(Above pictured from left, Daniella Barcellona, Albina Shagimuratova and Sir Mark Elder in a 2016 BBC Proms concert performance of Opera Rara's “Semiramide” (photo by Chris Christodoulou)
William Charlton-Perkins writes a regular feature for the media titled Classical Notes. This one is titled Semiramide.
Semiramide superbly restored. (Review by William Charlton Perkins)
The immense care that went into Opera Rara’s recording of Rossini’s Semiramide was exhaustively documented at the time of its 2018 release. The passion, respect and skill that informed this extraordinary project bore fruit to an astonishing degree, culminating in a slew of prestigious awards. Terrence Rattigan’s oft-quoted dictum, “What makes magic is genius, and what makes genius is the infinite capacity for taking pains” can seldom have been more vindicated than by this singular venture.
In the hands of Sir Mark Elder and his inspired team, Rossini’s 1823 Italian magnum opus glows with an immediacy never heard before. This is apparent in the infinite detail of execution, both technical and artistic, and in the perfectly judged drive and unflagging energy, that manifest from Sir Mark’s baton throughout the opera’s four-hour span. This extraordinary feat is akin to a long-familiar landscape painting, seen afresh after a miraculous restoration job – as a capacity BBC Proms audience experienced when, following the studio recording, the venture previewed a wide acclaim in two marathon concert performances at London’s Royal Albert Hall in September 2016.
In the title role, Albina Shagimuratova proves herself superbly in command of her silvery instrument, with its thrilling extended top crowning the work’s great ensembles. The soprano’s deeply-affecting portrayal of the remorseful queen of Babylon who has conspired to have her husband assassinated, is beautifully offset by Italian mezzo Daniella Barcellona’s commanding Arsace, the young man the Queen loves, but who transpires to be her long lost son.
Their Oedipal relationship climaxes in an incomparable account of their Act II duet, ‘Giorno d’orrore! E di contento’ ‘Madre, addio’ … ‘Tu serena intanto il ciglio’. This ranks amongst the most exciting bel canto singing in years. Their lighting-swift, blazingly embellished rendering of the cabaletta must be heard to be believed. I reprised it four, no five, times before moving on.
Visceral commitment and fire emanate from the principal cast and chorus, informed as they are by Elder’s formidable expertise, and by the revelatory sounds of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment’s period-appropriate instruments and performance practice.
Musically on point, dramatically attuned to their maestro’s pinprick guidance, the entire company is infinitely responsive to Elder’s every beat, every nuance of musical gesture. Never has the famous Overture sounded so immediate, so fresh, as Elder draws out sublimely luminous playing from the winds. The brass, and those signature horns, balefully sonorous, the mellow strings allowing sheer clarity to prevail.
As Idreno, English tenor Barry Banks delivers the goods in grand style, as do Italian basses, Mirco Palazzi (Assur, Semiramide’s former partner in crime), and Gianluca Buratto (Oroe). Each demonstrates impressive coloratura articulation, while James Platt offers an eerily echoing Ghost of Nino, Semiramide’s long-slain husband.
Revisiting this benchmark recording has been an enthralling experience, proclaiming Semiramide not only the crowning glory of Rossini’s Italian years, but one of the high peaks in the topography of 19th opera. - William Charlton-Perkins
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