The Ricci brothers, Luigi and Federico, were well known in the middle of the 19th century for their charming comic operas, but left to his own devices, as he is here, Federico (1809-1877) had a far darker side, one that leaned toward tragedy. In this work we meet the corrupt 12th-century Sicilian Duke Roggero (tenor), who has seduced and dumped Delizia (soprano–what a name!), daughter of his former tutor, Corrado (baritone). Bonello (mezzo-soprano, a “trouser” role) and Giffredo (bass-baritone) are mercenaries who join with Corrado for revenge against Roggero; Bonello is in love with Delizia. Roggero kills Corrado in a duel and asks Delizia to forgive him for his infidelity, but when she discovers, moments later, that he has killed her father, she takes back her pardon. Bonello, Giffredo, and onlookers drag Roggero away to his death as Delizia curses him.
The opera was a great success in 1841 at its premiere at La Scala, and was performed there and at other theaters for some time. Opera Rara gives us 80 minutes of music but supplies the entire libretto in a superbly annotated (by Jeremy Commons) booklet. The opera is in a prologue and two acts: We get the prelude, chorus, and a duet for Delizia and Roggero from the prelude; a big, Verdi-like aria and cabaletta for Corrado; a brief duet for Bonello and Delizia; the lengthy (19-minute) multi-movement finale to the first act; and all but the introductory scene of the second act. Arias for Delizia and Bonello are omitted, among other numbers; I get the impression that there is probably another 40-or-so minutes of music that make up the entire work. I wish an aria had been substituted for the opening prelude and chorus, but what we get is pretty exciting.
What the work may lack in memorable tunes (save for Corrado’s cabaletta, which is instantly familiar) it makes up for in rage and confrontation, outside of the lyrical tenor/soprano duet in the prologue. The whole first-act finale is anger-motivated, but oddly, the first part is marked “largo” and the last, “andante”. This of course adds a different type of tension, but you miss the thrill of a good Donizetti or Verdi gallop. Corrado’s aria and cabaletta are exciting, and his last-act duet with Roggero, before their duel, is an excellent piece.
The best singing comes from James Westman as Corrado, a true Verdi baritone, with big, exciting tone and real bite to his voice. A close second is the tenor Dmitri Korchak as Roggero, whose bright lyric sound has appealing ping, although his pitch is not always reliable. Dimitra Theodossiou’s Delizia is involved and involving, but she’s an uneven singer who lacks the fine tone we’d like to hear. Andrew Foster Williams is a resonant Giffredo, and Ann Taylor does what she can with what’s left of Bonello’s role. Her soft-edged duet with Theodossiou is charming and sounds like Bellini-meets-Ponchielli! Roland Böer leads without much warmth; he beats time efficiently and keeps the action going. Chorus and orchestra are excellent–Ricci loves quick changes in dynamics for effect, which the players pull off nicely. An interesting oddity. [8/17/2009]
