Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor Rob Barnett Editor in Chief
John Quinn Contributing Editor Ralph Moore Webmaster
David Barker Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf MusicWeb Founder Len Mullenger
Emilio
ARRIETA (1823–1894) La conquista di Granata - opera in three
acts (1850)
Mariola
Cantarero (soprano) – Xulema; Ana Ibarra (mezzo) – Isabel;
José Bros (tenor) – Gonzalo; Ángel Ódena (bass-baritone) – Lara;
David Rubiera (baritone) – Boabdil; Alastair Miles (bass) – Muley-Hassem;
David Menéndez (bass) – Alamar; María José Suárez (soprano) – Almeraya;
Tomeu Bibiloni – Officer; Juan Antonio Sanabria, Tomeu
Bibiloni – Sentries
Coro y Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid/Jesús López Cobos
rec. live, 7, 9 July 2006, Teatro Real of Madrid
Italian libretto with English translation enclosed DYNAMIC
CDS618/1-2 [56:22 + 77:05]
Born
to a very poor family in Navarra in 1823 (some sources
say 1821) Emilio Arrieta was given lessons by his sister
whereupon he was able to study at the Conservatory in Milan.
In 1845 he wrote an opera to a libretto by Temistocle Solera,
who a couple of years earlier had done the same service
for Verdi’s Nabucco. The opera, Ildegonda,
was warmly received and back in Spain he was summoned to
court by the young queen Isabella II. Supported by the
queen he had a theatre built in the Royal Palace, where
he staged Ildegonda in October 1849. It was a success
and the queen then commissioned a new opera to celebrate
the conquest of Granada in 1492 by Ferdinand of Aragon
and Isabella of Castile. Solera, who at the time was in
Spain, again wrote the libretto and the opera, La Conquista
di Granata was premiered at the Teatro del Real Palacio
in Madrid on 10 October 1850, a month and a half after
Wagner’s Lohengrin in Weimar and a month before
Verdi’s Stiffelio in Trieste. It was staged again
five years later but after that it slept for more than
150 years before it was revived in 2006: the performances
from which this recording is taken. There was a third Italian
opera planned, also to a Solera libretto, but it never
came to anything. In due time Arrieta was appointed professor
of composition at the Madrid Conservatory, became director
in 1868 and devoted himself to composing zarzuelas. One
source lists twenty-eight works in this genre.
Trained
in Italy he was naturally influenced by the country’s operatic
masters and listening to some random numbers from La
Conquista di Granata it is easy to believe that they
might be from some hitherto unknown opera by the young
Verdi. According to Danilo Prefumo’s informative liner-notes,
from which I have culled most of the above information,
Arrieta must have met Verdi during his years in Milan.
But the music is far from only ‘Verdi with water’; there
are personal touches as well and there is also a flavour
of Spain.
The
libretto is good, Solera being a man of the theatre, and
there are no longueurs. The story is mainly as follows,
in a compact version:
Gonzalo,
a Christian knight, loves princess Zulema, daughter of
Muley-Hassem and his Christian wife Leonor, and sister
of the warrior Almanzor. The two siblings are also brother
and sister of Boabdil, the last Nazarene king. The Catholic
kings have launched a siege against the Alhambra, the last
Muslim stronghold. Almanzor challenges Queen Isabella’s
champion to a duel. The Queen gives the honour to Gonzalo,
who doesn’t wish to kill the brother of the woman he loves.
In his place his friend Lara fights and Almanzor is killed.
In
act II Gonzalo manages to get into the enemy camp in disguise
and explains to Zulema that he didn’t kill her brother.
Gonzalo then comes before Muley-Hassam and declares that
he was guilty of the killing but Lara intervenes and tells
the truth. Muley-Hassam is moved by the courage of the
two friends and frees them.
In
the third act Muley-Hassam and Zulema have been imprisoned
and the enemy ask for a truce in exchange for Zulema. Zulema
has secretly converted to her mother’s faith and tried
to convert her father as well, which he does. The door
is flung open and in comes Gonzalo, declaring that the
Christians have won. The opera ends with a hymn to the
Cross, the Christian symbol.
In
this dramatic context there is even room for a scene in
the opening of act III where Isabella, in a vision, relates
a conversation with Columbus. ‘Fly, Columbus!’ she says, ‘Show
the mocking masses unknown shores …’ The conquest of Granada
may have fallen into oblivion after more than five centuries,
but Columbus’s feat is very vivid in people’s memories
and firmly places the story of the opera in its proper
context.
The
orchestral writing is expert and Arrieta’s melodic invention
is attractive. The prelude in ¾-time is catchy and the
opening chorus, also in ¾-time, is very Verdian, especially
the lively second half. Generally the chorus have important
contributions, not least the concluding hymn, which has
a striking theme. One of the finest pieces in this score
is the intermezzo with a finely played flute solo. There
are also several excellent arias, among which Gonzalo’s
glowing Io l’odio di quell’angelo (CD tr. 9) can
be favourably set beside many of the young Verdi’s finest
efforts.
Recorded
live during two concert performances in July 2006 the sound
is excellent and both orchestra and chorus acquit themselves
well under the leadership of the experienced Jesus Lopez-Cobos,
a one-time student with Hans Swarowsky and since 2003,
music director of the Teatro Real.
The
solo singing is more variable. Mariola Cantarero as Zulema
is technically accomplished. She is dramatically convincing
and nuances well but her tone is rather hard and strident.
She also suffers from a wide vibrato. Her long aria in
the last act, Nella terra di Giudea (CD 2 tr. 22),
is however sensitively sung with feeling. As Isabel Ana
Ibarra sports a vibrant mezzo-soprano. This is slightly
hard but she sings well and her highlight is the opening
scene of act III, where the aria Sola, io sola la scintilla
dell’italico compreso (I alone understood the brilliant
idea of the Italian man) (CD 2 tr. 11) – the Italian man
being Columbus.
The
deeper male voices are well inside their roles but head
and shoulders above the rest, vocally speaking, is Alastair
Miles as Muley-Hassem. Authoritative and sonorous he belongs
among the best of present-day basses and his act III aria La
sposa mia sul culmine (CD 2 tr. 21) shows him to good
advantage. The real star of the performance is however
José Bros as Gonzalo. His voice has grown considerably
in volume as well as brilliance since I heard him as Nemorino
at Covent Garden about a decade ago. His recitative and
aria in act I (CD 1 trs. 8-9) find him in superb form and
he is luminous in the last act duet with Isabel (CD 2 tr.
13 – 16).
Even
though it won’t be another 150 years before this opera
is performed again it will probably not be a frequent visitor
to either opera house or concert platform, so lovers of
mid-19th century Italian opera should grab the
opportunity to hear this recording. Admirers of José Bros
have presumably already placed their orders.
Reviews
from previous months Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the
discs reviewed. details We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin
Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to
which you refer.