Customer Reviews

Rossini - Le Comte Ory (Rossini Opera Festival, Pesaro 2003)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Don't be dissuaded by the prior reviewers' incomprehensible restraint and provisos!

I'm admittedly no musicologist, but my music collection is large, and I'd previously listened to (virtually) all of Rossini's other operas, and I remain very fond of (virtually) all of those.

But this edition of Le Comte Ory has suddenly become my new "favorite"! To my sensibilities, there is nothing here amounting to a significant negative: the singing (across the proverbial board), the instrumentals, the recorded sound... everything is achieved exactly the way I like my Rossini!

Of course, these things are matters of taste. But, with the very first play, I continually felt my eyes half closing, my head swaying from side to side, and (now and again) my hands "conducting" or tapping with rhythmic rapture. And, for me, that is about as good as it gets when listening to early romantic opera!

This recording is the real deal. If you can't relish this, you must not fully relish Rossini.

This recording was taken from 'live' performances (how many I do not know) at the 2003 Pesaro Rossini Festival. Tried-and-true Rossinian Jesús López-Cobos leads the Prague Chamber Choir and Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, neither of those being especially polished groups but contributing without serious defect to the fecundity of the performance(s). López-Cobos' conducting does not draw attention to itself, and perhaps that is praise enough in this score of which no less than Gui is the acknowledged master (on records at least).

The production was apparently minimalist: this is the impression I take from the recorded sound, at least. There is a bit of typical live-performance bumping and thumping in the quiet moments of the recitative (handled without any great effort at liveliness, admittedly), but the sound is admirably clear and well-balanced. The voices are slightly to the front as one expects from live-performance recording conditions, but I never strained to hear orchestral felicities beneath the din of singing. Kudos to the team at Emil Berliner Studios for clean, gimmick-free editing.

Alas, some of the singing is best described as a din. Poor Bruno Praticò as Raimbaud seems utterly lost: the voice is breathy, and the patter is embarrassingly ragged. His Dulcamara alongside Devia and Alagna for Viotti on Erato did not inspire torrents of praise (Dulcamara emerged, as a result of the compromised vocal resources, as more than usually a charlatan), but this performance is even less accomplished. At least with his Dulcamara one had the benefit of his native Italian.

Alastair Miles as the Comte's 'Gouverneur' is more than adequate. The tone seems slightly dry and 'northern' in color, but the performance is assured and fleet in the difficulties of the first-act aria. Marina de Liso (Dame Ragonde) and Rossella Bevacqua (Alice) are both very competent and effective in their contributions. Miles seeks to avoid sounding a standard-issue operatic tutor (translation: dull old stick) and achieves an effect of seeming to seek to avoid sounding a standard-issue operatic tutor: one can easily admire the effort.

Marie-Ange Todorovitch is, by turns, excellent and exasperating as Isolier. In her duet with the Comte, she is fantastic: secure throughout the range, tackling the firecracker roulades and top notes with aplomb, and combining well with her partner. In the later trio with Ory and the Comtesse, she shows to lesser advantage: here she seems uncomfortable with the tessitura of her lines and is only fitfully convincing. She is involved and involving throughout, however, and she seems to relish her pivotal role in the plot.

Stefania Bonfadelli's Comtesse is an anomaly: hers is a voice of some agility, possessing a generally secure upper extension and some notion of how to sing Rossini fiorature. Yet the whole never adds up to more than the sum of its parts. There is some occasional good singing (as in the aforementioned trio), but much of her performance lacks that indefinable slancio that could render the wily Comtesse a figure of sparkling brilliance. In that, Bonfadelli is not alone: neither Sumi Jo on the Gardiner/Philips recording (despite the uncompromising agility and brightness of the timbre) nor Sari Barabas on the Gui/EMI Glyndebourne recording captures the listener's imagination as one suspects Rossini intended. Perhaps Anna Netrebko will one day give us a thinking-man's Comtesse de Formoutiers. In the end, Bonfadelli shirks few of Rossini's considerable demands and provides enough showy top notes to avoid being utterly dismissed and forgotten.

Finally, there is of course Le Comte himself. In the name-part, it must be conceded that Juan Diego Flórez trails all the clouds of glory the hype would lead one to expect. There are occasional missteps, but these are very minor and detract from the overall effect of the performance only if one dwells too much upon them. Flórez' singing in his first-act 'aria' (Rossini made no such distinction, but the shape of the score asserts itself undeniably) is poised, precise, and technically first-rate. His singing of the rapid-fire patter in the ensuing quasi-cabaletta is accurate but not especially amusing. In general, Flórez leaves the comedy to the music itself though there is a smile in the basic sound of his voice. This Comte Ory is clearly more of a lover than a schemer. Taken merely as a vocal performance, Flórez is very much in his element and easily out-classes his recorded competitors, the competent but fussy John Aler for Gardiner and Gui's Juan Oncina, whose instincts are front-and-center but whose frequent flights into falsetto are off-putting to all but those who are unquestioning converts [Purists and Purveyors of other Curious Musical Minutiae, please note that there is a great difference between Oncina-esque falsetto and the genuine voce mista required of tenors by the great bel canto composers].

