This is a two-CD, two-hour-and-30-minute fiesta of excerpts from Opera Rara’s catalog, in celebration of its 25th year. If every label were as interested in music as Opera Rara, the recording industry would be something to take pride in. Its releases always include (copious) informative notes, full librettos and translations, and offer well-rehearsed, high-quality performances played and sung by artists who are dedicated to and actually care about the music and style of the period. None of the performances have been perfunctory; when you’re outside the mainstream Italian, French, and German repertoire, and it’s clear that the recording at hand probably will be the only one, say, of Pacini’s Carlo di Borgogna, you have a responsibility, and Opera Rara has lived up to that responsibility for 25 years.
There are 25 numbers in this collection and all are splendidly performed and worth hearing. Particularly luscious are a quintet from Pacini’s Maria Regina d’Inghilterra with Nelly Miricioiu, Mary Plazas, Bruce Ford, Alastair Miles, and José Fardilha, and a brilliant quartet from Rossini’s Bianca e Falliero with Majella Cullagh, Jennifer Larmore, Barry Banks, and Ildebrando d’ Arcangelo. Other treats include Yvonne Kenny’s singing of an aria from Weber’s Ines de Castro, a duet from Meyerbeer’s Margherita d’Anjou with Annick Massis and Alastair Miles, anything with the manly, agile Bruce Ford, and much with the sweet-toned William Matteuzzi. But it’s all great entertainment, and after you hear these excerpts you’ll probably want to own each recording from which these selections are taken. This is rich stuff, highly recommended–and irresistible at the price.
