Rossini: Zelmira

Bel canto singing is alive and well and in the contents of this magnificent recording. As expected, Juan Diego Florez delivers one of the best performances ever of some of the most difficult music in the bel canto canon. He is an absolute joy to listen to and his vocal pyrotechnics are nothing short of amazing. In addition, the other members of the cast are also masters of this style of singing. Kate Aldrich as the beleaguered daughter and wife Zelmira delivers grand fioritura even under the most taxing of circumstances. The mezzo of Marianna Pizzoloto as Emma, Zelmira's confidant, is also excellent. Her rendering of "Ciel pietoso, ciel clemente" is one of the high points of the performance. Gregory Kunde as the evil ursurper Antenore started off weakly but improved in later scenes. The rest of the cast were of high standard and accomplishment.This opera (1822)is the last of the Naples series that had occupied Rossini since arriving at the San Carlo at the behest of the manager Barbaja in 1815. He has blossomed and matured as an opera composer in this environment having written by now a total of some thirty scores. Many of these were not only successes throughout Italy but also internationally. He is now the most famous and widely performed opera composer of the day. In this opera one can see his continued development to make the drama (the words) more important and a partner of the music in a seamless whole as truly a "drama per musica". In fact the older practice of an aria solo to reflect a state of mind followed by action recounted in recitative is greatly altered in Zelmira. There are no solo arias but duos with other characters or the chorus or trios or more. The action is going on as the singers are singing in stark contrast to the older methods of composition. This brings greater cohesion of the story and the music in the opera. However in Zelmira this more progressive form of opera development is mixed with older practices such as stopping the action for a florid vocal display as in the older style. The Rossini orchestra is now at its highest development - full use of tympani, horns and brass in addition to woodwinds and strings. His orchestral writing now is as great artistically as his vocal melodic. He is now thirty years old, world famous but tiring of the Neopolitan scene with its bickering critics. Though Zelmira does not have a lasting success his next opera does. That opera Semiramide (Venice 1823) will be a big international success. It will garner him offers from all over the operatic world and he, at the zenith of his powers, can pick and choose and he does - Paris.There is only one word to describe this production "silly". Yes and distracting and annoying and a waste of money and effort. The use of mirrors showing maneuvers of writhing bodies under the stage, bodies being carted around, male nude bodies being bathed by comely females bely the directors lack of faith in Rossini that people will not be interested enough to pay attention to the opera but need some "entertainment" while the action is going on. A few gestures were creditable; the large "classic" statues reclining and then floating, the Greek word (psidos) etched large on the backdrop and then falling into dust and seeing images of the players on stage interacting in the background on a different size scale seemed integral to the plot. The breast feeding is obnoxious (titering little boy stuff) and the wrong legend. The whole production reeks of lack of true inspiration with too big a budget to waste on extravagant nothingness. As the EU nations are now on economic hard times I imagine the powers that be in Pesaro will not allow such artless waste of money and resorces to happen again.