On the whole, this set does not quite outrank the Gui studio recording as the COMTE ORY par excellence: it does, however, make a good case for the musical distinction and stage-worthiness of the score, a case which I sincerely hoped is not overlooked by the managements at some of our more adventurous American opera companies. At least we all now know in whom we can find a top-rank Comte Ory for the twenty-first century.

It's important to say that Le Comte Ory is a revised work of Il Viaggio a Reims, being the last a cantata scenica intended for a special occasion: Carlos X's coronation. Rossini, knowing that this cantata would have a brief life, he withrew Il Viaggio from stages, and reserved part of its brilliant music for a more stable theme: Le Comte Ory, adapting almost the whole cantata to the french taste, and composing few new numbers but equally splendid. This story could be known by the most of Rossini music's fan, but i wrote to explain that, when you are a fan of Il Viaggio, is interesting to listen a opera that interpolate female and male parts or entires numbers (Raimbaud sings the Maddalena introduction, Ory sing the Madama Cortese first aria, La Contesse read the letter that is read by Don Profondo before, etc), to delight again the duets and arias enjoyed before in a party of frustrated travelers, and unavoidable to compare with Il viaggio. I have to say, musically, Il Viaggio a Reims is better. Le Comte Ory is dramatically superior, and this recording -as other reviewers claims- does not make you feel in a theatre, but is well sung by all the cast: You will be sure that Florez will do his work and more (when you listen Horne, Ramey, Sutherland or Pavarotti), Bonfadelli with her high notes, and so. Only, I can protest for the Pratico's ugly voice; nevertheless i have to ackowledge his accurate coloratura in his only air. I would wish a box set for this not-budget recording, but the booklet notes are written by the excellent Rossini scholar, Richard Osborne, whose some opinions are included by reviewers of this recording here.

le comte ory it is a strange wonderful masterpiece,that is, all revolves around the count,but unlike almost any other opera,he does not have an aria, the three arias are by other characters, that is the reason to know french or to have the libretto, it is an ensemble opera, 65 years before Falstaff, a little bit for each one, with the count glueing all together.That is why if you do expect great arias for the title role you will be disapointed,but if you truly understands french and know that opera is sung ensemble tale and not a sung single role you will be rewarded by the genius of Rossini.

Juan Diego Florez is the only reason for this recording. His delivery of the title role is a delight from beginning to end. Unfortunately, his performance is the only thing to recommend this recording. The rest of the cast sound second -- and ever third -- rate compared to him. There's little sense of fun to be found anywhere in this performance.

Seek out John Eliot Gardiner's recording with John Aler, Sumi Jo and Diana Montague or go for the truly delightful DVD from Glyndebourne with Marc Laho and Annick Massis.

This two CD production of Rossini's 1828 comedy "Le Comte Ory" from Deutsche Grammophone features fine ensemble singing by a talented cast headed by tenor Juan Diego Flórez as the Count, accompanied by a strong performance from Orchestra del Teatro Comunale de Bologna, conducted by Jesús López-Cobas. The story centers on the efforts of the Count Ory and his men to disguise themselves as pilgrim nuns to gain entrance into the castle of Countess Adèle and her ladies-in-waiting, while their husbands are away fighting in the Crusades. They succeed, for a time, but the return of the Crusaders drives the Count and his men off in the end, and the ladies - while not remaining quite chaste - do seem glad to have their husbands home again. While this opera in two acts is satisfying, it is light stuff with few memorable arias. Disc one is almost entirely forgettable and is typical French comedic opera; Disc two, however, is considerably better and I actually enjoyed the more serious mood it set. In the second act there were duets between the Countess, sung by Stafania Bonfadelli and Dame Ragonde, sung by Marina De Liso that were superb and enchanting, and when joined by the Prague Chamber Chorus filled any gaps left by the frivolity of the somewhat lame libretto of the first act. And this is unfortunate, because Bruno Pratticò's, Raimbaud is done very well. The libretto of the second act seemed to fill in any gaps and compensated satisfactorily. As the count, tenor Flórez managed the hurdles of the Rossini score well and easily makes the jumps to high C, and necessary rises in octave called for with perfection, even though I find these musical displays somewhat jarring and a diversion. But they represent a style and the style has to be respected when done well, and it is done well here. As for those who do appreciate them and this genre of opera, I don't think you will be disappointed in this offering. As a buy, I think it is an interesting one, and would recommend it, thought not my style. The music of the second act, coupled with some fine singing form an entire ensemble of talented performers is what saves this Rossini, Don Juan prototype. The CD quality is even throughout and technically there are no serious flaws here. The booklet that comes with the package is adequate, although I would like to have seen a small bio on each singer included. Though not performed often, one might want to have it in one's collection to listen to on those occasions when the mood calls for it. (PJW)