MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             

Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


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

REVIEW Plain text for smartphones & printers


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Chandos recordings
All Chandos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

Support us financially by purchasing this disc from
Gaetano DONIZETTI (1797-1848)
Ugo Conte di Parigi - lyric drama in two acts(1832)
Bianca, Princess of Aquitania - Doina Dimitriu (soprano); Adelia, her sister - Carmen Giannattasia (soprano); Ugo, Conte di Parigi - Yasuharu (Yasu) Nakajima (tenor); Luigi V, King of France - Sim Tokyurek (mezzo); Emma, his mother - Miljana Nikolic (mezzo); Folco - Dejan Vatchkov (bass)
Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Donizetti, Bergamo/Antonino Fogliani
rec. Bergamo Donizetti Festival, October 2003
DYNAMIC CDS 7659/1-2 [64.42 + 74.59]

Ugo Conte di Parigi was Donizetti’s thirty-sixth opera. Premiered in March 1832 it was the fifth he had written in the sixteen months since his big success with Anna Bolena. The latter had opened the Carnival Season at the Carcano Theatre, Milan on 26 December 1830. That list of five included a non-commissioned work, Gianni di Parigi that was not premiered until 1839. Ugo Conte di Parigi was the fourth new production at La Scala that season, perhaps as the theatre sought to rescue its reputation. The previous Carcano season under the Duke of Litta had included Bellini’s La Sonnambula as well as Donizetti’s opera.
 
Donizetti had bad luck with Ugo in a number of respects. As well as being the last of the new works in the season, Romani’s libretto had been so savaged by the censors as to leave the plot in shreds. Romani disowned it leaving Donizetti to rescue something from the mess. Worse, it followed Bellini’s new opera, Norma, that had opened the Carnival Season on the previous 26 December.This, after a coolly received opening night had gone on to no fewer than thirty-nine rapturous repeats. The two operas had the same cast of principals including Giuditta Pasta, Giulia Grisi and Domenico Donzelli. Despite the starry cast Ugo was a failure and was taken off after a mere handful of performances. It did receive productions in other Italian cities and in Lisbon over the next few years, but thereafter it died until recorded by Opera Rara in 1977, the first of their many recordings of Donizetti operas.
 
The plot concerns Princess Bianca of Aquitaine who is betrothed to the young king of France, Louis V. She in fact loves Ugo, Count of Paris who is regent until Louis comes of age. Bianca tells her sister, Adelia, that she wants to call off the marriage and return to her sick mother. The young king suspects a relationship between Ugo and Bianca and imprisons Ugo. In fact Ugo is in love with Adelia. When Bianca discovers this, broken-hearted, she poisons herself.
 
Composed immediately before Donizetti’s great buffa success, L’Elisir d’Amore, there is some rich melodic music in the score. Some of it was new and some pillaged from earlier works as was common practice.
 
On the rostrum Antonino Fogliani is competent as is the chorus who have much to do. As Bianca, Doina Dimitriu sings with light soprano tone and has adequate coloratura in her entrance aria and a reasonable trill (CD1. Trs. 6-8). However, she is not always steady but improves as the opera proceeds and gives an excellent performance in the finale (CD2. Trs.14-15). Carmen Giannattasia as Bianca’s sister Adelia has a fuller-toned and warmer voice and gives a clear indication of her vocal strengths (CD1. Trs 9-11 and 17-18). Her merits have been recognised in recordings for Opera Rara in the bel canto repertoire. These include Rossini’s Ermione (review), Bellini’s Il Pirata (review) and Donizetti’s Caterina Cornaro (review). Like others in this cast she is a graduate of La Scala’s academy (1999-2002) and has since made appearances at the world’s leading opera houses.
 
Of the male characters, that of Ugo is sung with Italianate tonal squilla and good diction by Japanese tenor Yasuharu (Yasu) Nakajima, also a graduate of the Scala Academy (CD1. Trs 17-18). Another academician is Bulgarian Dejan Vatchkov as Folco. He is no Christoff or Ghiaurov and has a somewhat occluded tone at times. However, his diction is good and range secure. Less satisfactory is Sim Tokyurek in the trousers role of Luigi. She is a mezzo not a male alto as the booklet cast mistakenly states.
 
The slim booklet includes a track-list and some inaccurate background information such as that Bellini’sI Capuletti e i Montecchi was premiered at Venice’s La Fenice the same evening as Donizetti’s Anna Bolena at Milan’s Carcano Theatre. This kind of poor sleeve information, and the lack of a libretto, compares very unfavourably with that provided by Opera Rara, albeit at a significantly higher price.
 
Robert J Farr