Customer Reviews

Donizetti: Belisario

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm afraid the other reviewer here has seriously misrepresented the sound on this Opera d'Oro CD - perhaps he simply got hold of a defective copy. I have not heard the alternate transfer on deleted Mondo Music 1507, but this one is perfectly acceptable - in fact, it's one of the best-sounding complete Gencer opera recordings. This "live" 1969 performance from Venice has occasional singing off mike - that pretty much goes with the territory - and an enthusiastic and sometimes noisy audience which, to my ears, simply adds to the sense of occasion. There is also a 1970 Gencer "Belisario" from Bergamo on a deleted Hunt CD (with Bruson in the title role), but Gencer is in better voice here.

"Forgotten masterpiece" is perhaps too grand a description for this opera, but I feel it is one of Donizetti's best efforts. Its relative obscurity is probably attributable to the misfortune of its coming immediately after the composer's genuine masterpiece (Lucia di Lammermoor), which overshadows it. Belisario was a great success when it debuted in 1836 - it ran for 28 consecutive nights. Perhaps another reason for its being eclipsed: there are no love scenes at all.

Belisario (Giuseppe Taddei) is a general in the court of Byzantine Emperor Justinian around 600 A. D. who has just won a great triumph over the barbarians in Italy. He is acclaimed by the people, but his wife Antonina (Gencer) curses him based on reports that he has had their own son killed. He releases his prisoners, but one of them, Alamiro (Umberto Grilli) remains at his side as a sort of son substitute. Belisario is later convicted of treason on forged evidence - he confesses to Antonina that he had their son killed, but only because he was commanded in a dream to do so in order to save the Empire.

In Act II, Belisario has been blinded, thrown in prison, and ordered into exile. He is led away by his daughter Irene (Mirna Pecile), who is disguised as a boy. In Act III Belisario and Irene take refuge from their wanderings in a cave as troops approach. They overhear Alamiro and another young man planning an attack against Byzantium. Belisario steps forward and denounces their treachery and (surprise!) discovers that the second youth is none other than his son, who was not killed after all (he had been abandoned by the good-hearted servant charged with his death). Belisario proves his loyalty to the state by taking up arms against him. The imperial forces win, but Belisario is fatally wounded in the battle. He dies before his wife can win his pardon. Antonina now knows he was innocent, and laments her actions against him.

Well, it's not exactly Shakespeare. But there are some wonderful dramatic moments here. Gencer's opening declamation succeeds in immediately defining her character - and throughout the opera she is simply brilliant. I am not an opera buff - I spend far more time wandering through symphonies and chamber music. But once in a while it is very satisfying to hear a great bel canto singer who can really deliver the goods. Gencer's vocal trademarks - incredibly gorgeous floated pianissamos, superb legato, and some gutsy chest tones - are all on remarkable display here. In the final scene she caps her performance with an astounding, dead center high D that seems to last forever. The other singers are adequate or better (Taddei is a trifle wooly), and Gavazzeni's conducting is fine.

At less than the cost of standing room at a provincial opera house, this CD set represents excellent value. No, it's not in stereo, and it has the usual gremlins associated with "pirate" recordings. But all in all, the sound is certainly better than what is heard in the celebrated Callas/Giulini "La Traviata" on EMI. To hear more from this rather fabulous Turkish soprano, you might try one of her "Art of" sets on the Myto CD label, which capture her voice at its freshest (1954-59). Happy listening!

This is an excellent recording of a neglected bel canto opera in which the entire cast works wonderfully as a team! Although Gencer has a meaty role, I felt everyone sang superbly and can't identify a weak or a particularly strong link in the cast.

She offers the complete bel canto package. She is involved, sings in a grand manner and puts exciting top notes here and there to dazzle us. Her impressive pianissimo and trademark glottal attacks are also here. It makes one wonder why she never had Caballe's fame who after all, didn't have Gencer's top. I suppose it had to do with the finishing touch which the Catalonian soprano mastered so well. In any case, I got everything I wanted from Gencer's performance who it must be noted, was a consistently fine artist. You can rarely go wrong with her recordings and she certainly deserved the huge applause she got!

It's a big treat to have Taddei as Belisario. I wish more famous baritones of those years had indulged in bel canto. I'm sure Merrill would have been another wonderful choice too. Grilli, Pecina and Zaccaria all sing well too.

The experienced maestro Gavazzeni has everything under control and the sound is perfectly acceptable indeed.

