Canny folk they are at Naxos. This educational
tool is just one in a growing series (the 17th) of
excellent albums introducing young (and of course not so young)
people to the world of opera. And, again, Naxos prove that you
really do not need to have world-famous singers to enjoy opera.
The 1996 Naxos production of Il trovatore is most convincing
with some excellent dramatic singing from the leads.
Thomas Smillie has written not only a splendid
commentary to the excerpts that includes all the big numbers of
this popular opera (with the barmiest libretto but the most sublime
music - so many wonderfully melodic and dramatic arias and choruses),
but also some twenty minutes of valuable introductory material.
This includes a fascinating look at Italy’s history in the 19th
century (the time of the Risorgimento – Verdi, friend of Count
Cavour, of course, was active in Italian politics). There is also
an overview of the Verdi’s operas, concentrating on the three
major works of his middle period, Rigoletto, Il trovatore
and La traviata. One of Naxos’s busiest readers, David
Timson, delivers a clear and expressive narration.
Recommended to those eager to know more about
Il trovatore (and Verdi’s operas). An ideal sampler for
Naxos’s splendid 1996 recording.
Ian Lace
With Daniela Longhi
as Leonora, Irina Tschistiakova as Azucena,