Search - Vicente Martin y Soler, Christophe Rousset, Les Talens Lyriques :: Martín y Soler - La Capricciosa corretta / Ramon, Krull, Saelens, Baquerizo, Marin, Velletaz, Milanesi, Gonzalez-Toro, Les Talens Lyriques, Rousset

A Delightful Comic da Ponte Opera NOT by Mozart

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 07/12/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First, to clear up any possible confusion about the identity of the composer: Vicente Martín y Soler (1754-1806) is neither Padre Martini (b. 1706) nor Padre Soler (b. 1729), composers from an earlier day. He was a quite successful opera composer roughly contemporary with Mozart whose name, until latterly, came down to us simply because Mozart quoted a tune from his opera 'Una Cosa Rara' in 'Don Giovanni.' And, indeed, he is no Mozart. But he is nonetheless a much more than competent composer and recent revivals of a couple of his operas has shown that. His 'Il burbero di buon core' was successfully presented by Jordi Savall in 1995. And this CD of 'La capricciosa corretta, o sia la scuola de' maritati' ('The Capricious Woman Chastised, or The School for Married Couples') derives from a series of staged productions from several European opera houses. The score reportedly took Martín only three weeks to write. Christophe Rousset, the conductor of his production and the editor of the opera score, almost certainly took much longer than that to get the surviving material into some semblance of order for performance, largely because the manuscript and wordbook from the 1795 London première haven't been found. He had to take widely differing sources surviving from later European performances and cobble together a reasonable performing score. I'm in no position to judge how well he did as compared to what was available, but I can assert that this performance is filled with comic sparkle and brio. The performers are most young European singers whose names are not familiar to me, but they are almost universally quite good. I would single out a couple as being particularly outstanding: Marguerite Krull as the haughty Ciprigna, and Josep Miguel Ramon as the crafty servant, Fiuta. But the rest of the cast is not far behind, and the ensemble work is outstanding. Rousset conducts his original instruments group, Les Talens Lyriques. Interestingly, the secco recitatives are accompanied not by harpsichord but by piano. I have no idea if this is authentic practice, but I must say it reminds me of the sound of the old Glyndebourne/Busch Mozart opera recordings from the 1930s, and frankly I welcome that sound.The plot of 'La capricciosa corretta' centers on Ciprigna (literally, 'the queen of Cyprus,' but having echoes of the Italian word for 'sour' or 'bitter'), the second wife of Bonario, who rules her household with an iron hand. His children and servants, not to speak of her husband, become exasperated by her intransigence and capricious decisions and they contrive a ruse to expose her to ridicule which leads to her being put in her place. The opera ends with all happily pursuing their own goals, with Ciprigna, rather like the 'tamed shrew,' giving in to the new order. Some references suggest that da Ponte took his plot from Shakespeare's 'Taming of the Shrew,' but it is much more likely that it derives from the commedia dell'arte plots of Goldoni. Be that as it may, the story allows for comic bits, love arias and duets, a lovely 'notturnino' for four singers, and rapid-fire and often hilarious recitatives. The music is typical of that of the Classical Period, not as complex or psychologically apt as Mozart's, but not boring either, although there is quite a reliance on IV V I harmonic sequences at times. If you like opera from the Classical Period and are charmed by the rascally wit of Lorenzo da Ponte, this CD just might be for you. It certainly is not likely to be done any better any time soon. TT=135 minsScott Morrison"

Seamless

B. Bork | Ontario, Canada | 12/01/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A fantastic find, La Capricciosa Corretta by Martin Y Soler is a well deserved star in the heavenly constellation of the 18th century opera buffa tradition with it's piercing yet rational approach to psychological characterizations of simple and complex situations. The best stylistic comparison that comes to mind is in the mid century Venetian master of comedy Galuppi and his librettist Goldoni. Like Galuppi, Martin Y Soler creates impressive portraits of each of his characters and makes an even greater connection with the content of the text and how his music reflects its meaning. Vanity can be found in the pretentious, snob like rhythms and scaling of the Prima Donna; threatened beatings burst forth with horns and timpani; storms within and without in a building crescendo followed by its decrescendo denouement; and blind ardor in an up tempo thrust. The ensembles deserve special mention too in that they have a specific economy to their structure that doesn't allow for excessive moments of meaningless drama allowing the action to move forward quite naturally without artificial interruption. All numbers are filled with the sort of elegant sensitivity that can so powerfully express itself in the classical style, making the charm of this opera undeniable to those with a place in the heart for 18th century theater.



The recording is of exceedingly high quality with clear, transparent, and balanced sound so neither the vocalists or orchestra overpower each other. The personages are of average to high quality with Marguerite Krull (soprano) showing at the top of the list playing Ciprigna and Yves Saelens as Lelio (tenor), Carlos Marin as Bonario (baritone), and Enrique Baquerizo as Don Giglio (baritone) falling in not far behind. Krull does well with her dissimulations, tantrums, and pretensions as Ciprigna the new mistress of the manor for whom, as the strongest personality in the family, the whole plot revolves around. Her solo numbers are by far the most charming if not of the greatest beauty in the composition (the included essay suggests that Lelio's are superior) with a simple charm and passive aggressive quality that Krull plays to her advantage. Saelens as Lelio is eloquent, passionate and honest while Marin as Bonario plays the fool who's been cuckolded by his aggressive wife (apparently it all began on their wedding night). Baquerizo as Giglio plays the role of the cavalier with energy and lust not often found when this type of character is set by the composer for a baritone. Strong performances from all concerned.



The direction and conducting of Christophe Rousset deserves the highest praise for its vitality and involvement; if only more of these forgotten operas where given the care and treatment that Rousset has given this performance, the standard catalogue would gain significantly from the attention. I can't stress enough how valuable passion and care can make the world of difference for neglected works from the 18th century. I recently discovered this to be true in the newly published recording of Cimarosa's "Gli Orazi e i Curiazi" by OEHMS Classics under the direction of Micheal Hofstetter.



The only down side to this product is the erratic nature of the provided booklet. It offers many discrepancies in that the wrong character will be show singing during ensembles or the numbers are poorly identified. For example, the act 1 finale actually begins with track 24 and goes through to track 27 even though the booklet titles 24 as an "aria" (probably because it begins with a brief arioso by Bonario) while 25 is titled as recitativo even though it's a continuation of the afore mentioned track (an ensemble) and a part of the act 1 finale. Further more there are two terzettos that aren't well identified in the second act too. So needless to say there are more concerted pieces than the books' track listing seems to suggest. However, in the end it is still better to have a booklet that provides a translation in English (and French) from the original Italian with an informative essay as support even if it is unreliable.



Quick note: the libretto was provided by three time Mozart collaborator Lorenzo da Ponte. The libretto itself is conventional but far more satisfying than many other contemporary texts provided to other composers. There is something to be said about da Ponte's talents for certain types of material that peak forth in this production.



Tthis is a 5 star product for all the right reasons. If you have never experienced one of Martin Y Soler's operas (like me prior to this item) then I would strongly suggest it if you enjoy 18th century opera buffa."