Search - Samuel Ramey, June Anderson, Margarita Zimmermann :: Rossini: Maometto Secondo (II) - Complete Opera

Very Excellent Recording

10/07/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I believe that this was the first complete recording of this opera, and it came out quite a while after Beverly Sills made her recording of "L'assedio di Corinto." I mention this because Maometto Secondo was rewritten for Paris and became Le Siege du Corinthe, and only later when brought back to Italy in Italian translation did it become L'assedio di Corinto. Like with some of Rossini's other early operas where the first writing of the material was wonderful, this opera improved with the rewrite making it hard to listen to this one objectively. What makes it even more difficult is in the Sills recording much of the music you will hear (like the Anna's final aria, Si ferite) that was NOT transferred to the Paris rewrite is added to the score but in quite dramatically different places than in the original. The afore mentioned aria no longer is the aria just before Anna's death, but becomes the introduction aria of Act 2 leading to her romance with Maometto. Even the famous prayer (the one recorded by nearly every soprano or mezzo doing "Rossini Rarities" -- Giusto Ciel) falls into a very different dramatic setting between the two operas. The best way to approach this opera, and this recording is to forget you have listented to and enjoyed the recording of L'assedio. Once you can get your mind around the differences (and the dramatic improvements in the Paris rewrite are unbelievable) then you can begin. The plot is different but similar to the other work. The lead love interest is sung by a contralto (in the Paris rewrite Calbo became Niocle and was written for a tenor; when the opera returned to Italy in Italian Donizetti transferred the role of Niocle back to a contralto as we are used to hearing it today), and some of the most wonderful music is written for that voice. However, we must not forget that the part of Anna was written for Rossini's wife, Isabella Colbran, who had a very dark nearly contralto sounding soprano and an amazing ability to sing rapid ascending scales. Maometto is a far more decorative rendition with tons more fioratura than L'assedio (probably the reason so much of the florid arias and trios were added back to the score of L'assedio when Sills sang it) and thus it is harder to capture the true drama of the opera. This is where we get to the recording itself. June Anderson is a very well known colorature soprano noted for some very good high notes very much like Sills was. One would wonder how well she does in a role that is not actually written all that high with most of its most difficult passages well within the staff and below. Well, she does remarkably well. It is very interesting how Anderson's voice does not disappear or weaken in the lower passages, but she loses nothing in her brilliance in the higher ones. She does a very excellent job, vocally. For me, though, the real drama of the piece is lost. Actually, it is very hard to feel the drama of this opera at all. It is really up to the singers to bring the drama to life, as the vocal writing is so florid this opera can easily degenerate into nothing more than empty vocal display. Anderson tries valiantly to make sure she doesn't slip into empty vocal display, but she is not always successful.Samuel Ramey is simply wonderful, and at the time of this recording probably the only really excellent bass with a super accurate ability to sing fioratura. Ramey is a fabulous actor on stage, and he certainly tries with this opera to make his character come alive, but again, sometimes the fioratura gets in the way. The other singers, though less familiar to me, do a wonderful job, and sing their hearts out in a very exciting way. The contralto who sings Calbo does a super job and one is not left wishing Marilyn Horne were singing the role (though at times one wishes she had recorded the entire thing just because she caught our interest through her commercial recording of the grand scene for Calbo, combined with that of Niocle from L'assedio, and we have the live recording of her singing the role with Sills at La Scala, and the opera is heavily cut in places). Unlike the L'assedio recording, you will not find super huge flights of fancy and added vocal difficulties, for this recording stays fairly close to the written score. Sometimes, and only because we are used to the shower endings in arias, that takes some of the life from an aria, or a stretta that ends the acts. The recording is very good, and the opera is very exciting. It is true, Rossini made vast improvements when he rewrote it for Paris, and the drama of the work becomes far more involving, but this version is worthy of its fame. I recommend buying this recording, especially if you already own the L'assedio recording with Sills, for it gives you a more complete picture of what Rossini was tring to do. Also, you get the wonderful experience of comparing those parts of this score that Sills brought over to the other recording and seeing just who you think sings this music the best."

