Rossini - Ermione, La donna del lago, Bianca e Falliero | Opera Rara ORB2

Rossini - Ermione, La donna del lago, Bianca e Falliero

£29.40

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Label: Opera Rara

Cat No: ORB2

Format: CD

Number of Discs: 6

Genre: Opera

Release Date: 18th February 2022

Contents

Artists

Carmen Giannattasio
Rebecca Bottone
Patricia Bardon
Colin Lee
Paul Nilon
Gregory Kunde
Kenneth Tarver
Robert Gleadow
Majella Cullagh
Jennifer Larmore
Barry Banks
Ildebrando D’Arcangelo
Geoffrey Mitchell Choir
Edinburgh Festival Chorus
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Conductors

David Parry
Maurizio Benini

Works

Rossini, Gioachino

Bianca e Falliero
Ermione
La donna del lago

Artists

Carmen Giannattasio
Rebecca Bottone
Patricia Bardon
Colin Lee
Paul Nilon
Gregory Kunde
Kenneth Tarver
Robert Gleadow
Majella Cullagh
Jennifer Larmore
Barry Banks
Ildebrando D’Arcangelo
Geoffrey Mitchell Choir
Edinburgh Festival Chorus
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Conductors

David Parry
Maurizio Benini

About

Opera Rara presents a new Opera Rara Classics boxset with a limited edition of three sought-after opere serie by Gioachino Rossini, performed by international bel canto champions, including Gregory Kunde, Jennifer Larmore, Carmen Giannattasio and Ildebrando D’Arcangelo.

Premiered only ten months apart in 1819, these three operas fell out of the repertoire soon after Rossini’s death but have, over the last few decades, been rehabilitated in the operatic canon for the joy of Rossini lovers.

Remastered to the best audio quality and featuring a specially commissioned essay by Rossini specialist Eleonora Di Cintio, these recordings, unavailable for many years, will delight opera collectors and Rossini fans.

Ermione is, without doubt, one of the greatest operas by Rossini, despite it being perhaps the least immediately successful. The composer was resigned: ‘It is my little Guillaume Tell in Italian,’ he said,  ‘and will not see the light of day until after my death.’ Rossini was right, since after Ermione’s revival  in Pesaro in 1987, it has been unanimously recognised as a lost masterpiece.

‘An exemplary recording on this specialist label for unusual operatic repertoire.’ – Gramophone

‘The standoffs between Carmen Giannattasio’s Ermione, Paul Nilon’s Pirro and Patricia Bardon’s Andromaca bristle with theatrical temperament.’ – Sunday Times

Ermione is essential for any connoisseur of bel canto’ – Opera Magazine

La donna del lago was the first Italian opera to be based on a work by Sir Walter Scott, the narrative poem The Lady of the Lake. This opera marks a milestone in the development of romanticism in Rossini’s composition and was one of the most successful of all his serious operas, yielding many performances throughout European venues, as well as being presented in Cuba and in many major South American houses until the end of the 1860s.

‘Carmen Giannattasio – a prima donna is born’ – Financial Times

‘Benini brings Rossini’s masterful score into sharp relief’ – Opera News

‘A model of legato singing from the start and blissfully even and precise later on’ – Gramophone

Bianca e Falliero is set within war-torn Venice in the 17hth century. It tells the story of Bianca, in love with the Venetian general Falliero, and her resistance to marry Capellio, a member of a rival clan.

This opera, which is one of Rossini’s most sumptuous and ornate, is considered very difficult to sing due the intensity of its coloratura writing.

‘Rossini’s Bianca e Falliero is a vocal showcase of an opera [...]  awe-inspiring.’ – Gramophone

‘Rossini’s music fully deserves the outstanding quality of performance it gets from orchestra, chorus, singers and conductor on this Opera Rara recording.’ – MusicWeb International

‘Bel canto enthusiasts owe yet another debt of gratitude to Opera Rara for recording this important work under studio conditions’ – BBC Music Magazine

Casts:

Ermione:
- Ermione; Carmen Giannattasio
- Cleone: Rebecca Bottone
- Andromaca: Patricia Bardon
- Oreste: Colin Lee
- Pirro: Paul Nilon
Recorded at Henry Wood Hall, London, March 2009

La donna del lago:
- Rodrigo di Dhu: Gregory Kunde
- Elena: Carmen Giannattasio
- Malcolm Groeme: Patricia Bardon
- Giacomo V: Kenneth Tarver
- Douglas d’Angus: Robert Gleadow
Recorded live at the Usher Hall, Edinburgh International Festival, August 2006

Bianca e Falliero ossia Il consiglo dei tre:
- Bianca: Majella Cullagh
- Falliero: Jennifer Larmore
- Contareno: Barry Banks
- Capellio: Ildebrando D’Arcangelo
Recorded at Henry Wood Hall, London, November 2000

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