This Belisario is a strong performance of one of Donizetti's better but lesser known efforts. The arias, duets, ensembles and choruses provide continuous and enjoyable music. The storyline, reviewed by others, is really quite nice and interweaves drama, action, emotion, and finally loyalty. Composed directly after Lucia, this opera in combination with Lucia, documents a very creative period in Donizetti's life.

The cast is excellent and Leyla Gencer does indeed sing a magnificent Antonia witha strong well-controlled voice, lots of range, and a delectible timbre. Giuseppe Teddei is a very strong Belisario and Umberto Grilli exhibits his usual creamy voice as Alamiro. Mirna Pecile as Irene holds her own against Gencer. As another reviewer stated, there are no weak links in the cast. The orchestra and chorus of the Teatro La Fenice are excellent as well under the direction of Maestro Gavazzeni

The sound quality of this recording is really quite good. This was a recording of a live performance in Venice on May 14, 1969. Both the orchestra and the singers are all faithfully reproduced in stereo with no distortion or breakup. Although the sound is not quite as "full" as a modern digital recording or the better studio recordings of the 1960's, it is still very good. The audience is lively and enthusiatic but well behaved and there is minimal noise during the sung parts.

I can't believe this opera isn't part of the standard repertoire. It may not have the "love interest" that other reviewers note as a possible reason, but Donizetti never wrote a more effective and exciting score...no, not even with the contemporaneous "Lucia di Lammermoor." Perhaps the setting in the sixth century Eastern Roman Empire fails to ignite the interest of listeners, but we all know that most opera librettos are absurd anyway, so why should that matter?

Gencer is utterly magnificent. She doesn't have the most refined sound, but who can better portray an awesome natural force giving her all for drama than this great diva? And the rest of the cast is perfectly adequate, or better.

The music is Donizetti at his best, and it's every bit as good as early, or even middle, Verdi. The finale to Act I is one of the most viscerally exciting scenes in all of Italian opera, and there are many other moments that come very close to this standard. As for the rest, it never bores.

The sound is all you can expect from a live 1969 performance at La Fenice -- -- not perfect, and sometimes with extramusical distractions, but good enough. In my opinion, people who complain about minor things like less-than-perfect sound in classic recordings like this are completely missing the point.

I'd never even heard of "Belisario" until I found it recently on the online subscription service Rhapsody -- but I am so happy that I encountered it before I die. And Rhapsody has another dozen or more Donizetti operas I've never heard.

I once read that there were more than 30,000 operas written in the 19th century -- who knows how many more "Belisarios" there are out there?

Yes, this is a masterpiece, folks.

It is odd how some operas hold the stage and others, like this one, even after having a triumph at their premiere and holding the stage for 28 performances, just drop out of circulation. Perhaps it had something to do with its proximity to Donizetti's masterpiece, "Lucia", or perhaps it fell out of favour becasue it has no love interest; either way, it is a great bel canto vehicle for an accomplished artist like Gencer and would have been a gift for Callas, too. However, it's not all about languid "big tunes" or ornamentation; there are moments of high drama done full justice by Gencer's tangy, spicy soprano. Furthermore, we have the great Giuseppe Taddei here in his (long) prime and an excellent supporting cast. All this in - mirabile dictu - first class live sound; one of Opera d'Oro's best. This is especially welcome, as there are relatively so few recorded performances of either Taddei or Gencer - so this is essential to Gencer fans; you can really hear what the fuss was about. She is very slightly past her best by 1969 and some of her mannerisms are pronounced, but they are nothing to the splendour of her assumption of the role as the vengeful, wounded wife and mother forced to repent. A real bargain, despite the usual lack of libretto (but it's not too hard a story to follow). This is certainly a candidate for release in the de luxe Opera d'Oro series with proper supporting documentation.

Source: Live performance at Teatro La Fenice, Venice, May 14, 1969.

Sound: Fairly good, about what might be expected from a live performance at an Italian opera house in 1969. There is a moderately boisterous audience and quite a bit of stage noise such as footsteps echoing on risers and jewelry--I think--tinkling and clanging against the hardware worn by cast members, none of which seriously interfere with my personal enjoyment of the opera.

Text: Although a score of this opera is not conveniently available to me, from the time and place of the recording I am willing to guess that this performance contains substantial cuts. Doubtless, in a few years time, a performance that is twenty undistinguished minutes longer (but not as well sung) will boast of its completeness.

