L’occasione
fa il Ladro, his eighth opera, was
the fourth of the five farse that Rossini composed
for the Teatro San Moise in Venice. His seventh opera, La
Pietra del Paragone, had been premiered at La Scala
on 26 September 1812. This two-act opera buffa was an
instant success and performed over fifty times during
the season with Rossini being widely hailed as Italy’s
leading young composer. It was in the finale of La
Pietra del Paragone that the public first heard the
Rossini crescendo. Most importantly, and as a consequence
of its success, Rossini was exempted military service;
very useful when there were 90,000 Italian conscripts
sustaining heavy losses in the Peninsular War and on
the Russian Campaign
Despite
his new-found eminence Rossini, not yet 21 years of age, was loyal to
the Teatro San Moise and accepted
two further commissions for one act farse for that
theatre; L’occasione fa il Ladro was the first. He
composed the score in eleven days and it is certainly the
most rumbustious of those written for the San Moise. L’occasione is
described as a burletta and revolves round a typical farsa libretto
involving the impersonation of a character following mistakenly
exchanged suitcases at a country inn. It is unique among
the five farse, and unusual in the Rossini oeuvre,
in having no formal overture. Instead a brief andante prelude
leads into allegro storm music of the kind
familiar in several of Rossini’s operas, both buffa and
seria. It was not received with enthusiasm
and was dropped after five performances. However, as Rossini’s
fame spread it was revived in Barcelona (1822), Lisbon
(1826), St Petersburg (1830) and Vienna (1834). Its first
UK performance was at the 1987 Buxton Festival. In the
summer season 2004, Opera North presented it as Love’s
Luggage Lost.
Like
the DVD recording of the second in the sequence of Rossini’s farse for
Venice, La Scala Di Seta,
(see review) this
performance derives from the Rokotheater
Schwetzingen. The production and sets are by Michael Hempe
first made for a stage production of the Oper der Stadt
Köln and Opéra de Montpellier. Like its predecessor,
the sets and costumes are in date and style for the period.
Whilst I admired
the set of the earlier opera this setting is a quantum
leap better, particularly that of scene two at the house
of Don Eusebio with its backdrop of the Bay of Naples;
sheer magic! (Chs. 7-22). The plot, whilst essentially
simple is full of twists and turns. On a stormy night,
represented in the orchestra, two men take shelter in an
inn and their suitcases are mixed up. Don Parmenione is
looking for the sister of a friend who has eloped with
her lover, whilst Count Alberto is on his way to a first
meeting with his fiancée the Marquise Bernice. Parmenione
takes advantage of the switch of suitcases to present himself
as Count Alberto. Meanwhile Bernice has changed clothes
with her chambermaid Ernestina. Alberto is entranced on
his arrival by the Marquise Bernice in her disguise as
a chambermaid. After shenanigans about identity and a trial
by letter, all brilliantly portrayed, Parmenione is revealed
as an impostor (Ch. 14) and all ends well.
As
in La Scala Di Seta much of the pace and humour
of the situation is kept going by the acting of Alessandro
Corbelli as Alberto’s manservant Martino. He is a singer/actor
second to none in this repertoire. His acting, facial expressions
and body movements are allied to an excellent vocal technique
as exemplified in his Il mio padrone (Ch. 16). Of
the destined lovers, the young Susan Patterson as Berenice
has a light flexible voice and acts well. She shapes and
characterises her cavatina Vicino e il momento (Ch.
7) with aplomb. She has gone on to heavier roles since
this 1992 recording and is scheduled as Abigaille in Chandos’ Opera
in English Nabucco where much more vocal weight
as well as flexibility is needed. As her suitor Alberto,
Robert Gambill cuts a fine figure and acts well although
his voice lacks a little of the ideal flexibility and lightness
for this genre. On the other hand Natale de Carolis as
the impostor Parmenione is ideal in vocal weight,
characterisation and acting. In the lesser roles of Don
Eusebio and the maid Ernestina, Stuart Kale and Monica
Bocelli enter into the fun and are more than adequate vocally. Gianluigi Gelmetti keeps the music moving along and exhibiting a natural
feel for this genre
This
staging and performance can hardly be bettered. I can thoroughly
recommend its purchase for an enjoyable aural and visual
operatic experience of a work too rarely seen. I will be keeping my fingers crossed that the remaining two of the
five San Moise farse, L’Inganno Felice and Il Signor Bruschino, not already released
by Euro Arts, were part of a Michael
Hempe sequence of productions and will find their way onto DVD from the
Euro Arts in due course.
Natale
de Carolis repeats his role in this opera in the complete
set of farse available from Brilliant at bargain
price (see review). Excellent value in the car CD player
with the benefit of the visual memory of this superb production.
Robert J Farr
BUY NOW
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Berenice,
Susan Patterson (sop); Don Parmenione, Natale de Carolis
(bass); Conte Alberto, Robert Gambill (ten);
Ernestina, Monica Bacelli (sop); Martino, Alessandro
Corbelli (bass); Don Eusebio, Stuart Kale (ten) 
[94:00] 
