The 16-year-old Mozart hardly can be expected to plumb any true emotional depths in this opera, composed for Milan in 1772. But it was a great success at the time–it ran for 20 performances–despite a commonplace plot that has the Roman dictator Silla (tenor) in love with Giunia (soprano), who is affianced to Cecilio (mezzo), who plots to kill Silla but who is found out and sentenced to die. Silla, in a moment of senseless magnanimity pardons Cecilio and allows him to marry Giunia, while he, Silla, abdicates.
This recording cuts a great deal of music from the opera, reducing it to a mere two-and-a quarter hours, slightly less than the Harnoncourt performance (on Teldec) offers, and acres less than Hager’s on Philips (at 3:32). But trust me, there’s enough–there are just so many seven-minute da capo arias a person can sit through, regardless of the quality of singing, which is relatively high here, though only occasionally spectacular.
Best in the cast is the lovely, understated soprano Annick Massis as Giunia. Her four arias each give her a different way to shine, from melting lyricism to dazzling virtuosity (the second-act “Ah, si crudel periglio”). Her coloratura is spotless and so is her intonation. Edita Gruberova (with Harnoncourt) may bring more bite to the part (particularly at the bottom of her range), but her sound is not nearly as luscious; Arleen Auger (Hager) is fine as well. Monica Bacelli as Cecilia is scrupulously musical and has the right instincts, but she’s outclassed by Cecilia Bartoli (Harnoncourt) and Julia Varady (Hager).
Roberto Sacca gives the right impression of brutality as Silla throughout the opera, and he has all the notes–but his tone is a bit coarse and any attempts at a trill are hopeless (this is true of most of the cast). As his friend, Aufidio, tenor Stefano Ferrari is close to graceless. Celia, Silla’s sister, is sung by a charming soprano (new to me, named Julia Kleiter), and her lover, Cinna (Cecilio’s friend), is the fine Veronica Cangemi, utterly resolute and articulate.
The modern-instruments orchestra plays well, but the Czech conductor Tomas Netopil does not give the score the boot it really needs; he plays it with elegance and attention to detail but there’s no tension. Harnoncourt overdoes it with violent attacks and manic-depressive changes from piano to forte with reckless abandon, but Hager, hardly a firebrand, seems to balance best. The recording is excellent and this is recommended for Massis, Kleiter, and Cangemi. But first choice will have to be Hager; it’s complete, but you need not listen to every second of it.
