Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848)
Grand Seigneur – Baritone Arias
Nicola Alaimo (baritone)
Orchestra e Coro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino/Giacomo Sagripanti
rec. 2023, Sala Orchestra del Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Florence, Italy
Sung texts with English translations enclosed
Reviewed as download
Dynamic CDS8042 [73]
There has no doubt been a renaissance for Donizetti the last few decades. Lucia di Lammermoor has long been a frequent guest in the opera houses worldwide, as has L’Elisir d’amore and Don Pasquale, and bit by bit several others have joined that trio: Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda, Lucrezia Borgia, La fille du regiment, La favorita to mention some of the most important. It is true that Donizetti had a heavy workload and was always in a hurry to fulfil his obligations in the shortest possible time, and the results were often half-measures and stereotyped. He was still a dramatic and melodious genius in his best moments, and in many scenes he displays his mastery, even though the works as a whole are rather weak. On this disc we are treated to a number of scenes from works which only occasionally – if at all – appear in the opera houses or at festivals, and to my mind they have a great deal to offer for those who are curious to go off the beaten track for a while. I am happy to report that the producers have taken this very seriously, and the scenes are performed with chorus and comprimario singers as in an actual performance. Apart from Alahor in Granata from 1826 – all the works represented here are from the 1830s and 1840s when Donizetti was well established.
Gemma di Vergy (1834) was very successful from the beginning, but after some years it gradually disappeared from the limelight, and didn’t return until 1975 when Montserrat Caballé reawakened it from its Sleeping Beauty existence. The story is a cruel one: Gemma is married to Il Conte di Vergy, but she is infertile, and her husband secretly divorces her to marry another woman. When Gemma learns this she wants revenge and hires Tamas to murder him, but when he is dead she realises that she loved him, and takes her own life. In this excerpt, we meet Il Conte when he has found a bloody dagger and understands that he might be a future victim. It is a harrowing scene, and Nicola Alaimo interprets it with gruesome realism. Alaimo, today in his mid-forties, has been a leading international star worldwide for two decades and preserved his powerful voice admirably. He also has the capacity to scale down and sing softly with feeling. He does so repeatedly in this demanding programme – also in the aria from Alahor in Granata – which even so is fairly immemorable. Much better in that respect is the scene from Parisina d’Este. The pacy cabaletta reminds me of dozens of other cabalettas following the same pattern, but there is no doubt that there is an admirable freshness here and real go in the singing. There is more to admire in Marin Fallero. Considering that Donizetti delivered three to four and sometimes even five new operas per year, it is almost miraculous how he could renew himself to such a degree. In this scene it is the orchestral introduction that stands out.
Moving on to the last decade of Donizetti’s life, we first encounter Dom Sébastien, a five-act Grand Opera composed for Paris to a libretto by Eugène Scribe. Here, Donizetti tried to challenge Auber, Halévy and Meyerbeer. Opinions have been divided, but there is no doubt that there are several very fine arias here. Le Camoëns aria from the third act is certainly one of them and is excellently sung by Nicola Alaimo. The opera was the last he completed before going insane as a result of syphilis.
From the same year, 1843, is Maria di Rohan, which premiered in Vienna. Again, one is stunned by the sheer professionalism and the inspiration, ad even if the cabalettas are predictable, they are still riveting.
For the finale we return to the 1830s and Torquato Tasso, which is based on the life of the famous 16th century poet, primarily known today for his 1591 poem Gerusalemme liberate, which depicts the combats between Christians and Muslims at the end of the First Crusade, during the Siege of Jerusalem of 1099. Tasso suffered from a mental illness, which today is thought to have been bipolarity. He was for several years interned in a madhouse. Towards the end of his life he was granted a laurel from the pope, but he died three days before he was to be crowned. The finale of the opera, recorded here, depicts this and is very moving. Here Nicola Alaimo surpasses himself in sensitivity and emotion.
While not everything in this programme is pure gold, it is very valuable in highlighting some of the lesser known among Donizetti’s seventy-plus operas. The comprimario singers do a good job, and chorus and orchestra likewise.
Göran Forsling
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Contents
Gemma di Vergy (1834) from Act 1, Scenes 6 and 7
01 Qui un pugnale! Ah, nel cor mi suona un grido… Un fatal presentimento
Alahor in Granata (1826) from Act 1, Scene 1
02 Granata è questa…Ombra del padre mio
Parisina d’Este (1833) from Act 1, Scene 2
03 Che mai rechi?… Per veder su quel bel viso… Dall’Eridano si stende…
Marin Faliero (1835) from Act 1, Scenes 2, 3 and 4
04 Oh! miei figli!… Era anch’io di quella schiera… Orgogliosi, scellerati…
Dom Sébastien (1843) from Act 3, Second Tableau, Scene 3
05 Sur le sable d’Afrique… ô Lisbonne, ô ma patrie…
Maria di Rohan (1843) from Act 3, Scenes 4, 5 and 6
06 Partì: brev’ora… Bella e di sol vestita… Ogni mio bene in te sperai
Torquato Tasso (1833) from Act 3
07 Qual son…? Qual fui…? Perché dell’aure in sen
08 Varcato è un lustro…! E un anno…! E un anno ancora…!
09 Parlerà. Ne’ sogni miei
10 Piangesti assai, Torquato
11 Tomba che chiude esanime
Other singers
Matteo Torcaso (baritone: 1, 3, 6), Matteo Mancini (baritone: 4, 6), Ohla Smokolina (soprano: 6)
