Overtures
1. Overture: La scala di Seta (1812) [6:23]
2. Overture: Il signor Bruschino (1813) [4:57]
3. Overture: Il barbiere di Siviglia (1816) [7:15]
4. Overture: La Cenerentola (1817) [8:19]
5. Overture: Semiramide (1823) [12:08]
6. Overture: Le Siège de Corinthe (1826) [9:08]
7. Overture: Guillaume Tell (1829) [11:34]
8. Andante e tema con variazioni for wind quintet (1812) [10:07]
Carlo Tamponi (flute), Alessandro Carbonare (clarinet), Francesco Bossone (bassoon). Alessio Allegrini (horn) (Andante)
Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia/Sir Antonio Pappano
rec. Sala Santa Cecilia, Auditorium Parco della Musica, Rome, live, 14, 16 January 2012 (1); 3-4 March 2014 (2, 3, 4); 23-25 October 2010 (4); 18-19 February 2008 (6); live, 16-20 October, 18/21 December 2010 (7); 3-4 March 2014 (8)
WARNER CLASSICS 2564 624344 [69:53]
Not only is Sir Antonio Pappano a marvellous conductor but with his frequent
and invariably cogent introductory talks that accompany opera streaming
to cinemas worldwide and his series of television programmes he is becoming
known to a whole new audience. Owing to this international exposure I
can see him becoming as influential as Leonard Bernstein was for his television
broadcasts in the States in the 1950s and 1960s.
I know that Pappano programmes a wide range of music in his concert programmes
but with his Italian heritage the music of Italian opera represent lifeblood
running through his veins. It’s especially appropriate that he has
released this recording as music director of his Orchestra of the Accademia
Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. In 2010 he demonstrated his innate grasp of
Rossini with a well received series of concert performances of Guillaume
Tell (in French) with the self-same orchestra playing in the Sala
Santa Cecilia, Rome. This was recorded by EMI Classics and issued in an
3 disc set (review).
Richard Osborne’s biography of Rossini credits the composer with
thirty-five operas. It was Guillaume Tell in 1829 that marked
the end of Rossini’s career as an opera composer although he was
to live for another forty years. Here on Warner Classics we have seven
overtures presented in chronological order including the less often encountered
Le siège de Corinthe. It's rather surprising that the
much loved overtures La Gazza Ladra and L'italiana
in Algeri are not included as this single disc has the space to have
accommodated either.
This is fresh, alert and exuberant playing that conveys a strong sense
of sheer enjoyment in these delightful overtures. My highlights are the
enduringly popular Il Barbiere di Siviglia especially effervescent
and the charming La Cenerentola which radiates joie de vivre.
At over twelve minutes the lengthy Semiramide, so full of sprightly
rhythms, is a joy to hear and one of the finest overtures ever written.
Guillaume Tell is riveting from start to finish. It is always
a pleasure to hear the renowned cello solo in Guillaume Tell
especially when it is played as gloriously as it is here. Serving as a
fill-up, the instrumental Andante e tema con variazioni for wind
quartet is a fascinating morsel showing another agreeable side of Rossini
and it is splendidly played here by the section principals.
Recorded in Rome at various dates between 2008 and 2014 the sound quality
is first rate and is especially clear and well balanced.
Michael Cookson
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