Search - Gaetano Donizetti, Maurizio Benini, Royal Opera House Chorus and Orchestra Covent Garden :: Donizetti: Roberto Devereux

A Mature Well Sung Performance

DodgyUSA | Jamaica Plain, MA United States | 05/17/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Roberto is one of those operas that most sopranos do not tackle in performance. It is the most difficult of Donizetti's three queen trilogy (the other two being ANNA BOLENA and MARIA STUARDA).Of the three, it has always been my favorite. Dramatically, it is a tour de force if sung well. And I mean sung well by all 4 principals, not just Queen Elizabeth.This performance recorded in July 2002 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden is an excellent testimony to the piece.Nellie Miricoiu (Queen Elizabeth) gives a mature well sung performance. There are many nuances and colors to the voice. From excitement (Ah ritorna qual ti spero) to jealousy (un lampo, un lamp orriblile) to anger/revenge (va, la morte sul capo ti pende) to the quasi "mad scene" at the end of the opera when she discovers Roberto has been executed before she could save him.
I have 4 or 5 other recordings, and arguments can be made that Sills may be more dramatic, and Caballe more Lyric, and Gencer more tragic---but Miriciou can hold her own among them all.
Some of the top notes that we may expect (or "learned to expect" because of the recordings) aren't taken, but in no case is this a hindrance to the drama or music.Roberto Frontali sings Nottingham with tone and lyric grace. You wont' find any braying on his part !Jose Bros's Roberto is excellent, especially in the Act 1 finale with Sonia Ganassi (Sara), and his scena and aria of Act 3.Sonia Ganassi,as the love torn Sara is quite touching in her scene with Nottingham in the beginning of Act 3. Maurizio Benini leads the Covent Garden orchestra with style, coaxing them to support the drama enfolding.5 stars.
A welcome addition to the other ROBERTO's and one which can stand alone for newcomers to the piece."

In a word, wonderful! . . .

Esteban Molina | San Francisco | 06/29/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"...or, as Ron might say in Harry Potter, "That was bloody brilliant!" And it was indeed. This is a recording of a live performance, with the added urgency that this can bring. And the audience is very well-behaved, bless them. The management must have drugged them - or else handed out individual hankies and throat pastilles, because they don't intrude. Not until there is good reason to, and then they go wild with enthusiasm for the artists. Justly so. I think Miricioiu is less the archetypal queen figure and more the vulnerable and anguished woman, and this is no criticism. She sings wonderfully, with great fluidity but necessary bite when needed. All four principals are worthy of each other, and this shows what Donizetti created in ways that lesser performances do not. There is very little attempt to lay on drama from the outside, as it were. Instead, everyone takes care to shape and spin out the vocal line, colouring from within. It's something of a revelation, and perhaps a vindication of the "less is more" concept. Perhaps just less trying to make something dramatic and more trust that the composer can actually deliver. The orchestra too seems less heavy-handed than I am often used to hearing, and yet the drama is just as intense and even more so than I am used to. This offering makes me wonder if the spirit of Verdi isn't allowed to reflect back too much on performances of Donizetti, while this performance gives a glimpse into quite a different way of doing things, less obviously intense but nevertheless full of a fire and passion of its own. Whatever is happening or how, it works as far as I'm concerned! I enjoyed this "Roberto" very, very much."

El mejor 'Devereux' del mercado globalmente

Annio mozartiano ;) | España | 08/13/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Estamos ante la mejor grabación global de la bella ópera de Donizetti 'Roberto Devereux', en una toma en directo del Covent Garden de Londres (2002) por el sello OPERA RARA. El sonido (se incluyen algunos aplausos, no todos) es de gran calidad, y solo los aplausos antes mencionados hacen que nos percatemos de que estamos ante una grabación en vivo.

El reparto reclutado es de primera. En el papel titular (que debió cantar en esas funciones Giuseppe Sabbatini, quien canceló) se presenta el tenor español: JOSÉ BROS. En estos tiempos Bros es el tenor belcantista número uno, por estilo, belleza de la voz y facilidad de los agudos. Cada una de sus intervenciones tiene una maestría impropia de los tiempos que corren, y el público sabe reconocerlo.

Como la reina Elisabetta, NELLY MIRICIOIU, con una voz algo agrietada y problemática en los agudos, consigue no obstante gracias a un timbre agradable y a una gran caracterización del rol, construir un personaje interesante. No estará a la altura de las grandes en este papel (Caballé, Gencer, Sills, Gruberova...) pero no por ello deja de ser la suya una interpretación intensa e interesante.

La Sara de la mezzosoprano SONIA GANASSI, con su timbre doliente, carnoso y generoso en todas las zonas, vuelve a demostrar aquí porqué es una de las mejores en su cuerda actualmente, mientras que el Nottingham del barítono ROBERTO FRONTALI aparece como un cantante de noble voz, muy adecuado a este tipo de repertorio. Todos los demás comprimarios, habituales del teatro, son cantantes de gran nivel.

Los cuerpos estables del Covent Garden (sobre todo la orquesta, por la breve intervención del coro en esta obra) rayan a gran altura, al mando de un maestro BENINI que conoce el estilo, y mima la partitura hasta los últimos detalles, redondeando así la que es la mejor grabación de la ópera donizettiana hasta la fecha. Insisto en que el sonido, pese a ser una grabación en directo, es muy bueno.

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