Nicola Vaccaj (or Vaccai) was born in 1790 and died in 1848. He was thus a contemporary of Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini. During his lifetime he had some success as an opera composer but he seems to have been better regarded as a singing teacher, and his reputation today – such as it is – rests on a primer, the Metodo pratico di canto italiano per camera.

The plays of Schiller were frequently plundered for operas in the 19th century: well-known examples include Rossini’s Guillaume Tell and four by Verdi, culminating in Don Carlos. Vaccaj had already composed a setting of Giovanna d’Arco 12 years before he chose Die Braut von Messina for what turned out to be his penultimate opera. It was staged in Venice at La Fenice: the strong cast included Caroline Ungher and Giorgio Ronconi, later to be the first Nabucco, but the premiere on March 2, 1839, was a disaster and the opera disappeared until it was revived for the production recorded here.

It’s tempting to think that La sposa di Messina failed on account of its improbable plot but the letter from Vaccaj quoted in Jeremy Commons’s invaluable booklet-note suggests that it was the onstage violence to which the audience objected. Emanuele and Cesare, the sons of Isabella, both love Beatrice, who loves Emanuele in return. Cesare murders Emanuele; when Diego reveals that Beatrice is their sister, Cesare kills himself. The music is attractive and workmanlike, without being especially memorable. Emanuele, addressing his father in the tomb, is complemented by a flute; the flowing trio for Isabella and her sons is enhanced by a pizzicato cello accompaniment. Harp, flute and horns introduce the second part of Act 2, and Cesare’s dying gasps alternate with a cor anglais.

The performance is not of a uniform quality. Maurizio Lo Piccolo in the small part of Diego is the best of the men but both ladies are excellent: Jessica Pratt makes a commanding Isabella and Wakako Ono spins a beautiful legato line. Their duet, in mellifluous thirds, is a high point. Recommended, but with reservations about the tenor and baritone.