Guiseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
Un giorno di regno ossia il finto Stanislao (1840)
Il Cavaliere di Belfiore – Germán Olvera (baritone)
Il Barone di Kelbar – Ugo Guagliardo (bass)
La Marchesa del Poggio – Tina Gorina (soprano)
Giulietta di Kelbar – Vivica Genaux (mezzo-soprano)
Podlasie Opera & Philharmonic Choir
Europa Galante/Fabio Biondi
rec. 2022, ‘Theatr Wielki’ Polish National Opera, Moniuszko Auditorium, Warsaw
Italian/Polish/English libretto
Fryderyk Chopin Institute NIFCCD096-097 [2 CDs: 106]
Musical history records that Verdi’s second opera, Un giorno di regno, ossia il finto Stanislao, was an unqualified failure. It had its premiere at La Scala on 5 September 1840 and was withdrawn after only one performance. There were only three Italian revivals of the work in the 19th century, and it found little favor in any of them. It then disappeared until a revival of interest in Verdi’s early works in the mid-twentieth century. The work’s immediate failure was attributed to the tragic surroundings of its composition – Verdi’s two children and wife had recently died – as well as to the unsuitability of the singers, whose strengths lay in tragic works.
The story, based very loosely on historical fact, tells how the Cavaliere Belfiore, disguised for a day as King Stanislaus of Poland, sorts out both his own romantic problems and those of Edoardo di Sanval and Giulietta di Kelbar.
Although still rarely revived, it has much to offer. I think the opera is both charming and tuneful, granted that these are not words typically used to describe Verdi’s oeuvre. In story and style, it’s a throwback to an earlier era; it’s the only one of Verdi’s operas to use secco recitative. It sounds more like top-drawer Donizetti than bottom-drawer Verdi. In his survey of early and less well-known Verdi operas, Ralph Moore describes the opera as “one of the best scores Donizetti never wrote.” It still has the ability to provide some light entertainment.
The earliest documentation I can find of a 20th century performance is that of a broadcast by the RAI Milano on 25 January 1951 as part of their Verdi celebrations. The cast included several of the leading Italian singers of the day, such as Renato Capecchi, Sesto Bruscantini, and Lina Pagliughi. This broadcast was issued on LP by the Italian Cetra label and can still be found on CDs issued by various labels. Although its sound is dated and the music is severely cut, this remains a delightful rendition of the work.
The main competition for this new recording comes from the over fifty-year-old recording on Philips, conducted by Lamberto Gardelli. Like the Cetra recording, it features some of the finest singers of its time: Fiorenza Cossotto, Jessye Norman, José Carreras, and Ingvar Wixell. The excellence of this performance sets a very high standard against which to judge this new offering.
The recording under review states that it is the world premiere on period instruments. The main thing I noticed about the period band was the prevalence of the fortepiano, not only in the recitatives, but also playing along in the orchestra through much of the accompaniment in set pieces. The notes indicate that the performance uses the score published by Ricordi. I presume this is the critical edition that Casa Ricordi published a few years ago. My curiosity had been piqued, so I paid a visit to the local university library where I could consult the notes and full score of the critical edition. The critical notes mention the piano only in relation to accompanying the recitatives, “probably accompanied by a cello and double bass”. (The cello and double bass are not used in the recitatives in this recording.) The piano was not listed in the instruments for the orchestra, nor was it indicated in the scoring for some of the numbers in which it is prominent in this recording, such as Edoardo’s second act aria. I must conclude that this was an editorial decision by Maestro Biondi or by Paola Ponset who is credited with playing the fortepiano. I make no pretence of being a musicologist, but the extravagant use of the fortepiano sounds out of place to my ears.
Prospective purchasers should be aware that this is a heavily cut performance. A piano vocal score based on the critical edition has not yet been published, so I followed the recording with the standard Ricordi vocal score. Almost all repeated music is removed; the opening choruses of both acts are severely pruned. Few musical numbers are played in their entirety. This set plays six minutes longer than the Cetra recording and twelve minutes shorter than the Philips set.
The singers on this recording are unfamiliar to me with one exception: the American mezzo Vivica Genaux who sings Giulietta. I remember hearing her live several times back in the nineties and the noughties. I recollected a luscious mezzo voice with a fast vibrato. In her early fifties at the time of this recording, the lustre has faded somewhat, and the vibrato has loosened a bit, but she still provides a good rendition of her role. The Gardelli recording has Jessye Norman in this part.
I’m less impressed with Tina Gorina as the Marchesa. The part lies low for a soprano, with a number of As below the staff. She manages these admirably, but the voice turns shrill as it rises. Her trill is approximate, as is her coloratura. She is the weakest link in the cast. Fiorenza Cossotto on the Gardelli recording handles the lows, the highs, and everything in between much better.
Germán Olvera is delightful as the Cavaliere di Belfiore, masquerading as a king. His tone is bright and full, reminding me of Ingvar Wixell who sings this role on the Philps recording. Giulio Pelligra brings a pleasant lyric tenor to the role of Edoardo, but it would be quite unfair to compare him to the young José Carreras in the Gardelli recording.
The two buffo parts are competently handled by Ugo Guagliardo, as the Baron of Kelbar and Ricardo Novaro, as Signore La Rocca, who for some reason is always referred to by his title, il Tesoriere. Ugo Guagliardo’s voice is a bit dry. He might have been better cast as the Tesoriere, whom Giulietta frequently describes as an old man. He doesn’t compare well to Wladimiro Ganzarolli who sings the Baron of Kelbar for Philips.
On the whole, this recording provides about an hour and forty-five minutes of entertaining listening. I’d have been quite pleased to have heard such a performance in the theatre. However, due to the extensive cuts and the vocal shortcomings of Tina Gorina and Ugo Guagliardo, this won’t stand up to repeated hearings. It’s pleasant enough, but it offers no viable competition to the far superior Philips recording.
Stephen Wells
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Other cast
Edoardo di Sanval – Giulio Peligra (tenor)
Signore La Rocca, Il tesoriere di Bretagna – Ricardo Novaro (baritone)
Conte di Ivrea – Paweł Cichoński (tenor)
Delmonte – Andrzej Klepacki (tenor)