At the moment, for those wishing to hear Donizetti's "Belisario," this performance is petty much what you are going to get. Fortunately, it is quite good. Leyla Gencer sings most impressively as Antonina, the estranged wife of Belisario. Giuseppe Taddei portrays Belisario, and Taddei (even when a "trifle wooly") is a great performer. The rest of the cast is competent and the conductor is skilled.

I hold what is undoubtedly the minority view that Donizetti is better at comedy than drama. As Donizetti's dramas go, "Belisario" is one of his better efforts, but it is almost certainly destined to languish in obscurity because it is not a prima donna-driven vehicle of the type that remains at the forefront of the bel canto revival.

As a good performance of an enjoyable opera in acceptable sound, I think it is worth five stars.

FOR THE HISTORICALLY CURIOUS: As the perceptive and industrious Mr. Lipscomb has already provided a fine summary of the unfamiliar and highly fictionalized plot of this opera, here are some observations based on Edward Gibbon's "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire."

Belisarius was the foremost soldier of his age, the last great general of the Roman Empire, serving under Justinian, the last great emperor. In his time, two generations after the fall of the Western Empire, North Africa, Sicily, Italy and Southern Spain were returned to imperial dominion, largely through the efforts of Belisarius, who fought and defeated Vandals, Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Alans and Bulgars. A popular belief subsequently grew up that Emperor Justinian at last grew fearful of the popularity of this greatest of Romans and had him blinded, so that the mighty general ended his days begging in the streets of Constantinople. Gibbon sniffs at this, calling it "a fiction of later times, which has gained credit, or rather favour, as a strange example of the vicissitudes of fortune."

In the year 559 AD, when Justinian was 77 and the elderly Belisarius long-retired, the vast majority of the Roman army was on frontier duty in the newly reconquered provinces in Spain, Africa, Italy or on the border shared with the aggressively reborn Persian Empire. Unexpectedly, and to the great terror of the citizenry of Constantinople, the Bulgarians appeared before the walls of the citadel, ready to attack the great city, itself. The frightened populace demanded that the old general save them. With no more than untrained city militia and an effective fighting force of just 300 veterans, Belisarius ambushed and destroyed the leading elements of the invaders, then organized so effective a pursuit that the Bulgar king, recognizing the hand of a master raised against him, drew off to rethink his career goals.

In the year 561, a group of younger Roman noblemen decided that the ancient emperor was too feeble to run the empire, so they attempted to assassinate him. They failed. In the ensuing investigation, some poor devils in the torture racks blurted out the name of Belisarius as a conspirator.

Gibbon: "Posterity will not hastily believe that a hero who in the vigour of life had disdained the fairest offers of ambition and revenge should stoop to the murder of his prince, whom he could not long expect to survive. His followers were impatient to fly; but flight must have been supported by rebellion, and he had lived enough for nature and for glory. Belisarius appeared before the council with less fear than indignation: after forty years' service the emperor had prejudged his guilt; and injustice was sanctified by the presence and authority of the patriarch. The life of Belisarius was graciously spared, but his fortunes were sequestered; and from December to July, he was guarded as a prisoner in his own palace. At length his innocence was acknowledged; his freedom and honours were restored; and death, which might be hastened by resentment and grief, removed him from the world about eight months after his deliverance. . . [H]is treasures, the spoils of the Goths and Vandals, were immediately confiscated by the emperor. Some decent portion was reserved, however, for the use of his widow, and as Antonina had much to repent, she devoted the last remains of her life and fortune to the foundation of a convent." Right on!

The quality of the sound recording in this CD is so bad that it is not worth having. Distortion -- often rendering the music horrible - is the feature of most of the opera. Only occasionally are the singers properly on mike, and most of the orchestra sounds awful. Indeed, the only aspect that is recorded with any fidelity is the audience noise, and quite often this interrupts and even drowns out the music.

Compounding these problems is a booklet that is a disgrace. It contains a not very informative essay and poor synopsis by Bill Parker, the latter not related in any way to the recording. It also contains a track list that only gives the first few words of what is sung -- no indication of who is singing it. There is no libretto and even knowing Italian would be of little help since the distortion is so bad that most of the words cannot be deciphered.

This is a pity, since the work has a first class conductor and some first class singers -- who on the few occasions when the sound is fairly clear do do some lovely work. But the overall production is so bad that it is better simply to avoid this recording. (I have not heard the alternative version from La Fenice which a search on Amazon.com turned up -- maybe it is OK. That recording seems to have the same cast, but a different conductor is listed-- and there are no excerpts on the basis of which one might judge it.