January 16, 2019

  • Resurrecting Rossini's Original Maometto II

    Rossini: Maometto II
    Mirco Palazzi, bass. Mert Sungu, tenor.
    Elisa Balbo, soprano. Victoria Yarovaya, mezzo-soprano.
    Patrick Kabongo Mubenga, tenor.
    Camerata Bach Choir, Posnan; Virtuosi Brunenses/Antonino Fogliani
    Naxos 8.660444-46
    Disc One Total Time:  59:34
    Disc Two Total Time:  60:02
    Disc Three Total Time:  55:37
    (Total Time: 2:55:13)
    Recording:   (*)***/****
    Performance: ****/****

    The early 19th Century saw the rise of a number of important opera composers in Italy further developing a prosaic singing style in their works.  One sees this bel canto style appearing in Italian-influenced work already in the 18th Century, and theoretically, even Mozart created arias that could be said to be in this style.  Mostly though, we tend to think of bel canto opera in the work of composers like Donizetti and Bellini, and of course Giacchino Rossini (1792-1868) whose work is under consideration here.  Rossini wrote some 39 operas in his lifetime, many remain in the popular repertoire.  His often exciting overtures with their gradual crescendos remain concert staples as well.  He had a tendency to write out his musical intentions for his singers, not simply allowing them to consider their own ornamentation and embellishments as had been the practice.  By 21, following successful mountings of Tancredi and L’italiana in Algeri, he was the star of Italian opera composers.  This was somewhat fleeting though as the Venice and Milan public moved on to the next thing and Rossini “retired” (!) to his home in Bologna.  He did enter into an agreement that would see him compose two new operas a year, one each for the theatrical impresario Domenico Barbaia of two Naples.  It was here where Rossini would write his most ambitious work, Maometto II (1820).

    Europe was still a bit wary of the Ottoman Empire and its threats throughout Europe.  Many had felt the results of the many invasions at the height of its power in the 15th Century with various incursions throughout the Baroque and Classical periods being felt about Europe.  By the early 19th Century, the once vast empire was experiencing its own inner turmoil and battles.  Librettist Cesare della Valle’s Maometto II takes us back to the 1470s and the time of Sultan Mehmed II (1432-1481).  Sometimes referred to as “The Conquereror”, the story finds him invading and defeating the Venetian colony of Negroponte.  Against this backdrop is the story of doomed romance and conflict between two enemies.

    What makes Maometto II intriguing is that it shows Rossini exploring a more complicated musical structure.  Both acts run about 90 minutes and rather than a series of character arias and threadbare plot development, Rossini created extended scenarios.  There is no overture.  Act one features a 25-minute “trio” where two of the principals leave and additional dramatic events occur within that entire sequence that includes a chorus and scene change.  Rather than having everything resolve happily at the end, Rossini went for a dramatic, tragic ending that left audiences frustrated as well.  In addition, there is an exhaustive 40-minute sequence focusing on the soprano prima donna role where she never leaves the stage.  Such advanced concepts were potential next steps for Rossini, but the modest reception meant that the work would be subsequently revised.  First a happy ending was adapted.  Later it was reworked into French as Le siege de Corinth (1826)—changing locations to make it slightly more relevant.

    The version on this new Naxos release is of this first attempt for the opera seria in 1820.  Claudio Scimone had committed this version to disc a few years ago (now OOP).  Naxos also released the 1822 version to little fanfare.  This new release comes from the production at the 29th Rossini in Wildbad Festival in Bad Wildbad, Germany, recorded live in July 2017.  As a result, there is a lot of movement and stage action noise in spots, which is unavoidable.  The audience is only noticeable when it enthusiastically responds at the end of a couple arias and at the conclusion of a scene or act.  The performances of the leads all are well cast with Balbo’s soprano providing a stunning experience for her big moments.  Bth Palazzi and Sungu are also excellent in their roles and Yarovaya has a very rich low register.  The orchestra is nicely-balanced with great nuances in their performances with those Rossini crescendos working quite well.  Only on a few occasions do they almost overpower the chorus, but never the primary soloists.

    Unfortunately, unless you know Italian, you will just have to enjoy the performances and the music because Naxos has decided to only include a PDF of the Italian libretto which is not possible to translate even minimally in a sensible way.  So, this makes the result unfortunate and a bit irresponsible as if the label was not planning to put a libretto in the set itself, it should at least link to a translation.  Thus the nuance of the text setting will be lost to all but those who might have an earlier recorded version.  As good as it is, the release is best only for those willing to just listen blindly with a synopsis or able to overlook the horribly awkward translate function that occurs with the online libretto for the 1822 version as the one for this release does not allow the feature to be used.  Too bad as there is some wonderful music here for this lesser-known Rossini masterpiece.  In all reality, a video presentation would serve this production far better, but it is easily recommendable for those willing to have synopses suffice.