melodrama) in 2 acts Duet: Sí mel credi
Composed by Giacomo Meyerbeer
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra with Alastair Miles , Patricia Spence , Lorenzo Biondi
Conducted by David Parry
7. La zingara, opera Aria: A te nell'appressarmi
Composed by Gaetano Donizetti
Performed by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with Giulio Fioravanti , Bruce Ford , Alessandro Busti , Giacinta Canonici , Carlo Casaccia , Francesca Checcherini
8. Chiara e Serafina (Il pirata), opera Trio: Tremante! smarrito solo
Composed by Gaetano Donizetti
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra with Lyn Davies , Della Jones , Yvonne Kenny , Carlo Dona , Isabella Fabbrica
Conducted by David Parry
9. Amleto, opera Finale 1°: Qui fu commesso, o popoli
Composed by Saverio Mercadante
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra with Diana Montague , Ian Thompson , Teresa Belloc , Angela Maria Silvestri Bertozzi
Conducted by David Parry
10. Alfredo il Grande, opera Aria: Che potrei dirti
Composed by Gaetano Donizetti
Performed by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with David Ashman , Della Jones , Linda Kitchen , Ian Platt , Michele Benedetti
11. Ugo re d 'Italia, opera (unfinished) Aria: Veni, o cara
Composed by Gioachino Rossini
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra with Bruce Ford , Paul Nilon
Conducted by David Parry
12. Nitocri, opera Aria: Se m'abbandoni
Composed by Saverio Mercadante
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra with Della Jones , Luciano Bianchi , Catterina Canzi , Carolina Franchini
Conducted by David Parry
13. Adelson e Salvini, opera Aria: Dopo l'oscuro nembo
Composed by Vincenzo Bellini
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra with Nuccia Focile , Ines Talamo , Antonio Manzi , Giacinto Marras
Conducted by David Parry
14. Tazia, opera Duet: Non più veggo in quel tristo sembiante
Composed by Giuseppe Balducci
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra with Paul Nilon , Giovanni David , Jennifer Davies-Rhys , Luigi Lablache , Adelaide Rubini-Comelli
Conducted by David Parry
15. La Testa di Bronzo, opera Overture
Composed by Saverio Mercadante
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra with Pedro de Alcantara Diniz Serrao , Francisca Augusta Fonseca da , Nicolao Henrique Klingelhoefer , Constanca Bante Lodi
Conducted by David Parry
16. Il diavolo condannato, opera Quartet: lo ti ho dato il sangue mio
Composed by Luigi Ricci
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra with Giulio Fioravanti , Paul Nilon , G. de Manzi , Marianna Checcherini , Annetta Fischer
Conducted by David Parry
17. Gabriella di Vergy, opera Sextet: Ah che dici!...Quant'immagini crudeli
Composed by Saverio Mercadante
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra with Karl Daymond , Paul Nilon , Orazio Cartagenova , Claire Daniels , Jennifer Davies-Rhys
Conducted by David Parry
18. Il paria, opera Aria: Qui pel figlio
Composed by Gaetano Donizetti
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra with John Rawnsley , Gaetano Chizzola , Luigi Lablache , Giovanni Battista Rubini
Conducted by David Parry
19. Rosmonda, opera Aria: Perché non ho
Composed by Carlo Coccia
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra with Yvonne Kenny , Diana Montague , Maria Brambilla , Rainieri Pocchini Cavalieri , Giuditta Grisi
Conducted by David Parry
20. Zaira, opera Aria: Amo ed amato io sono
Composed by Vincenzo Bellini
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra with Lyn Davies , Yvonne Kenny , Pietro Ansiglioni , Francesco Antonio Biscottini
Conducted by David Parry
21. Giovanna Shore, opera Aria: Ah che di fiori e lagrime
Composed by Carlo Conti
