George Frideric HANDEL (1685-1759)
Alessandro Severo (1737) [157.17]
Niccolo MANZARO (1795-1872)
Don Crepuscolo (1815) [29.29]
Giulia Mammea – Kristina Hammarström (mezzo)
Alessandro – Mary Ellen Nesi (mezzo)
Salustia – Marita Solberg (soprano)
Albina – Irini Karaianni (mezzo)
Claudia –Gemma Bertagnolli (soprano)
Marziano – Petrols Magoulas (bass)
Don Crepuscolo – Christophoros Stamboglis (bass)
Armonia Atenea/George Petrou
rec. 20-26 July 2010, Recording Centre of Megaron, Athens Concert Hall, Greece.
DDD. Libretti provided (Italian and English).
MUSIKPRODUKTION DABRINGHAUS UND GRIMM SCENE MDG 609 1674-2 [3CDs: 78.38
+ 78.52 + 28.29]
Now that Handel’s operas are in general available on CD, companies are turning
to his pasticcios. Handel’s self-pasticcios, where he created a new opera
from material from his existing operas, are undergoing something of an operatic
renaissance. We have recently had a new recording of Oreste and now
George Petrou has added Alessandro Severo. The opera was produced
for Handel’s 1738 season, which took place after his serious health scare
in 1737. The season included the premieres of Faramondo and Serse
as well as Alessandro Severo. For this opera, Handel selected
19 numbers from Arminio, Giustino and Berenice, all three
of which had been produced in the previous season but which Handel would never
revive. The remaining 11 numbers came from operas written between 1720 and
1726. Handel wrote the recitatives from new, added a new overture and an accompanied
recitative.
The libretto was originally written by Apostolo Zeno, one of Metastasio’s
most influential predecessors. Handel’s only other setting of a libretto by
Zeno was Faramondo. Alessandro Severo was originally written
for Venice where it was set by Lotti and premiered during the 1716-17 season.
Handel seems to have been fond of early 18th century Venetian operas
and often returned to this source for his libretti.
Zeno’s plot involves the Roman Emperor, Alessandro Severo and the clash between
his mother Giulia Mammaea and his new bride Salustia. Salustia’s father, Marziano
is also involved in the complex plotting: attempted poisonings, divorce, reducing
Salustia to the rank of servant and so on. As if this wasn’t enough, another
pair of lovers, Albina and Claudia are also undergoing travails. The opera
is short by Handelian standards, with the entire piece fitting onto 2 CDs.
Handel’s original cast included the soprano castrato Cafarelli (the first
Serse) as Alessandro Severo, La Francesina (the first Semele) as Salustia
and Antonia Merighi (the first Rosmira in Partenope) as Giulia and
the great bass Montagnana as Marziano.
The late Anthony Hicks prepared a performing edition for performances at the
London Handel Festival in 1997 and it is this edition which George Petrou
has used for this disc. Because the opera is relatively short, the balance
between the arias for different characters is closer than in the longer operas.
Alessandro receives five arias and a duet, Salustia four arias and a duet,
Giula two arias, a duet and an accompagnato, Albina has five arias with Claudia
and Marziano receiving three each. The surprise here is Albina who seems to
develop into a major character, despite being part of the sub-plot.
Mary Ellen Nesi makes a fine Alessandro. Handel reduced the virtuosity of
some of the arias - Cafarelli was patently not the equal of Carestini for
whom the originals had been written - but nonetheless Nesi gets to sing some
pretty brilliant things, including the fine Salda quercia in erta balza.
With Marita Solberg as a charming Salustia.
Kristina Hammarström makes good work of Giulia’s material, with a vivid entrance
aria Lo sdegno del mio cor with further dramatics in other arias. Perhaps
she could have sounded a little more scheming in the recitative however. Irini
Karaianni impresses in Albina’s demanding sequence of arias, you don’t feel
the character is very necessary but Karaianni certainly makes you listen to
her. She has a nice mezzo voice with a bit of vibrato, but used intelligently.
As Claudio, Gemma Bertagnolli displays a vibrant lyric coloratura voice which
reminded me somewhat of Roberta Peters.
Petros Magoulas has a lovely focussed grainy bass voice in the Montagnana
role. None of his three arias has quite the dramatics that Handel wrote for
the singer in other places, but Magoulas impresses nonetheless.
The standard of musicality on the disc is impressive, with all the virtuoso
passages being more than capably taken. Petrou has managed to put together
a cast who are remarkably well balanced, quite an achievement. The singing
is of a uniformly high order.
As an appendix, the group gives the opera Don Crespuscolo by Niccolo
Manzaro, a Corfu aristocrat - his real name was Nikolaus Halikopoulos Mantzaros.
He is the composer of the music used for the Greek National Anthem. He trained
locally in Corfu and Don Crespuscolo was premiered in 1815 at the San
Giacomo theatre in Corfu.
Don Crespuscolo is a one-act comic opera, with just a
single singing role though the libretto implies that other characters appear
silently. The piece concerns that operatic standard, the search for a wife
by an elderly man, here sung by Christophoros Stamboglis. Musically the piece
owes something to Mozart and quite a bit to Rossini. The result is charming
and effective, never outstaying its welcome. I am not sure I would be keen
on a full three-act opera by Manzaro, but this short one-acter is quite a
delight. Quite why it should be accompanying an opera by Handel written 78
years before, I am not sure.
The booklet includes articles about both operas, plus texts in Italian and
English. As usual with pasticcios, the booklet fails fully to identify the
sources for the individual arias, which is frustrating.
Though you may have never heard of either of these operas, the standard of
performance under George Petrou’s direction, makes them worthy of notice.
Handel’s pasticcio functions well as a dramatic entity and as an omnium
gatherum of his music, plus the performances are terrific.
Robert Hugill
Handel’s pasticcio functions well as a dramatic entity and as an omnium
gatherum of his music, plus the performances are terrific.