Donizetti: MARIA DI ROHAN
World Premiere recording of the new critical edition
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Sir Mark Elder, conductor
Krassimira Stoyanova
José Bros
Christopher Purves
Brindley Sherratt
Loïc Félix
Enkelejda Shkosa
Graeme Broadbent
Christopher Turner
Riccardo Simonetti
NEW RELEASE – NOVEMBER 2011
ORC44 (2CD)
According to the late Donizetti expert William Ashbrook, Maria di Rohan (1843) is the composer‘s ‘tautest, most melodramatic opera’ and shows him ‘in complete control of his musico-dramatic goals’.
The tragic melodrama, composed in 1843, was one of the last operas written by Donizetti (he had notched up an impressive 62 by then). First performed in Vienna, Donizetti revised it for its Paris premiere, changing the tenor role of Armando di Gondì to mezzo-soprano. Working from the new critical edition of the score, Opera Rara has recorded the original Vienna (June 1843) two tenor version as well as some of the appendices from the Paris (November 1843) revision, including those written for the mezzo-soprano, sung here by Enkelejda Shkosa.
Set during the time of Cardinal Richelieu, the opera focuses on Maria (Krassimira Stoyanova), secretly married to Riccardo, Duke of Chevreuse (José Bros), who has wounded the Cardinal’s nephew in a duel. In seeking assistance for his plight from Enrico, Count of Chalais (Christopher Purves), Maria finds her former love for the latter revived. The rest of the opera centres on how this intricate and explosive triangle of relationships plays out. As a handful of recent productions have demonstrated, the result shows Donizetti rightly claiming his position as one of the nineteenth-century’s greatest musical dramatists.
This recording was made immediately prior to the acclaimed concert performance, produced by Opera Rara and the OAE, at the Royal Festival Hall, London. Tim Ashley (the Guardian) said of the performance, "Krassimira Stoyanova, radiant and impassioned, beautifully captured Maria's ambivalent glamour and the private hell beneath her cool allure".
The studio recording comes as a 2 CD set, with a lavishly illustrated book including a complete libretto with English translation, comprehensive article and synopsis by eminent 19th-century musical scholar, Jeremy Commons.
The project marks Opera Rara’s second collaboration with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment; the orchestra, choir and stellar cast are conducted by Opera Rara Artistic Director, Sir Mark Elder, bringing his customary musical intelligence and wealth of experience to this repertoire.
Further information:
Terri Robson Associates
International Management & Promotion
T +44 (0)20 7221 4330
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