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra with Clive Bayley , Alastair Miles , Marilyn Hill Smith , Luigi Biondini , Marietta Gioja-Tamburini
Conducted by David Parry
22. Il contestabile di Chester, opera Duet: la sotto il salice
Composed by Giovanni Pacini
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra with Yvonne Kenny , Conrad Eden , Luigia Boccabadati , Gaetano Chizzola
Conducted by David Parry
23. Le nozze di Lammermoor, opera Quintet: D'un orribile tempesta
Composed by Michelle Carafa
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra with Ian Thompson , Domenico Donzelli , Theresa Goble , Francesco or Felice Graziani
Conducted by David Parry
24. Maria Stuart regina di scozia, opera Finale 1°: Vieni, o grande... Ecco l'indegna
Composed by Carlo Coccia
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra with Clive Bayley , Bruce Ford , Mark Glanville , Alastair Miles , Bronwen Mills , Paul Nilon
Conducted by David Parry
A Hundred Years of Italian Opera, 1820-30,Giacomo Meyerbeer,Giovanni Simone Mayr,Gioachino Rossini,Giacomo Cordella,Gaetano Donizetti,Saverio Mercadante,Vincenzo Bellini,Giuseppe Balducci,Luigi Ricci,Carlo Coccia,Carlo Conti,Giovanni Pacini,Michelle Carafa,David Parry,Bruce Ford,Yvonne Kenny,Nicola Bassi,Gaetana Carcano,Michele Cavara,Penelope Walker,Teresa Belloc,Pio Botticelli,Marietta Castiglioni,Nicola Tacchinardi,Diana Montague,Paul Nilon,Fanny Eckerlin,Jonathan Viera,Nuccia Focile,Fiona Kimm,Cristoforo Bastianelli,Gaetana Corini,Eiddwen Harrhy,Della Jones,Isabella Colbran,Antonio Ambrogi,Michele Benedetti,Patricia Spence,Lorenzo Biondi,Giulio Fioravanti,Alastair Miles,Alessandro Busti,Giacinta Canonici,Carlo Casaccia,Francesca Checcherini,Lyn Davies,Russell Smythe,Opera Rara
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A Hundred Years of Italian Opera, 1820-30
Giacomo Meyerbeer , Giovanni Simone Mayr , Gioachino Rossini , Giacomo Cordella , Gaetano Donizetti , Saverio Mercadante , Vincenzo Bellini , Giuseppe Balducci , Luigi Ricci , Carlo Coccia , Carlo Conti , Giovanni Pacini , Michelle Carafa , David Parry , Bruce Ford , Yvonne Kenny , Nicola Bassi , Gaetana Carcano , Michele Cavara , Penelope Walker , Teresa Belloc , Pio Botticelli , Marietta Castiglioni , Nicola Tacchinardi , Diana Montague , Paul Nilon , Fanny Eckerlin , Jonathan Viera , Nuccia Focile , Fiona Kimm , Cristoforo Bastianelli , Gaetana Corini , Eiddwen Harrhy , Della Jones , Isabella Colbran , Antonio Ambrogi , Michele Benedetti , Patricia Spence , Lorenzo Biondi , Giulio Fioravanti , and Alastair Miles Manufacturer: Opera Rara UK ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD  Bellini, Vincenzo
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ASIN: B000003LNT Release Date: 1997-03-13 |
Customer Reviews:
100 Years of Italian Opera.......2001-10-30
An Invaluable Addition to Your Library.......2001-04-05
This recording merits the highest praise for both its scholarly interest and entertainment value. Opera Rara has outdone itself with a beautifully produced booklet, though with its generous size and content, "tome" might be a more apt moniker. Each selection on the CD has a corresponding article in the booklet which gives the original cast of the opera, the singers interpreting the piece, a detailed history of the composer and the opera in question, an analysis of the music, and an Italian-English translation. Each article is thorough, fascinating, and well-written and substantially increases one's enjoyment and understanding of the selections. As if all this weren't enough, 19th-century drawings of composers, singers, librettists, and costumes are liberally strewn throughout and further serve to make these artists, and the operas they helped to create, come alive.
