Don Quichotte was the fourth opera commissioned from Massenet by Raoul Gunsbourg, director of the Monte Carlo Opéra. The title-role was composed for Chaliapin, who took part in the premiere in February 1910; in Paris the following December the Russian was replaced by
the French bass Vanni-Marcoux, whom Massenet preferred. The Dulcinée on both occasions was Lucy Arbell, the composer’s – shall we say – muse.

A comédie héroïque in five short acts, Don Quichotte has something in common with Verdi’s Falstaff: both operas treat, more or less comically, of an old knight going a-wooing; each appeared towards the end of its composer’s creative life and neither reveals its qualities at first sight. That is not to say that those qualities are comparable: Falstaff is pretty well perfect, whereas Don Quichotte contains passages both spare and arid. But there are many gems, and Massenet is as good as any of his compatriots at writing Spanish music: Carmen herself would not be ashamed to sing Dulcinée’s ‘Quand la femme a vingt ans’.

The two recordings that readers might have come across feature Nicolai Ghiaurov and José van Dam respectively. I haven’t heard the latter version, but to judge from his farewell to the Brussels stage in 2010, I’d personally question if van Dam had the bass tones and physical stature required. Ghiaurov was a true bass and he is partnered by two splendid French singers, Gabriel Bacquier and Régine Crespin. The Quichotte in this nearly all-Russian recording from the Mariinsky Concert Hall is an Italian, Ferruccio Furlanetto. He too is a real bass and his dark, round tone is perfect for the role. He can’t resist uttering his trademark sob now and then but much can be forgiven for his beautiful legato as Quichotte prays in front of the bandits. When the knight is rejected by Dulcinée, Furlanetto’s combination of sadness and dignity is most affecting; and so is the death scene with Andrei Serov’s distraught Sancho. Anna Kiknadze finds heart as well as frivolity in Dulcinée’s music. Gergiev and his chorus and orchestra are on fine form and the recorded sound, in the experienced hands of James Mallinson, is excellent.