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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Premiered in 1821, Matilde di Shabran was Rossini's 32nd opera. It is a semi-serious work, with a plot that concerns a woman-hating, militaristic, hypochondriacal Lord (Corradino) whose doctor (Aliprando) tries to get him to fall in love with his ward, the sharp-witted Matilde, in order to make him happy. There are buffo characters and Corradino, after falling for Matilde, almost has her executed when he's duped by a Countess who loves him into thinking Matilde loves another. But a comic character, Isidoro, the court poet, saves the day and all ends happily. Of course, the music's the thing, and this opera is filled with glorious, complex ensembles - one each of a quartet, quintet, sestet and octet - and the vocal writing is perilously difficult and florid. Superstar tenor Juan Diego Florez and soprano Annick Massis dispatch the endless roulades, long-breathed lines and frequent excursion up to high Bs, Cs and C sharps with the greatest of ease and expressivity. There's not a weak link in or a non-Rossinian technique from the cast. Conductor Riccardo Frizza leads a tight, energetic performance; the sound is excellent. This great fun and highly recommended. --Robert Levine
Product Description
Juan Diego Florez burst onto the international opera scene in 1996 when he replaced an indisposed singer in the role of Corradino in Rossini's Matilde di Shabran at the Pesaro Rossini Festival. Since then the world-famous opera festival in Rossini's home town has been Juan Diego's home most summers. In 2004 Florez returned to Pesaro to sing the role of Corradino--the brutal, woman-hating Duke--this time with acclaimed French bel canto star Annick Massis in the title role, and once again the critics were unanimous in their acclaim "In 1996 a young tenor named Juan Diego Florez sang Corradino in Pesaro and soon had an international career. He is back in superb form, hurling coloratura passages as if they were instruments of war. Financial Times, London Gioachino Rossini's opera was first performed in Rome in 1821, when it was conducted by the famous violinist Paganini. Set in medieval Spain, Matilde di Shabran tells of the tyrant Corradino (Florez) who takes pity on Matilde (Massis), the orphaned daughter of one of his comrades. After she softens the heart of the Duke, she gives her heart to one of his prisoners Edoardo (a role for mezzo-soprano). The brutal Duke's response is to order that she be pushed over the edge of a ravine! It is surely the highly complex plot that has kept Matilde di Shabran off the list of frequently performed Rossini operas, but it certainly contains many glorious examples of Rossini at his best, in florid solos, toe-tapping ensembles, and his trademark `tutti' crescendos. This 3 CD complete opera unites Florez and Massis with the Prague Chamber Choir and the Prquesta Sinfonicade Galica, conducted by Riccardo Frizza.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
WHAT A DEMONSTRATION OF ROSSINI SINGING!,
By
This review is from: Rossini: Matilde di Shabran (Audio CD)
This may not be Rossini's greatest opera, but it certainly deserves to be heard for the singing alone. The story is part "seria" and part "buffo", but none of this matters. With the very special gifts of Juan Diego Florez (truly this opera could have been written for him!), as well as the honed florid skills of the rest of the cast, we are given here a Rossinian banquet of singing that must be heard to be believed. Florez, as expected, executes coloratura embellishments and roulades that would defeat any other tenor di grazia ---- living or historical. The beauty of his voice is never in doubt, and he rides the roller-coaster-like roulades and cadenzas with the precision of a machine gun. Annick Massis, a French soprano unknown in our country, is equally as impressive in the title role. She's clearly been well schooled in Rossini singing, and her singing has beauty, flexibility, as well as character. If Massis ultimately comes off with less sheer impact than Florez, it's probably because her role has a bit less "fireworks", and moreover, his is the star name in the cast. Virtually all of the cast members are top notch, especially Israeli mezzo Hadar Halevy in the trouser role of Eduardo. She too is given a role with formidable demands, and she meets them head-on. The orchestra and chorus, under the direction of Riccardo Frizza, is outstanding. If you love showy and spectacular singing, I can't see how you wouldn't want this in your collection.
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not Just Juan Diego Florez - 5 Stars All Around!,
By Expedito (Berkeley) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Rossini: Matilde di Shabran (Audio CD)
I can't believe no one has reviewed this yet. Maybe it's because there is not much to add to the editorial reviews. But this is a truly wonderful all-around recording of a little-known Rossini opera - another mostly comic battle of the sexes in which a clever, strong-willed woman and love ultimately triumphs over a powerful and primitive man who is determined to resist the charms of all women. Rossini, of course, wrote many, many operas - some more memorable than others. To me, Matilde de Shabran is similar to L'Italiana in Algeri (and almost, but not quite as delightful).Colatura duels as well as some wonderful ensembles keep the opera cheerfully zipping along from start to finish, despite a threatened but thwarted execution, which seems somehow incongruous - at least by today's standard - to the overall comic lightness of the music. Ah, but all ends well. As you would expect, Juan Diego Florez is absolutely wonderful, and he is reason enough to buy this CD. Annick Massis as Mathilde, however, is equally excellent, as is Riccardo Frizza's conducting - and really, the rest of the cast. The price for this CD may seem steep, but for me at least, it was worth every penny and then some.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Musically, a pleasant surprise - with superlative singing, in great sound,
By
This review is from: Rossini: Matilde di Shabran (Audio CD)
I pretty much agree with all the previous reviewers, apart from the curiously curmudgeonly and wrong-headed one by S Wells, and would add only that the quality of sound is, for all practical purposes, indistinguishable from a studio recording in quality but gains from its source as a live recording. Florez is, of course, the star of the show but all the singers here have neat, firm, accomplished voices (with the exception of Chiara Chialli's wobbly mezzo as the Contessa; she quite spoils the homogeneity of the ensembles she is in) and I would particularly single out the Israeli mezzo, Halevy, for her "chocolate" tone and accurate roulades. It's true that not all the music is as inspired as that in Rossini's masterpieces and I don't warm to Massis as some do, finding her a little bland, but she certainly has all the notes. Glory in Florez' virtuosity in a part seemingly tailor-made for him; this is great fun and underscored by some nice satirical touches in an ironic storyline which parodies the very operatic conventions that Rossini himself helped to establish. This much-vilified plot emerges as no more absurd or incomprehensible than many another more celebrated opera and seems quite straightforward to me, if patently - and deliberately - absurd. A must for Rossini aficionados.
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