Rossini - La Donna del Lago
Giannattasio; Tarver; Bardon; Kunde
Edinburgh Festival Chorus; SCO / Benini
Opera Rara ORC34 (3CD)

Release date May 2007

Funding cutbacks and budget restrictions presumably didn’t enter Rossini’s thinking when he composed this opera in 1819 – his score demands not only a supremely virtuosic soprano but two exceptional tenors and an outstanding mezzo, thereby immediately restricting potential performance opportunities! However, outgoing Edinburgh Festival director Brian McMaster did not let such obstacles stand in his way when he included La donna del lago in his 2006 programme. The soloists may have been largely unfamiliar to the Usher Hall audience, but they served up a superb evening’s entertainment. The opera itself is not pure Rossini – he was commissioned to write it at such short notice that he employed a collaborator to write the accompanied recitatives and even one of the arias – but the end result is a spectacular mix of the intimate and the dramatic, lyrical melody and vocal pyrotechnics. No performance of this opera would succeed without a commanding soprano in the role of Elena, and McMaster struck gold with the young Neapolitan soprano Carmen Giannattasio. In this live recording, her first few minutes on stage suffer from slight tuning problems, but she quickly settles into the role. Not every note of every run is always exactly in place, but her ability to colour phrases from the bottom to the very top of her range is astonishing, as is her vocal agility and sense of drama. The two tenor parts feature some fiendishly difficult music and require tremendous stamina, but Kenneth Tarver and Gregory Kunde cope heroically with the score’s demands. Their Act II terzetto with Elena, where the two tenors trade top Cs at ever decreasing intervals, is pure delight. In fact, the ensemble singing throughout the recording is a treat, with the emphasis on beauty of line and sound – very much bel canto rather than the “can belto” into which such works sometimes degenerate. Patricia Bardon deserves an especial mention for her portrayal of Malcolm, whose virtuoso arias she dispatches with dignity. Even the smaller roles are gems, with Robert Gleadow a well-sung Douglas d’Angus (Elena’s father) and Francesca Sassu an exceptionally pure-toned Albina. The Edinburgh Festival Chorus enters into the spirit of the performance with suitably youthful-sounding maidens and lusty (although occasionally under-the-note) huntsmen, while the SCO is as crisp and sensitive as ever. Conductor Maurizio Benini generates an unflagging momentum that in the finales whips the entire cast into a frenzy. Opera Rara’s customary lavish booklet provides interesting background on the opera’s early performances as well as a full libretto. Having heard this recording, I’m sorry I missed what was obviously a thrilling evening of music-making!

Reviewed by Anne McAlister