The singers are competent at worst, and at their best are excellent. Most of them are unknown, but some of Opera Rara's mainstays are featured here: Della Jones, Bruce Ford, Marilyn Hill-Smith, Yvonne Kenny, Diana Montague and Alistair Miles are all featured, and are all as wonderful as ever. Among the singers that may be less familiar, contralto Patricia Spence and mezzo Penelope Walker merit particular mention for their wonderful contributions to this recording. David Parry is competent and tasteful in his conducting as we would expect, and the Philharmonia Orchestra is in fine form. The Geoffrey Mitchell Choir provides the choral backup when necessary and also does a fine job.
With thirteen composers and twenty-four operas represented, it is only possible to discuss a few high points in the set. Those interested in Donizetti's oeuvre will not be disappointed, as five of his early works, all of which have yet to be revived in modern times, are represented here. Bruce Ford easily tosses off a difficult aria from the 1822 comedy "La Zingara", and Della Jones executes Byzantine coloratura pyrotechnics with confidence and panache in the rondo-finale from the obscure "Alfredo il Grande". A lovely all-female trio from his "Chiara e Serafina", and a grand and impressive bass aria from the tragedy "Il Paria" are other numbers that the Donizetti-phile will treasure. Bellini and Rossini are not forgotten, either. A recently discovered alternative aria from the former's "Adelson e Salvini" shows that even in his earliest works, Bellini was true to the lyrical, melancholy style we associate with his masterpieces. And the first of the Rossini pieces offered, a duet from "Zelmira", sounds for all the world like Bellini, despite predating the latter's first opera by 3 years.
Among the other composers featured are the prolific and underrated Pacini and Mercadante, both of whose careers eventually spanned Verdi's middle period. Pacini's "Il Contestabile di Chester", an 1829 work based on a Walter Scott novel, provides us with an exquisite love duet for soprano and en travesti mezzo-soprano. The woebegone farewell of the star-crossed lovers is interpreted with beauty and artistry by Yvonne Kenny and Susan McCullough. Della Jones again rises to the occasion in a ferociously difficult aria from Mercadante's "Nitocri", yet she is confidently in control of the death-defying leaps, scales, and trills that pepper the aria and which would so easily confound a singer of lesser abilities. A highly dramatic act finale from Mercadante's "Amleto" is also included, this selection featuring choral and ensemble writing that is so dramatic we have difficulty believing it is from an opera of 1822. Carlo Conti, a composer with whom almost no one this side of paradise is familiar, contributes a wilting and sad Bellinian lament from "Giovanna Shore" of 1829. This piece resembles a traditional heroine's aria di sortita, but it contains enough participation from the two basses that it becomes a trio. The best surprise of all comes from the selections by Carlo Coccia, a composer whose masterpiece "Caterina di Guisa" was recently successfully revived in Italy. This album features a remarkably beautiful duet from his "Rosmonda", a setting of the same libretto used for Donizetti's "Rosmonda d'Inghilterra." Again featuring Yvonne Kenny, this time with Diana Montague, the scene parallels Rosmonda's introductory scene in Donizetti's opera, but allows the pageboy Arturo to participate fully. The highlight of the entire set, however, is the final scene of Coccia's "Maria Stuart", an opera based on the same Schiller play that inspired Donizetti's "Maria Stuarda". Coccia's handling of the scene in which Mary of Scots confronts Elizabeth I is not as shocking as Donizetti's, but nevertheless brilliantly builds the tension in the Queens' encounter until they turn on each other. Coccia's librettist preserves more of Schiller's characters and this allows nine voices in the ensembles, making them unusually rich and varied in both their harmonies and counterpoint. The fact that these were two of Coccia's LEAST successful works had me salivating to hear more of his operas performed. Some of the other numbers, while not representing the best composers or operas of the day, nevertheless give us a more complete picture of the artistic climate in which some of the masterpieces were produced. This set is indispensible to anyone interested in early 19th century Italian opera, and may generate such an interest in those who lack it!
Another feather in Opera Rara's cap.......1999-11-26
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