Gaetano DONIZETTI (1797-1848)
Il Paria, melodrama in two acts (premiere 1829) [111:22]
Libretto by Domenico Gilardoni, after Casimir Delavigne
(critical edition by Roger Parker & Ian Schofield)
Akebare – Marko Mimica (bass); Neala – Albina Shagimuratova (soprano); Zarete – Misha Kiria (bass); Idamore – René Barbera (tenor); Empsaele – Thomas Atkins (tenor); Zaide – Kathryn Rudge (alto)
Opera Rara Chorus (Stephen Harris, chorus director)
Britten Sinfonia/Sir Mark Elder
rec. June 2019, BBC Maida Vale Studios, London, UK
Italian libretto with English translation in booklet.
OPERA RARA ORC60 [60:24 + 50:58]
With this new release of Donizetti’s melodrama Il Paria (The Outcast), Opera Rara continues its exceptional work in bringing to life rare and undeservedly neglected nineteenth century Italian and French opera. 2020 was Opera Rara’s fiftieth anniversary and it has recorded sixty complete operas in that time. The operas of the prolific Donizetti have fared best with twenty-six complete recordings and Opera Rara is to be congratulated for its significant contribution to the international revival of this magnificent composer. In fairness, the label is not alone in championing Donizetti, as credit is also due to the Italian label Dynamic which has also done impressive work with his operas.
Any new release of a Donizetti opera interests me and this new recording of Il Paria, a product of his mid-career, is an example of an overlooked opera being given the best possible opportunity to display its worth. It is a studio recording made just ahead of a concert performance given in June 2019 at Barbican Centre, London. The release of Il Paria was planned for May 2020, but owing to Covid-19, agreement was made between Opera Rara and its international distributor Warner Classics to reschedule for January 2021.
The late 1820’s was a fruitful time in Donizetti’s personal life and for the beginning of his stellar career, but those years were certainly not disappointment-free. He and Virginia Vasselli were newly married and settled in Naples, he succeeded Rossini in securing the prized post of director of Royal Theatres in Naples, and he met librettist Domenico Gilardoni. Donizetti was commissioned by Naples impresario Domenico Barbaja to write a dozen new operas and felt pressurised to make a successful impression with Il Paria, his thirteenth opera and his first as the new director. He was thirty-one when Il Paria received its Royal Gala premiere in 1829 at the Teatro di San Carlo, Naples. Sadly, it received a mixed reception and was withdrawn after only six performances, an all-too-common occurrence in the opera world. After that premiere, Donizetti intended to rework elements of the score but that never happened. Thankfully, the professional setback with Il Paria was a relatively short-lived experience for him, as less than two years later, in 1830 in Milan, he gained his first international breakthrough with his tragic opera Anna Bolena, with the celebrated Giuditta Pasta creating the title role. Donizetti recycled several melodies from Il Paria in Anna Bolena and later compositions, a common practice in composition.
Il Paria is set in Benares in sixteenth-century India. Gilardoni’s dramatic libretto presents potent emotions centring on the animosity between high caste Brahmins and the lower caste Pariahs and involving a love affair that cannot be, barriers of social class and religious bigotry, all of which combine with fatal consequences. High priest Akebare, leader of the Brahmins, has chosen Idamore as husband for his daughter Neala. Warrior leader Idamore however is secretly withholding the fact that he is a Pariah.
Of the four principal roles, heading the cast as the priestess Neala – a role created by Milanese soprano Adelaide Tosi (c. 1800–1859) - is Albina Shagimuratova, the Russian coloratura soprano who sang to great success the title role in Opera Rara’s multi award winning studio recording of Rossini’s Semiramide (review). She sang the same role on stage in 2016 at the BBC Proms concert at Albert Hall, London and in 2018 with David Alden’s production for the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich.
Shagimuratova sings with considerable dramatic punch. Neala has much writing in the high register, although the role does require excursions into the low tessitura. Displaying a keen understanding of the character, Shagimuratova clearly relishes Neala’s entrance aria ‘Parea che mentre l’àloe’ in which the priestess recounts a terrifying dream where the temple quaked and she became involved with a Pariah, one of the abhorred enemies. Another striking aria is ‘Ah, che un raggio di speranza’ in which Shagimuratova convincingly expresses Neala’s torment that life is not worth living if she cannot be with Idamore. Sometimes mentioned as an area in her voice requiring improvement, the transitions between her registers are mostly adequate if unremarkable. She is entirely comfortable in her high register and assured in taking her lowest notes effectively - which is more prevalent in the second act, as displayed in her moving duet with Idamore ‘La mano tua’ where she declares that their love is can triumph over religious intolerance. The broad colouration and radiant clarity of her ample mid-range combined with her quickly achieved top notes produce thrilling results.
