Rossini: Overtures

Advantages: Fun and lively comic opera sung in English
Disadvantages: Not in the original language

...The Marriage of Figaro. A play already utilised as a basis for earlier operas including The barber of Seville by Paisiello in 1782 and Figaro by Mozart in 1796. The English translation provided by Amanda and Anthony Holden. This recording opens with the famous Overture with slow introduction leading to the main section with the two main themes repeated. The action then begins. The ardent Count Almaviva (Bruce Ford - tenor) has fallen in love with Rosina (Della Jones - contralto), the ward of Doctor Bartolo. Bartolo (Andrew Shore - baritone) however has plans to marry her himself. Almaviva serenades Rosina and sends her love letters under the assumed name of Lindoro. The factotum, Figaro (Alan Opie - baritone), arranges for him to visit Rossini disguised as a drunken soldier. The plan fails and he is arrested and imprisoned. Undeterred... Read review

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Advantages: Comic opera at it's best
Disadvantages: Can be difficult to follow

...Love’s Luggage Lost, L’Occasione fa il ladro, is an opera rarely performed today. I for one had never heard of it and was looking forward to the recent Opera North’s revival of it as one of their recent productions in their Eight Little Opera Greats at the Lyric Theatre in the Lowry Centre, Manchester. The opera was composed by Gioachino Rossini in 1812 and the libretto, written in Italian, by Luigi Privdali. Entitled L’Occasione fa il ladro, it translates literally as Opportunity Makes the Thief. An Opera Farsa, the story whilst hilarious contains all the traditional elements of arias, duets and ensembles. The performance I went to was superb sung in English with a contemporary setting and with clever little tweaks to the libretto to bring it up to date. This performance was set in an aeroplane one of ‘Queasy Jets’ and an airport... Read review

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Advantages: A sadly neglected Savoyard gem
Disadvantages: You'll be hard pressed to find it

...its proud perfection” 2. “A complicated gentleman allow me to present Of all the arts and faculties embodiment; He’s a great Arithmetician who can demonstrate with ease That two and two are three or five or anything you please: An eminent Logician who can make it clear to you That black is white – when look’d at from the proper point of view; A marvellous Philologist who’ll undertake to show That ‘yes’ is but another and neater form of ‘no’” Gilbert even uses a modern day buzz word “Make the money-spinner SPIN: for you only stand to win!!” THE SONGS The first orchestral theme is labelled “Introduction” rather than Overture and lasts a mere three minutes. The overall tone of the music is distinctly Savoyard. Themes come into earshot, reminding of other operettas (the tone is Iolanthe or Princess Ida) but the entry... Read review

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