"Non è Rossini questo." (Rossini is not this.) So declares mezzo-soprano Marianna Pizzolato in an interview during the bonus section of this DVD, and ironically I had the exact same thoughts when viewing this extraordinary performance of this amazing opera. Well, it is indeed Rossini as only Rossini could have written this epic-sized and brilliant work. However, it is Rossini with many astonishing and unexpected detours from what we normally consider to be the Rossini style. Perhaps the reason for so many of the deviations concerned the fact that the opera was to be presented in Vienna after its initial run in Naples. Incidentally, Rossini added an extra scene for that Viennese premiere and later even altered the final scene when he presented the work in Paris. It is the opera in its final Parisian form (which includes both of these alterations) that is offered in this performance.Since the performance comes to us courtesy of the Rossini Opera Festival (usually referred to as "il ROF" in Italy) it goes without saying that the musical aspects will be of the highest standards attainable. It also goes without saying the staging will be controversial, notorious, and contentious! Such is the history of il ROF. In any event the opera is given as a dream sequence with mirrors reflecting the actions on stage and even some of the actions underneath the stage as well. It is all confusing and districting, but it seems that all the artists were as one with the concept so it all somehow works... somehow... even though the most successful portions of the staging occur when the action is presented in a relatively straightforward manner. In any event, I would suggest viewing the aforementioned bonus section prior to viewing the opera proper where the stage director and conductor discuss the concept. It will help make some sense out of this perplexing and chaotic conception of the piece.At any rate, with any Rossini opera it is the singing that matters most and here il ROF not only hits the ball out of the park... but hits a grand slam as well! The absolute star is Kate Aldrich in the title role... her smooth yet dramatic vocal production is perfect for the part... a part written for Rossini's favorite diva Isabella Colbran. Next it must be noted that Juan Diego Florèz as Ilo is his usual reliable self... his sweet tones perfectly encompassing the high lying vocal range required in a role written for Giovanni David. However, the real tenor star is Gregory Kunde as Antenore, whose "baritone" vocal sound probably is a reasonable facsimile of the type of voice that the original Antenore Andrea Nozzari possessed. Incidentally, while Florèz is featured on the box cover... it is Kunde who actually has the meatier and larger of the two major tenor assignments. The remainder of the cast is also outstanding with the above mentioned Marianna Pizzoloto an excellent Emma and Alex Esposito a very fine Polidoro. Incidentally, the entire cast not only sings well, but also manages to create believable characters in the process... and that goes for the comprimarios as well. That fact alone makes the bewildering stage concept somewhat plausible and believable. Roberto Abbado is the experienced conductor who not only keeps the ensemble completely and perfectly together in one of the most complicated scores that Rossini ever penned, but conducts in a manner which brings out the excitement and drama of the piece. Indeed, he not only is effective in the overtly pompous sections of the score, but also lovingly interprets the many smaller sections of the composition... such as the many entirely string based interludes... not to mention the extraordinary duet for Zelmira and Emma which is accompanied only by harp and cor anglais.Sound and picture quality as viewed in the DVD version are excellent. Get this in spite of the bizarre staging... It contains some of the most glorious singing ever preserved in sound.

This is a review of Zelmira with Juan Diego Flórez, Kate Aldrich, Gregory Kunde and Alex Esposito. Lovely music, lovely singing – but … My good woman, who knows even less than I do about opera, claims that the plot is only a peg on which to hang the notes, but I don’t agree: when you have a really crass plot it cannot but detract from the opera as a whole. And Christ the story line detracts from Zelmira, like a ball and chain around a prisoner’s leg. When Rossini visited Beethoven the latter patronizingly advised him to stick to opera buffa, and Big B was right. The music is gorgeous, all the singers are marvellous, the acting wonderful, and Juan Diego Flórez and Kate Aldrich are unforgettable; I just hope in time I will be able to forget the plot. And the production only makes it worse. We are translated from ancient Greece to apparently the mid-twentieth century and types in battle fatigues wave pistols around amid the ruined hellenic sculptures and the occasional Greek orthodox priest wanders on and off stage just to make what’s going on a bit clearer. All this disorientation does not make it any easier to take on board the ridiculuous plot. And then the director has discovered mirrors, and you find images of the scene projected on the wall behind the stage. It gave me a nasty turn, that did – I thought I was having a stroke till I sussed out what was going on. What a pity that such magnificent music and such excellent singers have been sacrificed on the altar of directorial pretension.

I will get the good bit over first, Florez and Aldrich are in excellent voice and do their best to make the best of a bad job.The updated plot does not sit happily with modern soldiers instead of period dress, and I am not sure of the intended period by the composer, but it should be ancient.There are chorus ladies in crowd scenes dressed as for a Women' s Institute meeting of the 1950 period.There are fallen statues of nude ladies from-time to time occasionally covered in gravel.The sets are mainly black backdrops with occasional props for good measure.The overhead camera is disturbing and even worse when combined with the floor camera.The anomalies are too many to mention and severely distract from what should be a rather complicated plot making it more confusing.It is a pity that this is the only DVD available.

