Souvenirs of 19th Century Italian Opera

Record and Artist Details

Composer or Director: (Antonio) Carlos Gomes, Fabio Campana, Filippo Marchetti, Amilcare Ponchielli, Francesco Jnr Ruggi, Emilio Usiglio, Franco Faccio, Errico Petrella, Giuseppe Apolloni, Giovanni Bottesini

Label: International Record Collectors' Club

Magazine Review Date: 6/1994

Media Format: CD or Download

Media Runtime: 74

Mastering:

Mono
Acoustic
ADD

Catalogue Number: IRCC-CD808

Tracks:

Composition	Artist Credit
(L')Ebreo	Giuseppe Apolloni, Composer Giuseppe Apolloni, Composer
Jone, o L'ultimo giorno di Pompeo	Errico Petrella, Composer Errico Petrella, Composer
(I) due Ciabattini	Francesco Jnr Ruggi, Composer Francesco Jnr Ruggi, Composer
(La) Contessa d'Amalfi	Errico Petrella, Composer Errico Petrella, Composer
Amleto	Franco Faccio, Composer Franco Faccio, Composer
(Le) Educande di Sorrento	Emilio Usiglio, Composer Emilio Usiglio, Composer
Ruy Blas	Filippo Marchetti, Composer Filippo Marchetti, Composer
Esmeralda	Fabio Campana, Composer Fabio Campana, Composer
(Il) Guarany, Movement: Gentile di cuore	(Antonio) Carlos Gomes, Composer (Anonymous) Orchestra (Antonio) Carlos Gomes, Composer Bidù Sayão, Soprano
(Il) Guarany, Movement: Sento una forza indomita	(Antonio) Carlos Gomes, Composer (Anonymous) Orchestra (Antonio) Carlos Gomes, Composer Ester Mazzoleni, Soprano Giovanni Zenatello, Tenor
(Il) Guarany, Movement: Il torvo sguardo	(Antonio) Carlos Gomes, Composer (Anonymous) Orchestra (Antonio) Carlos Gomes, Composer Alberto Amadi, Tenor
(Il) Guarany, Movement: Senza tetto, senza cuna	(Antonio) Carlos Gomes, Composer (Anonymous) Orchestra (Antonio) Carlos Gomes, Composer Pasquale Amato, Baritone
(I) promessi sposi, Movement: Al tuo trono	Amilcare Ponchielli, Composer (Anonymous) Orchestra Amilcare Ponchielli, Composer Enrico Vannuccini, Bass
Lina	Amilcare Ponchielli, Composer Amilcare Ponchielli, Composer
Ero e Leandro	Giovanni Bottesini, Composer Giovanni Bottesini, Composer

Author:

Here is a test for the encyclopaedias and dictionaries. Apolloni, Bottesini, Campana, Faccio, Marchetti, Petrella, Ruggi: let us see what they can tell us about these (Gomes and Ponchielli being taken for granted). The International Dictionary of Opera (St James Press: 1993) scores one only (Franco Faccio, mostly as a conductor);

The Viking Opera Guide (Viking: 1993) has three (Bottesini, Marchetti, Petrella); the New Grove Opera (1992) has all save Francesco Ruggi. As for the singers, some of these defeat even the compilers of the disc: ''We begin with a singer about whom we can find almost no information'' (Arturo DiGiorgio), ''No biographical information can be found'' (Angelo Santini), ''This basso is another mystery man'' (Enrico Vannuccini). I can do no better, so we mustn't mock.
Among the unknowns are some good arias and some good singers, though only one item has drawn me back to listen repeatedly. This is Ofelia's solo, ''Principe Amleto'', in the ill-fated opera Amleto by Faccio, who renounced composition after the rough ride given to his work at La Scala. The singer, Chloe Owen, recorded it specially for IRCC around 1960 (strange they cannot be more precise about the date), and though no text is given it would seem to be a reading of one of Hamlet's love-letters (''Doubt thou the stars are fire'', etc.). The music is tasteful and the singing fresh-toned and delicate, with a most finely placed high C. After this, a principal attraction is the opportunity to hear de Luca sing ''Addio del passato'', and I'll say no more for that would give the game away. Among old friends, the tenor Scampini is gratefully heard, and among new acquaintances the soprano Tina Desana. In his Two Centuries of Opera at Covent Garden (London: 1958), Harold Rosenthal says that the reason for engaging her is a mystery—one, I would think, that this record helps to explain.
The rare recordings are transferred from good copies though with some top-cut, as is evident if the Guarany duet is compared with versions on Pearl and Symposium. The booklet, despite areas of defeat, is helpful and well-illustrated, and the provision of texts (only two missing) is a subject for congratulation.'