Verdi: Un Giorno Di Regno / Norman, Carreras
Label: PHILIPS Catalog: 4224292 Format: CD Having made a survey of the Philips "Early Verdi Project", I left this, Verdi's second opera, until last, being influenced by the received wisdom that it was an irremediable failure. Certainly Verdi regarded it with contempt and it since has mostly been consigned to oblivion apart from a few stuttering revivals. It is clearly heavily indebted to Donizetti and, especially in finales, Rossini, but it is still a very well crafted and entertaining work, sparkling and engaging if not exactly funny. And just look at the cast: a roll-call of great singers of the early 70's, headed by Carreras in finest youthful voice; he sings his arias with a winning combination of elegance and passion. I often think that his contribution to this series represents Carreras's most valuable, enduring and admirable work, and he is surrounded by singers of equal quality. What a pleasure to hear Wixells' grainy, characterful baritone; his Italian, both sung and spoken is exemplary and he relishes his role as a royal impersonator. Cossotto, a few intrusive aspirates in her runs apart, sings magnificently, whie Jessye Norman, mushy Italian not withstanding, treats us to her lovely legato and breadth of phrasing. Supporting roles are cast from strength, not least Vincenzo Sardinero's handsome baritone and Ganzarolli's ripe bass as the Barone di Kelbar - a cousin to Don Magnifico in "La Cenerentola" and every other grasping, social-climber of a father in opera buffa who wants to marry off his daughters profitably. There are glimpses of the Verdi to come, such as his exploitation of the expressive and versatile possibilities of 3/4 time signatures, but although Verdi shows himself a master of the idiom, he writes somewhat dutifully and formulaically. This is not his true Fach and the subject matter is clearly not congenial to him.; the result is a derivative and retrospective opera with little of the originality which marks out those operas of the early 1840's written once he had begun to find his true voice. No wonder "Nabucco" made such an impact subsequently. Understandably, Romani's workmanlike, if flawed, libretto did not ignite the composer's fantasy the way Boito was able to do with "Falstaff", Verdi's next comedy, whose premiere was a mere fifty-three years later. Nonetheless, this sole extant recording of "Un giorno di re" does not deserve neglect; it is worth repeated hearings for the quality of the singing alone and deserves its sobriquet as the one of the best scores Donizetti never wrote. |