Donizetti: Maria di Rohan

Gaetano Donizetti (Composer), Gianandrea Gavazzeni (Conductor), Fenice Theater Orchestra (Orchestra), Orchestra del Teatro la Fenice (Orchestra), Alessandro Cassis (Performer), Augusto Pedroni (Performer), Carlo Padoan (Performer), Elena Zilio (Performer), Paolo Cesari (Performer), Renata Scotto (Performer), Renato Bruson (Performer), Umberto Grilli (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Alessandro Cassis, Augusto Pedroni, Carlo Padoan, Elena Zilio, Paolo Cesari, et al.
• Orchestra: Fenice Theater Orchestra, Orchestra del Teatro la Fenice
• Conductor: Gianandrea Gavazzeni
• Composer: Gaetano Donizetti
• Audio CD (June 8, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Opera D'oro
• ASIN: B00025ET9Q
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #329,169 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Maria di Rohan, opera: Act 1. Ed è ver?

2. Maria di Rohan, opera: Act 1. Non seguite la caccia... Quando il cor da lei piagato... At te, divina immagine

3. Maria di Rohan, opera: Act 1. Conte!... Agitata siete!

4. Maria di Rohan, opera: Act 1. Cupa fatal mestizia

5. Maria di Rohan, opera: Act 1. Contessa! In tanto giubilo... Ben fu il giorno avventurato

6. Maria di Rohan, opera: Act 1. Cavalieri!... Per non istare in ozio

7. Maria di Rohan, opera: Act 1. Il suo nome!... Gemea in tetro carcere... Se ancor m'è dato stringerti

8. Maria di Rohan, opera: Act 1. Ma che! turbato sei?

9. Maria di Rohan, opera: Act 1. D'un anno il giro

10. Maria di Rohan, opera: Act 1. Conte!... Sparve il nembo minaccioso

See all 17 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Maria di Rohan, opera: Act 2. Conte!... A morir incominciai

2. Maria di Rohan, opera: Act 3. Ti rassicura

3. Maria di Rohan, opera: Act 3. Ah, così santo affetto

4. Maria di Rohan, opera: Act 3. Aubry!

5. Maria di Rohan, opera: Act 3. Avvi un Dio che in sua clemenza... Benigno il cielo arride

6. Maria di Rohan, opera: Act 3. Parti: brev' ora

7. Maria di Rohan, opera: Act 3. Son cifre di Riccardo... Bella e di sol vestita

8. Maria di Rohan, opera: Act 3. Ebben?

9. Maria di Rohan, opera: Act 3. Ogni mio bene in te sperai... Sì, ma fra poco

10. Maria di Rohan, opera: Act 3. Al supplizio fui tratta

See all 12 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fine cast--fine performance!, April 12, 2005

By 

Richard Murray "opera lover" (Fraser, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Donizetti: Maria di Rohan (Audio CD)

Maria di Rohan is a wonderful bel canto opera written toward the end of Donizetti's life. The cast on this live 1974 production does the composer justice right from the start with tenor Grilli pouring out heroic sounds in the first major aria. For you Renata Scotto fans, you will be pleased to hear this great artist working her typical charm in her usual grandiose manner, milking every line with an extra helping of portamento.
Her two big arias and the gorgeous love duet with Grilli make this a worthy purchase if nothing else were sung. But, let's not fail to mention the great singing of baritone Renato Bruson.
His creamy tone and commitment to his charactor are other reasons to hear this recording. I am familiar with one other recording of Maria di Rohan with Edita Gruberova in the title role. Her vocal approach is quite different from Ms. Scotto, but I like recommend them both for the hearing. Opera d'Oro has done us a great service by obtaining these live recordings and offering them at such a bargain price. There is no libretto, but who cares when you are riding in your car and just listening anyway! This opera is Donizetti at his best!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Excellent performance but uneven sound, March 5, 2006

By 

R. Broadhead (Southwestern USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Donizetti: Maria di Rohan (Audio CD)

Maria di Rohan is an immensely enjoyable opera. As Donizetti's last romantic melodrama, it represents his final develoment of this species of opera. The performance of this opera is excellent and Renato Scotto steals the show as an energetic Maria along with fine performances by Umberto Grilli as Riccardo and Renato Bruson as Enrico. The other members of the cast also do a very fine job.

This recording is of a live performance at the Teatro Felice in Venice on March 26, 1974. The recording does a good job of catching the soloists and faithfully recording the tone and timbre of their voices. The chorus is also generally well recorded. The recording does a very poor job with the orchestra however. When only a few instruments are playing, the recording is acceptable. However, when the full orchestra plays, the sound becomes indistinct and muddled and it can be difficult to even fathom what the melody is until the singing starts. Perhaps this is why the overture has been omitted from this recording. There is also a lot of mike noise, stage noise, and crowd noise including one rambunctious fan who keeps shouting "Bravo, bravo!" although I actually get a kick out of him and his shouts are well timed.

The booklet is fairly typical the Opera d'Oro series. Although there is no libretto, there is a brief synopsis of the opera and a summary of the circumstances surrounding its composition. There is a listing of the title of each track on both CD's and the characters that sing on each track, which is helpful.

So I'd give this 5 stars for the performance, but overall downgraded to 3 stars for the poor sound quality of the orchestra and the omission of the overture. Nevertheless, I found this enjoyable to listen to once I got over the limitations of the sound. At the low price this is a bargain for this neglected masterpiece. I doubt I would have purchased Maria di Rohan at a much higher price, so I'm happy that Opera d'Oro issued this recording and am quite satisfied with my purchase.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars No overture!!, February 8, 2011

By 

Howard M. Bushnell (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Donizetti: Maria di Rohan (Audio CD)

I think it is important to let potential purchasers know that Gavazzeni, ever the know-it-all, has seen fit to improve Donizetti's opera by chucking the magnificent overture. After all, he knows so much better than did Donizetti what Donizetti wanted. Again.