An opera in two acts, Simon Mayr’s
Ginevra di Scozia uses Antonio
Salvi's libretto
Ginevra, principessa di Scozia, which
derives from Cantos 5 and 6 of Ariosto's
Orlando Furioso. It
was specifically commissioned from Mayr for, and premiered at, a gala
performance on 21 April 1801 at the Regio Teatro Nuovo in Trieste to
celebrate the inauguration of the new theatre. This live recording is taken
from a performance in that same theatre to celebrate the two hundredth and
tenth anniversary of the occasion.
The premiere performance of
Ginevra di Scozia utilised two
castrati in male roles, not uncommon at the time, albeit a practise on its
last legs as indicated by the fact that Rossini only ever used that voice
type in his twelfth opera,
Aureliano in Palmira, premiered in Milan
in December 1813 (see
review). Handel also utilised two castrati in his
version of the story,
Ariodante, premiered in London in
1735. In the 2015 Welsh National Opera’s updated version of the story of the
related
Orlando the roles of Orlando and Medoro were sung by
counter-tenors, as is now often the case, rather than mezzo-sopranos en
travesti (see
review). In this recording,
as with that by Opera Rara, the roles of Ariodante and his brother Lurcanio
are sung by mezzo-sopranos.
The recording on this issue is of good standard and with imperceptible
audience noise except for applause at the end of acts. The singing of Myrtò
Papatanasiu is warm-toned whilst at the same time coping with the demands of
the tessitura, as does Anna Bonitatibus as Ariodante. The two singing
together in the concluding happy ending finale (CD3. Tr. 9) is a delight.
Stefanie Irányi, as Lurcanio, Ariodante's brother, also sings and
characterises well in the lesser mezzo part. Mario Zeffiri as Polinesso,
Ariodante's rival and the baddy of the story, is more pleasing in
tone than his recorded rival without altogether excising thoughts of lyric
coloratura tenors who would be more vocally even and flexible in the higher
tessitura. Peter Schöne as the King of Scotland, is steady but would benefit
from greater sonority. On the rostrum George Petrou does justice to Mayr’s
music whilst handling the frequent recitative passages without letting them
seem to drag.
It is a pity, given the scarcity of operas by Mayr available on CD or
video, that this issue competes with that from Opera Rara and where, in
terms of presentation, it fails abysmally. As always with Opera Rara, that
label boasts a very elaborate booklet, with a lengthy essay on the opera by
Jeremy Commons and a libretto with English translations. In this issue there
is no translation of the libretto the continuity of which is broken by
German text of what I assume are stage directions. Also, the brief
act-by-act synopsis, given in German and English, would have benefited
significantly by being track-related. These matters significantly undermine
the virtues of this issue.
Appendix: Johann Simon Mayr - teacher, composer and
mentor
A native of Bavaria, Mayr was studying in Italy when his patron died.
Accomplished on several instruments, and faced with an uncertain future,
another composer encouraged him to write opera, there being plenty of work
available in the many theatres of Italy. Mayr’s first opera,
Saffo
(1794) presented during the Carnival at La Fenice, Venice, attracted other
commissions.
Ginevra di Scozia, premiered in Trieste (1801), made
him known throughout the peninsula and established Mayr in the front-line of
Italian opera composers. The work retained a presence in Italian theatres
for over thirty years. During those three decades of fame, some of
Italy's most celebrated singers appeared in this opera. Opera
Rara's 2001 revival (ORC23) was recorded live in the revision by
Marco Beghelli. As with this Oehms issue, that recoridng was made in Trieste
where the opera had been premiered in 1801.
Subsequently, Mayr wrote operas for Naples, Rome, Milan and Venice with
his works also being performed in Germany, London, St. Petersburg and New
York among other places. In all, Mayr, like his pupil Donizetti, wrote over
sixty operatic works, many in the buffo manner.
In musical style Mayr brought more vividness and orchestral detail to
opera buffa in particular with depictions of storms, earthquakes
and the like as well as complex choral scenes. These built on, and extended,
the compositional style of Domenico Cimarosa (1749 –1801) and Giovanni
Paisiello (1740-1816) whose influence can also be heard in the use of
recitative in
Ginevra di Scozia. Mayr’s hand can be readily
discerned in the operas of both Rossini and Donizetti and, to a lesser
degree, Bellini. Like those
bel canto composers Mayr demanded a
wide vocal range from his singers that would have suited Rossini’s staff
singers at Naples and Bellini’s
I Puritani quartet as they toured
the work world-wide. Although his works are largely forgotten today, all
major theatres in Europe played them during his lifetime.
As well as operas, Mayr found fame as a composer of church music, as
author of a treatise on Haydn and the founding of a Conservatory in Bergamo
where his students included Donizetti. Generous to a fault, Mayr taught him
without charge for ten years and further, paid for his study with Padre
Mattei, a renowned teacher of counterpoint. If that were not enough Mayr
generously ceded commissions to his pupil that helped his pupil’s career to
take off.
Today Mayr’s most famous work is his
Medea in Corinto of 1813 and
recorded by Opera Rara (ORC11). Mayr eventually went blind and Verdi,
recognising his influence on Italian music, perhaps even his own, attended
his funeral and gave the oration. A hither-unknown Mayr opera,
Fedra, was discovered among Verdi’s papers after his death.
Rossini’s operas after
Tancredi and
L’Italiana in Algeri
in 1813 created an almost insatiable appetite among audiences for tonal
brilliance and rhythmic energy. This popularity had a deleterious effect on
Mayr’s commissions. ('Donizetti and his Operas', William
Ashbrook. C.U.P. 1983 p.215). He tragically became blind for most of the
last twenty years of his life. By the time of the composition of his final
opera,
Demetrio (1824), Mayr had composed over sixty operas, just
as had his pupil Donizetti.
For a long time, it seemed that the only operas by Mayr’s featured, or
easily available on record, were
Ginevra di Scozia (ORC23) and
Medea in Corinto (ORC11)
, each issued by
Opera
Rara on three CDs. The former was recorded at a revival in Trieste to
commemorate the two hundredth anniversary of the premiere and featured
Elizabeth Vidal and Daniella Barcelona among the principals. The latter, has
the spinto soprano Jane Eaglen alongside Opera Rara regulars and the Rossini
specialist Raul Gimenez. Oehms has also recorded Mayr’s
Fedra (
review),
La Lodaiska (OC 954),
Medea (OC 933) and
Demetrio, Re Re di Siria (OC 958).
Medea in
Corinto has made it onto Blu-ray and DVD (
review).
Robert J Farr