Very much at home in the bel-canto repertoire and singing the title role of warrior army chief Idamore, a Pariah, Texan tenor René Barbera sustains the quality of this performance. Created by the superstar Italian tenor of the day, Giovanni Battista Rubini, not surprisingly Idamore is one of opera’s most daunting and exacting tenor roles. Undaunted by the weight of the role’s traditions and challenges, Barbera creates a sizable impression. This is all the more remarkable as he learned the role in a matter of days, being a late replacement for Ceslo Albelo. Idamore’s cavatina ‘Lontano, io più l’amai’ revealing how the warrior chief was able to endure in the warfare thanks to his thoughts of Neala, is beautifully and sensitively sung. A highlight is the exciting cabaletta ‘Fin dove sorgono’ where Idamore promises to give Neala freedom from her Gods. Barbera’s remarkable bravura display in the series of showpiece high C’s and C sharps infuses the opera with essential drama.
Georgian baritone Misha Kiria sings the title role of Zarete, Idamore’s father and the sworn adversary of Akebare. Overall, he performs strongly with noticeable clarity and is comfortable in his high register. A crucial moment in the opera is Zarete’s emotive aria ‘Qui pel figlio una madre gridava’ where he sees carved drawings on a cave wall depicting Akebare leading the priests in the bloody massacre of the Pariahs from which he fled and only just escaped. Despite some unevenness, chiefly in the lower reaches, Kiria communicates with affecting expression Zarete’s intense agony and chilling anger at the many dreadful Pariah deaths.
The Brahmin leader and merciless high priest Akebare is sung compellingly by Croatian bass-baritone Marko Mimica. Even though the role is without set-piece arias, Mimica’s resolute voice and deep, authoritative tones convey much of Akebare’s unsettling zealotry. Zaide and Empsaele, the pair of minor roles, are sung by mezzo-soprano Kathryn Rudge and tenor Thomas Atkins who accomplish everything asked of them. Hard to fault is the Opera Rara Chorus, which is wholehearted and tautly cohesive, clearly successfully coached by chorus director Stephen Harris. Worthy of singling out is the act two chorus ‘Brama, autor dell’universo’ to striking brass accompaniment where the Chorus of Priests and Priestesses sing meritoriously sing the praises of Brahmin.
I was expecting a specialist period instrument orchestra and was surprised by the choice of the Britten Sinfonia, which makes its Opera Rara debut. Of course, this is not the only modern instrument orchestra that Opera Rara has used over the years. Nevertheless, engaging a period instrument orchestra as outstanding as say The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE), which Sir Mark has used several times, seems far more appropriate to the tradition and listening experience when recording forgotten Italian and French operatic heritage of the nineteenth century. The reformed perspective of texture and balance from a period performance often allows me to feel closer to the music. A notable instance was using the OAE for Rossini’s Semiramide, such a great success for the label. Founded as a chamber orchestra using modern instruments, the Britten Sinfonia only on rare occasions use period instruments. Here, it has been expanded to over seventy players and the only period instruments in use are the cimbasso, played by specialist Jonathan Rees, and some experimentation with cornets for offstage hunting calls. The Britten Sinfonia might not have a tradition or even experience of performing Donizetti or operas from this period, yet the playing is first class. Sir Mark’s drive to succeed with this opera is palpable, providing a steady hand, well-chosen tempi and securing characterful playing from the players who quickly warm to their task. From the first note to the last, one senses a cumulative volubility to this enthralling performance that never drags its feet. The sound is noticeably detailed with the brass including the cimbasso especially characteristic, and it is pleasing to hear the doubled harps so prominently.
Typically from this source, the accompanying booklet is comprehensive, including an essay from artistic dramaturge Roger Parker and several pictures of the performers. There is a helpful synopsis, complete with full Italian texts and English translations. Recording in the BBC Maida Vale Studios, London, the engineering team has produced top-notch sound quality with clarity and a particularly impressive balance. Serving as a taster for this release, some interesting video content was posted on YouTube by Opera Rara.
There is already a recording of Il Paria in the recording catalogue, a live 2001 account with Marco Berdondini conducting provincial forces at Teatro Masini, Faenza on the Bongiovanni label. I notice that Bongiovanni translates the title Il Paria as ‘The Untouchable’ rather than ‘The Outcast’. Compared to that account, this Opera Rara studio recording is superior in all respects.
This winning account of Il Paria communicates intense passion and high drama as the plot unfolds. At the heart of the libretto the doomed relationship of lovers Idamore and Neala takes place in a stifling atmosphere of apprehension, fear, hatred and torment. Splendidly performed and recorded this new release should give Donizetti’s precious gem Il Paria the exposure it entirely deserves.
Michael Cookson
