It is surprising that
Donizetti’s one-act farce "Il Campanello"
is not better-known for it is really
very funny indeed. In tandem with Rossini’s
"Il Signor Bruschino" it should
ensure a delightful evening. It is also
an opera which would have pleased Hans
von Bülow, the erstwhile conductor
of the Berlin Philharmonic who quipped
that a tenor was "not a voice but
a disease", since there is not
a tenor in sight. Perhaps this is the
reason for its failure with the public,
as neither the music nor the libretto
would seem to be to blame. So many of
these comic operas do not really seem
to be so funny at all but this one surely
is, at least with two old hands like
Bruscantini and Capecchi to act it out.
Old hands? Well now,
those of us who started their opera-going
in the early 1970s had vaguely assumed
that these two gentleman were born at
the age of about fifty and had swallowed
some sort of elixir which kept them
like that eternally, for both remained
with us until remarkably recently. Joking
apart, here is a chance to hear them
at the beginning of their careers, Bruscantini
showing, at the age of 30, a lighter
voice than he was to develop later but
plenty of character. Capecchi, then
a mere stripling of 23, has the most
rewarding part, with no fewer than three
comic disguises to act out; suffice
to say he’s hilarious.
Of the other singers
Miti Truccato Pace, a Cetra stalwart
who sounded jaded by the mid-fifties,
is in fresh-sounding voice and makes
the most of a part which unfortunately
contains no aria for her. Angelo Mercuriali
is good in the minor role of Spiridione.
As for Clara Scarangella
in the role of the bride, the excellent
accompanying essay admits she has a
"very high-pitched, shrill little
voice"; the truth is worse still.
Only her extreme high notes are at all
pleasing – and she has just a few of
these towards the end. However, in terms
of characterisation she knows her business.
Donizetti’s score,
as well as providing a vehicle for the
two bass-baritones, has plenty of melodic
sparkle of its own and the somewhat
underestimated Alfredo Simonetto paces
it ideally. The recording catches the
voices well enough; there is some distortion
in the choral moments and the orchestra
is pretty one-dimensional, but this
55-year-old document can still provide
a lot of pleasure as well as a peep
at two of Italy’s major post-war bass-baritones
at the beginning of their careers. As
is the practice with this series, we
have a very full discussion of both
music and performance (unacknowledged
but well translated by Nigel Jamieson)
and a synopsis in English and Italian,
but the libretto is in Italian only.
Christopher Howell
Clara Scarangella (Serafina), Renato Capecchi
(Enrico), Sesto Bruscantini (Don Annibale Pistacchio),
Miti Truccato Pace (Madama Rosa), Angelo Mercuriali
(Spiridione), Orchestra Lirica e Coro di Torino
della RAI/Alfredo Simonetto 