Let us be clear: this 2012 production of Rossini's Zelmira from Bologna is outstanding. In fact, it's so good that certain annoyances regarding it are unable to detract from its brilliance. So let's first get these irritations out of the way. Since the action is set on the Greek island of Lesbos in the Eastern Mediterranean well before the dawn of Christianity with all religious references quite clearly referring to the beliefs of the ancient Greeks, it makes no sense at all to introduce a chorus of Greek Orthodox clergy, along with their patriarch, into performance. It's an anachronistic spoiler that sticks out like a sore thumb creating an unnecessary annoyance that could so easily have been avoided. Whereas staging the performance in modern dress is of little or no distraction this crass historical bloomer certainly is.Now, a word about the early scene in which Zelmira breast feeds her father, which has been described by one reviewer as 'nasty', a viewpoint with which I emphatically disagree. Here is he father, partly responsible for giving her life, now wounded and in hiding in danger of starving to death with a safe water supply hard to come by. Under these circumstances a grateful and caring daughter does not hesitate to provide sustenance in the fastest, easiest and most nourishing way possible to her under the circumstances. Far from being 'nasty' it's very moving and inspiring in the best possible way.I've watched this performance twice already and I simply sat back and allowed myself to be bathed in Rossini's inspiring music. Music, singing, acting and orchestration are all superb and the staging sympathetic without being in any way obtrusive, which allows the viewer to concentrate on the singing and acting. All the performers are well chosen for their roles, not least Kate Aldrich as Zelmira, who brilliantly epitomises what it is to be a devoted mother and loyal wife and daughter in all circumstances. She sings and acts in the most natural fashion and is so believable. Marianna Pizzolato is equally good in the role of Emma. The whole plot can be seen as revolving around these two women, each strong and brave in her own way. I sometimes wonder if Rossini was perhaps ahead of his time in realising the true importance of women in society. Every emotional nuance is expressed brilliantly enabling the viewer to empathise with each character in way that isn't always possible. No composer is better than Rossini at being able to achieve this. At his best he immerses the viewer in inspiring coloratura as we have here.Gregory Kunde and Mirco Palazzi perform excellently as the two villains Antenore and Leucippo. Although Antenore manages to get himself crowned King of Lesbos he gets his 'cumuppence' in the end and everything ends happily in very un-Verdi-like fashion, which just goes to show that it's not necessary to have tragic endings for an operas to be an all time great, which, as far as I'm concerned, is what this performance ceratinly is.Juan Diego Flores is at his brilliant best in the role of Ilo, Prince of Troie' and Alex Exposito is a convincing Polidoro. Picture (16:9) and sound quality are excellent even though this is not Blu-Ray. It's just wonderful to own this gem of a performance.P.S. Beware! AMAZON is trying to force American spelling onto British customers and, worse still, refusing to accept British English expressions even when they are used in BBC news broadcasts. AMAZON does not allow the expression 'c..k up' to be used in reviews even though it was used in BBC news broadcasts on 8 March 2016. Those of us who earn a living in the UK have to pay our taxes to the UK government, but does AMAZON do that? It can't even DESPATCH anything properly. AMAZON does give an excellent service, which is much appreciated, but it would be even better appreciated if it respected national customs and nomenclature and paid its taxes properly.

Sumptuously sung and played but although the production was impressive staging in a not theatre setting again battle fatigues are so depressing. Its very difficult to portray ancient Greece without it looking too stereotyped but this after all is entertainment and so many productions are drab reflexions of every day life now it becomes so banal. Sometimes as with many Shakespeare productions minimalism and stark surroundings do not detract from the beauty of the music but the colour of theatre is lost when the heroine looks as if she just came from home on the bus wearing the latest Primark bargains!. I know I am old school and grew up with proscenium arches and painted back drops and wings. Modern styles and techniques either work or they don't. Again very stilted action makes one wonder why not just do a concert version. I am always annoyed by choruses who walk on, stand in two lines, sing and then walk off again. So you wonder why I gave this five stars? Well, I am fanatical about all the neglected bel canto operas of Rossini and later Donizetti. Any oportrunity to see and hear any of them is a bonus in an opera world where the staple diet is churned out all the time, also mutilated and defiled! Of course this was a must have for my collection and musically it is superb. Anything by Florez is outstanding and this sis also brilliant although its safe to say he has a slightly less and more florid role than the other more meaty voiced tenor Gregory Kunde. All singing parts were excellent and dismallity set aside the mirror image theatre work is fascinating even to the point of taking your attention away from the singing characters. I was however a little put off when the heroine appeared to be breast feeding her suffering prisoner father. ( A touch of grotesque theare taken a tad too far) A good addition to the Rossini library and many other than myself might be swayed by the sensationalism and modernity.

It was a gift. the reciever was very satisfied with cast, direction and technical quality. He admires Rossini very much.