When Gioachino Rossini sat down to compose Mose in Egitto
in 1818, he was in the midst of his most prolific musical period
as an opera composer. On the one side of his musical journey,
Rossini had already mounted the dramme giocosi, L’Italiana
in Algeri and La Cenerentola, the
dramma, Elizabetta,
regina d’Inghilterra, his first
Neapolitan work and his most popular comedy, Il Barbiere di Siviglia. And as
for the years after 1818, the opera world would soon get to hear
such rich musical works as the azione tragica, Ermione,
the melodramma, La
Donna del Lago and what Phillip
Gossett calls in his book, ‘Divas and Scholars’, Rossini’s most
innovative Italian serious opera, Maometto
II, the last three composed
for the Teatro San Carlo in Naples under the watchful eye of the
impresario, Domenico Barbaja.
At that moment, the 26-year-old composer and his librettist,
Andrea Leone Tottola, were very much occupied in how to present
Mose in Egitto, an azione tragico-sacra
for the upcoming Lenten season. Their dilemma was to figure
out how to keep the work sufficiently religious in tone to
satisfy the Neapolitans during their forty-day observance
and how to weave in a love story to spice up the work operatically.
This was not such an easy task for Rossini as he revealed
in one of the many letters he wrote to his mother, where he
said, after finishing the work, “Certainly I will not write
anything more like it because I will not again muster the
patience that I did on this occasion.” And as for Tottola,
he had to go back to a five-act tragedy written by Francesco
Ringhieri in 1760, to find an acceptable romantic subplot
for the opera which he developed between the Pharaoh’s son
Orside and his beloved, Elcia, a Hebrew woman.
This very much fitted with the topsy-turvy world in
the first half of 19th century Italian opera, where outside
opera contributors were expected to be on hand if needed,
substitute arias had to be hastily written, and irksome, fussy
librettists became part of the daily upheaval in this musical
world. Mose in
Egitto was no exception
in this hectic environment in which composers were expected
to create. Besides the premiere in 1818, there were two revisions,
one in 1819 and the other in 1820. The first was well-received,
but in the third act where Mose parts the Red Sea, both the
flimsy material that waved like the sea and the stage-hands
doing the waving became part of the miracle. Naturally, the
raucous Neapolitans rioted in laughter.
Along with this unexpected audience reaction it became
apparent to both Rossini and Tottola that they had to make
a number of changes in the musical and textual components
concerning Mose in Egitto. When
we look just at the problems they faced concerning the opera’s
arias, we can imagine how big the challenges were for the
composers of 19th century Italian opera during this exciting
period.
To start, Rossini recognized he needed to add a section
that would make the third act more convincing. As luck would
have it, he composed one of the most beautiful passages in
all his canon. Reto Muller in the notes that accompany the
CD, explains it best, “The entire force of the religious element
is concentrated in this section of the opera, which is given
epic and awe-inspiring expression in the moving prayer: “Dal
tuo stellato soglio” (”From Thy starry throne“).
Mose, Aronne and Elcia sing one verse each, accompanied by
a harp, and the refrain, which show extraordinary pathos by
virtue of its simplicity, is taken up by the entire chorus
and orchestra.”
But Rossini and Tottola had other problems to contend
with such as time constraints. The composer needed an aria
in the first act: a piece that expressed the Pharaoh’s desire
and determination to keep the Hebrews from leaving Egypt.
Rossini turned to his good friend and collaborator, Michele
Carafa, to supply the music for Tottola’s text, “A respettarmi
apprenda,” an adept piece very much in Rossini’s musical
style. Obviously the composer liked it for he kept it in the
1819 version. However, for the 1820 version, Rossini replaced
Carafa’s aria with his own music again to Tottola’s text called,”Cade
dal ciglio il velo.” The reason was, most probably, as
Muller states, “…in order to do justice to the new interpreter’s
(Antonio Ambrosi ) greater virtuosic potential or requirements.”
Also in 1818, Rossini had to turn to an unknown contributor
for Mose’s second act aria, in which the protagonist rebels
against the Pharaoh and is wrapped in chains. That aria, “Tu
di ceppi m’aggravi,” was a hastily put together piece;
so Rossini, for the 1819 version, composed a multi-faceted,
vigorous, but beautiful aria called,”Dal Re de’ Regi,”
which on this recording, the bass, Lorenzo Regazzo exemplifies
why he is one of the best Rossinian singers in the world today.
This 1819 version of Mose in Egitto is the first
live performance of the opera on disc that seems to be available.
Staged in concert version by the Rossini in Wildbad Festival
in July 2006, the performance, which is enthusiastically showcased
by conductor Antonio Fogliani and the forces gathered at Wildbad,
is another significant contribution to the continuing interest
in Rossini’s serious operas.
Rossini and Tottola decided to present only three of
the ten plagues from the Old Testament that God inflicted
on the Egyptians through Moses’ ministry. While listening
to the opera and reading the concise text that Tottola gave
Rossini, one realizes they made the right theatrical decision.
In ‘Rossini’,
scholar Richard Osborne elucidates his preference for Mose
in Egitto over Rossini’s French makeover, Moise
et Pharaon composed in 1827.
Osborne is unequivocal in his praise for the original version
when he states, “For much of its length, Mose in Egitto
has a guileless beauty about it ….Wherever we turn … whether
it is to the lovely F major Quintet in Act 1, to the famous
Quartet ‘Mi manca la voce’ in Act 2, or to Moses’ yet more
celebrated Prayer in Act 3 - we hear melodies … graceful as
only Rossini could make them, wafted over harp and strings,
and, in the Quintet, wonderfully irradiated by characteristically
atmospheric writing for the horn.”
In this Naxos recording, Fogliani leads his Wurttemberg
Philharmonic with just the right amount of spirit and reverence
that is the essence of Rossini’s music. The San Pietro a Majella
Chorus, Naples delivers both the pensive and brisk responses
necessary for the ensembles, and the cast — soprano, Akie
Amou as Elcia, tenor, Filippo Adami as Osiride and bass, Wojtek
Gierlach as Faraone — most times keeps the vocal interest
at a satisfactory level. Rosella Bevacqua as Amaltea brings
clarity and a dash of excitement to La pace mia smarrita,
her aria expressing compassion for the plight of the Israelites.
But it is Lorenzo Regazzo who puts his vocal stamp on Moses
with a wide range of vocal color and varied dynamics embodied
in a rich vocal style that would, no doubt, delight Rossini.
Nicholas del Vecchio
see also Review
by Robert Farr
