There exist a number of good recordings
of this opera. Neville Marriner’s Philips
version from 1987, with a starry cast
headed by Agnes Baltsa in the title
role, has long been a favourite.
This new live recording,
though, is a serious contender – for
several reasons. First of all it is
led by possibly the greatest authority
on Rossini, Alberto Zedda, who moreover
performs it in his own critical edition,
published by Ricordi. This means that
he does not include the aria that Luca
Agolini wrote for the original Alidoro,
but instead the much larger and more
difficult one that Rossini himself composed
for a performance in Rome in 1820 (CD1
track 12). Marriner does the same, but
Zedda also includes Agolini’s chorus
Ah! Della bella incognita to
kick-start act 2 (CD2 track 4), an inspired
choice, while Marriner just starts the
act with a recitative secco. Agolini’s
third contribution, an aria for Clorinda,
is omitted in both recordings. Zedda
also includes much more recitative,
mostly secco but also (CD1 track 11)
some recitativo accompagnato. Musically
this adds very little to the enjoyment
of the opera but dramatically, at least
in the theatre, it can be of some importance.
On the whole, though, this does not
affect the choice between these versions.
What counts is how it is performed.
And here Zedda scores
on several accounts. The Radio Orchestra
from Kaiserslauten may not be a household
name, not even in Germany, but they
are obviously well rehearsed and play
with a lightness and elegance that is
a match even to the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields.
The Prague Chamber Choir is a more well-known
quantity and they are certainly on a
par with Marriner’s Ambrosians and,
recorded live, are even more on their
toes than their counterpart in the studio-bound
Philips recording.
Right from the beginning,
in the wonderful overture, Zedda tells
us that this is going to be a sparkling
performance with springy rhythms and
generally in very good spirits. But
also the more lyrical episodes are lovingly
handled and the Storm scene (CD2 track
13) is appropriately ominous. There
is indeed such infectious zest all through
the opera that one only longs for more.
The cast may not look
starry on paper but both as an ensemble
and individually they are definitely
in the top flight. As Cenerentola herself,
American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato,
who has sung the part at La Scala and
Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia
at Covent Garden, could hardly be bettered.
She is a genuine mezzo and sings marvellously
well: warmly and beautifully in her
entrance folksong-like Una volta
c’era un re (CD1 track 2) and again
on CD2 track 12. On CD1 track 10 her
coloratura is absolutely stupendous.
Her big final aria, Nacqui all’affanno,
al pianto is also lovely. She has
been making a name for herself the last
few years and this recording shows why.
Her Prince, the Spanish
tenor José Manuel Zapata, is
also one to watch in the future. He
made his debut as recently as 2001 and
is still another highly accomplished
lyrical tenor, bright and elegant with
a lovely pianissimo. He is stylish and
technically almost impeccable although
his top notes can be a bit detached
from the rest, sounding ungainly. But
apart from that he has all the attributes
that make a good Rossinian tenor.
The veteran in this
otherwise youthful ensemble, bass-baritone
Bruno Praticò, was in 1998 awarded
the Rossini d’Oro in Pesaro for
his interpretation of Don Magnifico,
and he is still a marvellous buffo,
although his voice has dried out a little.
He is definitely a great actor and he
inflects the text almost visually, using
a whole array of expressions. His second
act aria Sia qualunque delle figlie
(CD2 track 6) is a show-piece of virtuoso
singing. Paolo Bordogna, who sings Dandini,
Prince Ramiro’s valet, has a voice vaguely
reminiscent of that of Rolando Panerai.
He, too, is technically accomplished
with smooth runs and, just as Praticò,
singing off the words. Luca Pisaroni
skilfully negotiates the aforementioned
replacement aria Rossini wrote in 1820
(CD1 track 12). The two wicked sisters
are excellently sung by Patrizia Cigna
and Martina Borst and they blend well.
I have no complaints
about the sound, the balance between
stage and pit being well-nigh ideal.
Applause is retained but quickly faded
out.
It has to be noted
that this very full version has been
squeezed onto two well-filled CDs selling
at super-budged price, which makes this
a real bargain. Even at a considerably
higher price I would still have recommended
it.
Alberto Zedda writes
at some length about the work and Keith
Anderson (I suppose) provides a quite
detailed synopsis. As usual these days
there is no libretto but it can be downloaded
at www.naxos.com/libretti/cenerentola.htm.
I used the four-language libretto from
the Philips box and observed the sole
drawback with the Naxos issue: there
are far fewer cue-points, which means
that if one wants to hear certain separate
numbers one has to listen to several
minutes of preamble or use fast-forward
on the remote control. The last scene
of the opera is one eleven-minute-long
track, where the aria Nacqui all’affanno
e al pianto, is embedded somewhere
in the middle. On the Philips set the
same scene is divided into four tracks.
Please, Naxos, consider this in the
future. This factor diminishes the value
of the issue only marginally. Anyone
investing in this set will certainly
not feel short-changed. And I suspect
that Rossini himself, somewhere up there
in his gourmet heaven, salutes it with
a glass of spumante.
Göran Forsling
Prague Chamber Choir 
