Umberto GIORDANO (1867-1948)
Il re– opera in one act (1929)
Il Re - Michele Porcelli (baritone)
Rosalina - Irina Mouratbekova (soprano)
Colombello - Manuel Beltran Gil (tenor)
Il mugnaio - Alexander Morozov (bass)
La mugnaia - Masami Fujikawa (mezzo-soprano)
L'astrologa - Yoshimi Tatsuno (mezzo-soprano)
L'uomo di legge - Yuri Schkliar (bass)
Il prete - Angel Harkatz (tenor)
Il Cerimoniere - Vladimir Samsonov (tenor)
Un altro Cerimoniere - Angel Harkatz (tenor)
La voce del Banditore - Yuri Schkliar (baritone)
St Petersburg Orchestra & Chorus/Stanislav Gorkovenko
rec. 18-13 & 25-26 May 1998, Radio-Television Studios, St Petersburg
STRADIVARIUS STR33466 [66:24]
This is the sole studio recording of Il re (The King), a comic fairy/morality tale, Giordano’s last completed opera, even though he lived another twenty years after its composition. It was originally written for the coloratura soprano Toti Dal Monte and has long fallen into obscurity; since her retirement, it has very rarely been revived; indeed, of Giordano’s nine operas only Andrea Chénier has retained a regular place in the repertoire, with only
Fedora and Siberia making a very occasional appearance. Whether that is fair, I leave to others to decide, but certainly its music is unrecognisable as the product of the composer who wrote Andrea Chénier over thirty years earlier.
In many ways the two Intermezzi and the little Dance of the Moor – performed in a broadcast concert by Toscanini in 1949 – constitute the most attractive and memorable music in the work, and their melodies return in the finale. The Children’s Dance, as homage to the king, is especially charming. Otherwise, Giordano was clearly rejecting the traditional lyricism and set pieces of his earlier operas and embracing the neo-Classicism of Stravinsky
et al. Elements of bitonality and dissonance are frequently apparent and in general the arias are somewhat diffuse and rambling. On the other hand, there are also long stretches of tight ensemble which are reminiscent of Gianni Schicchi, as in track 4 and there are moments when Giordano reverts to the old, “sentimental” style and Rosalina’s “Questa è la veste bianca” (track 10) is a kind of welcome throw-back to the 19C, as is Colombello’s response (track 11), almost as if Giordano feels the nostalgic pull of the mode he has shaken off.
The singing here is only fair to middling: there is nothing of the old-school coloratura diva about Irina Mouratbekova’s big soprano; she gamely takes on the ornamentation but barely copes with it and her top notes can be harsh. Tenor Manuel Beltran Gil is sometimes slightly hoarse and strained but again gives it his all and sings with passion and commitment, making a rather touching jilted lover in his outbursts, as in tracks 7 and 11. Baritone Michele Porcelli is poor – woolly and out of tune, rarely delivering the steady line and warm tone Italian opera requires, no matter what its period. The supporting cast are otherwise fine and sing decent Italian (even if the Lawyer should surely know how to pronounce the Latin “dies” as “di-ace” and not “dees”). The chorus, orchestra and conducting
are excellent; Gorkovenko giving proceedings plenty of lift, bite and momentum, keeping the mood light and pacy.
Despite my reservations about the soloists and the music itself, I enjoy this recording, and being a studio recording with a quadrilingual libretto, this is probably the best option to become acquainted with it, even though the live-composite recording on the Dynamic label has a superior Rosalina in Patrizia Ciofi.
CDs of this recording are increasingly rare, even second hand, but it is easily available as a download on the Presto, Apple, Spotify and Amazon websites.
Ralph Moore
