Rossini Opera Festival 2006

One of the most rewarding experiences in the opera world is to attend an opera where the high expectations for a great performance and the actual event join in making the entire event an evening to remember. Such was the case on August 17th, 2006, when the Rossini Opera Festival presented Adelaide Di Borgogna for the first time in its history. And to project an even more intense spotlight on the performance, it turned out to be the only time the opera was presented in its entirety. Unfortunately, due to soprano Patricia Ciofi’s sudden illness, the performance scheduled for the 20th was given in an abridged version which, by necessity, excluded her music.

Many opera lovers don’t feel concert opera is a viable substitute for a complete operatic production. But considering the audience’s enthusiastic reception at this Adelaide, it became obvious that the vocal performances suceeded in overcoming any yearning for sets and costumes. In fact, the slide show projected on a back screen with help from video projectionist Pierluigi Alessandrini, received only polite applause during the curtain calls. The reason, of course, was the audience’s total occupation with the singers’ vocal brilliance.

Italian music critic Rudolfo Celletti, in ROF’s 2006 program, tells us the opera’s vocal demands could be one reason why it has not been performed more. In the article, “Adelaide, ‘sister’ to Tancredi,” he states, “Performances call for a florid lyric soprano for the part of Adelaide, a mezzo-soprano or contralto, also capable of virtuoso singing, for the part of Ottone, a tenor of wide range (“contraltino” as the old-fashioned terminology has it) for Adelberto and a true basso-cantante for Berengario.” Not only were these vocal needs met by the cast, but Riccardo Frizza’s nuanced conducting and total focus on Rossini’s musical intentions made for a thrilling evening.

1817 was one of the busiest and most productive years in Rossini’s composing career: starting with the dramma giocoso, La Cenerentola, a beautiful and big-hearted opera, followed by La Gazza Ladra, a melodrama (semiserio,) and then the dramma, Armida. In fact, it was during Armida‘s final rehearsals that the composer accepted an opera commission from Roman impresario and close friend Pietro Cartoni. Giovanni Schmidt, Armida‘s librettist stayed on to work with Rossini. Although Adelaide premiered at the Teatro Argentina in Rome, on December 27th, 1817, Rossini did not arrive there until the middle of December. Gabriele Gravagna, states in his program notes, “It is therefore reasonable to suppose that Adelaide di Borgogna was largely composed in Naples and in a short period of time and that the biographer Antonio Zanolini’s assertion that Rossini got his friend Michele Carafa to help him out is trustworthy.”

Schmidt based his libretto on a historical event that took place in the medieval period and made the work fit into Rossini’s hectic schedule by writing a straight-forward plot with uncomplicated characters. The opera’s story, which takes place in the Tenth Century, revolves around the difficulties of the princess Adelaide who is the widow of King Lotario. Her claim to the throne is being thwarted by Berengario who has managed by stealth to succeed the deceased King. Berengario, who very much wants to secure the kingdom for his family, orders the princess to marry his son, Adelberto. Adelaide goes to the Emperor Ottone, promising him her hand and the rights to the crown if he will rescue her from Berengario’s machinations. After the Emperor defeats Berengario and Adelberto in battle, the populace applaud the royal marriage.

Schmidt’s libretto gave Rossini enough of a story for the composer to fashion some very beautiful and singable music which the August 17th performance brought to an exalted pitch. Ciofi’s warm, cushiony tones established a fragile, but determined heroine from the beginning. In Act One, Ciofi’s duet with Daniela Barcellona, “Tu che i puri e casti affetti,” is a lovely soprano and mezzo piece made even more pleasureful by the singers’ vocal harmony. Adelaide’s Act Two scena and aria, “Cingi la benda candida,” showed Ciofi’s great pacing and emotional commitment resulting in a rousing ovation.

Making his ROF debut, Tenor Jose Manuel Zapata brought a supple and agile musicality to his Adelberto, complimenting his distinctive lyric sound. Lorenzo Regazzo brought a full-bodied and burnished vocal ease to his Berengario. In the restored aria, “Alle voci della guerra,” Regazzo literally stopped the show with a vocal demonstration, best described as a coloratura bass. His breath control, runs, and spot-on textual accents created a minor frenzy. It was left to Barcellona’s Ottone to bring the evening’s excitement to a bravura climax. Starting with her aria, “Soffri la tua sventura,” in Act One and ending with her rondo, “Viene: tuo sposo e amante,” in the Act Two finale, the mezzo ran up and down the scale with such great vocal ease, she held the audience in the palm of her hand, making willing subjects of us all.

The recording is from a radio broadcast, so the sound is up-front and clear. There is also lots of commentary about the opera and an interview with Artistic Director Alberto Zedda, all in Italian, of course.

Premiere Opera, LTD CD2706-3