The success of his Tancredi,
premiered at Venice’s La Fenice on 6 February 1813, firmly established
the young Rossini’s reputation as being amongst the leading young Italian
opera composers of his day. He quickly consolidated that position with
the sparkling L’Italiana in Algeri premiered at Venice’s Teatro
San Benedetto on 22 May that year. Whilst Milan was less impressed with
Il Turco in Italia (14 August 1814) other Italian cities took
it up with enthusiasm and, together with the earlier works, put Rossini
in a pre-eminent position among his competitors. In the spring of 1815
he was summoned to Naples by the influential impresario Domenico Barbaja
and offered the musical directorship of the two royal Theatres of that
city, the San Carlo and the Fondo. Under the terms of his contract,
Rossini was to provide two operas each year for Naples whilst being
permitted to compose occasional operas for other cities. Rossini spent
eight years in Naples composing nine of his opera serie which contain
some of his greatest music. In the first two years of his contract he
also composed no fewer than five operas for other cities, including
four for Rome. The second of these Rome works, and his 17th
opera, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, was premiered on 20 February
1816; it has become the composer’s most popular work and has never gone
out of fashion. His second most popular opera, La Cenerentola,
his 20th, was also premiered in Rome on 25 January 1817.
That year he seemed to have rather overstretched himself even by his
own standards and capacity for rapid composition. He followed up La
Cenerentola with La Gazza Ladra for Milan on 31 May and Armida
at the newly rebuilt San Carlo in Naples on 11 November.
Rossini was not unused to
having to compose swiftly in Rome, usually as a consequence of hitting
problems with libretti and censors. He had composed his two previous
successes for that city in haste and under considerable time pressure.
But it has become the accepted truth among scholars and commentators
that by the end of 1817 the composer was creatively exhausted and, as
a consequence, Adelaide di Borgogna suffered. This view of the
opera seems to be related to the work’s modest initial success, not
unusual for any primo ottocento work, and the fact that it did not travel
widely and disappeared after the relatively early date of 1825. The
libretto by Giovanna Schmidt has also come in for contributory criticism
although he was no hack and wrote the libretti for Rossini’s Elisabetta
Regina d’Inghilterra (1815) and Armida (1817) as well as
works for Donizetti and others without concern being expressed. Although
Schmidt abuses history with his story, that is not unusual in opera
librettists. Perhaps the most significant critical questions arise for
two reasons. First, that Rossini reverted to the outdated form of secco
recitative, which, by the time of the composition, had largely been
replaced with appropriate dramatic music in most operas and certainly
in his opera seria. But perhaps the main contributory factor to the
neglect of Adelaide is to be found in the lack of an autograph.
As well as making performing editions easier, this would more surely
indicate the origins of the components of the work refuting suggestions
that some of the composition was farmed out to assistants. In his usual
scholarly and extensive accompanying essay, Dr Jeremy Commons examines
these issues and whilst accepting some of the arguments about weak passages
of composition, argues strongly in favour of the work.
Schmidt’s libretto, set
in 10th century Italy, tells the story of Adelaide whose
husband has been killed by Berengario. She can be returned to the throne
if she marries Adelberto his son. The German Emperor, Ottone, a trousers
role, comes to her aid and after the defeat of Berengario she and her
saviour end in love and triumph.
Certainly, one of the weakest
passages in the opera, at least in comparison with the rest, is the
overture. With only slight alteration to the orchestration this is a
straight lift from that composed for La Cambiale di matrimonio,
the composer’s second opera, and first to be staged, in 1810. Thereafter
Adelaide has typical, often distinguished musical thrust
with provision for vocal display and dramatic cohesion. Derived from
concert performances given at the Edinburgh Festival in 2005 Opera Rara
field their first team of principal singers. Majella Cullagh gets the
vocal fireworks under way early in Adelaide’s confrontation with Adelberto
and Berengario when Adelaide refuses to countenance marriage ending
on a well-held high note (CD 1 trs 2-5). She gets even better in Adelaide’s
act 1 cavatina (CD 1 trs. 25-26) and when duetting with Jennifer Larmore’s
Ottone (trs. 28-30) she decorates the line as she does in the act 2
when her trill and singing brings justifiable applause from the audience
(CD 2 trs 19-20). Larmore’s creamy, steady and accomplished florid singing
is first heard in Ottone’s scene and cavatina as the Emperor arrives
with his soldiers (CD 1 trs. 7-10). She is a little heavier and thicker-toned
when later in act 2 Ottone crowns Adelaide (CD 2 tr. 22), but together
with Majella Cullagh her singing is fully characterised and distinguished
in every way. Bruce Ford’s rather dry tone and Mirco Palazzi’s lean
bass do not rise to the standard of their female counterparts, either
vocally or in characterisation, whilst the minor roles are also somewhat
varied in vocal quality with Rebecca Bottone’s light soprano sounding
rather tweety (CD 1 tr. 22). The Scottish Chamber and Chorus make a
vigorous contribution. Giuliano Carella paces the orchestra in the interests
of his soloists whilst giving rein to the chorus who are excellent.
The audience are enthusiastic in their applause without too much disturbance
to the dramatic flow.
Scholars can make of this
opera what they will and argue about whether or not it was all from
the pen of Rossini. Without doubt the two finales come from his pen
(CD 1 trs. 31-34 and CD 2 trs. 21-24) as do the major solo and duet
items. The reversal to secco recitative is not so boring as to deter
my considerable enjoyment of yet another previously unknown Rossini
composition; I had missed out on the Fonit Cetra issue featuring Martine
Dupuy and Mariella Devia under Alberto Zedda. The scheduled concert
performances at Pesaro in 2006 were bedevilled by illness of the soprano
and were curtailed.
This well recorded live
performance of one of Rossini’s lesser-known opera seria from Opera
Rara, with two female soloists of the highest calibre in the major roles,
enables Rossini enthusiasts to go ahead and purchase with confidence.
Robert J Farr
EXPLORE
MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL 
Adelaide, widow
of Lotario, King of Italy - Majella Cullagh (sop); Ottone, Emperor of
Germany - Jennifer Larmore (mezzo); Adelberto, Berengario’s son - Bruce
Ford (ten); Berengario - Mirco Palazzi (bass); Eurice, Berengario’s wife
- Rebecca Bottone (sop); Ernesto, an officer - Ashley Catling (ten); Iroldo,
former governor of Canosso - Mark Wilde (ten)