Musical splendor for Rossini and Ramey fans

E. A. Lovitt | Gladwin, MI USA | 12/02/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The darkly resonant basso cantante of Samuel Ramey and his considerable powers of interpretation are the joys of this three-CD album. According to Ramey himself, the title role of "Maometto Secondo" is the most difficult part he has sung to date, so this 1983 Philips recording with Rossini expert Claudio Scimone conducting is a must-have for Ramey fans. I believe it's the only recording of this great bass singing his most demanding role.



When the eponymous Turkish sultan comes onstage with his victorious troops for the first time in Act One, he immediately launches into his florid cavatina, 'Sorgete, sorgete' where he acknowledges the obeisance of his followers--think of Mehmet II as the Muslim Alexander the Great. In this particular opera, he is engaged in capturing the Venetian colony of Negroponte in Greece. His most famous conquest, for us Christians at least, was Constantinople.



In Rossini's version, Mehmet II fails to conquer the Venetian colony because Anna, the woman with whom he fell in love while he was disguised as the student, Uberto, betrays him. In order to save her father, the governor of Negroponte and her fiancé, Calbo, Anna lets herself be abducted by the Turkish conqueror. But after an aria and duet, and before he can proceed with his love-making, Mehmet II has to trot off to another battle. Anna obtains his imperial seal of authority, which allows her people to trick and drive off the Sultan and his army. In her mother's burial vault, Anna is married to Calbo (powerfully sung by mezzo-soprano, Margarita Zimmermann) by her father, and when the Sultan comes looking for revenge, she admits her deception and after the thrilling 'Madre, a te,' stabs herself in the heart.



As you might guess from the plot, the soprano really gets to chew up the stage in this opera, and June Anderson sings a competent, though stressed Anna.

"

A Rare Pleasure

Lorenzo Moog | Seattle, WA USA | 11/24/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With "Maometto Secondo" (prima 1820; Teatro San Carlo) Gioachino Rossini was about to bring down the curtain on his Naples years; ("Zelmira" in 1822 was his last for the San Carlo). Then it was on to Venice and the glories of "Semiramide" the last of his Italian operas. This opera gives clues as to what is to follow in "Semiramide" but "Maometto" occupies a very particular place in Rossini's work as his principal reform-opera. So it is indeed a priviledge to hear the full 3 Act/ 3 disc recording in a nicely designed four-language-boxed-set with Philip Gossett notes and libretto in English. The libretto, by Cesare delle Valle adapted from his own verse drama "Anna Erizo", is problematic. The story, by opera standards, is relatively simple but delle Valle is so verbose he weighs down both action and drama with a heavy, heavy hand. Della Valle it should be remembered was also the Duke of Ventignano, influential in court and theatrical circles and would have been useful to the composer and Rossini, an experienced man of the theater by then, must have recognized the flaws but took the challenge and composed the compelling and delightful work we hear in this performance from 1983. It is understood that Rossini worked with della Valle on the libretto, a form that della Valle scorned. But Rossini made it work.

The casting is great, North and South Americans, their voices perfectly balanced. June Anderson (MA), great American soprano and bel canto scholar, presents a beautiful Anna from her first aria "Ah che invan su questo ciglio" maintaining that quality all the way through the performance. I love her middle voice, so steady and clarion and her Italian is wonderful. She navigates the perils of her character with enough vocal drama to get the point across and makes her soar.

Ernsto Palacio(Peru) as Anna's father Erisso takes a bit of adjusting to since he is a tenor and fathers in opera are generally in a lower range, but never mind, Palacio is a very capable singer and he delivers throughout. He sounds to me like a Neopolitan tenor and has a Spanish sounding lisp in his Italian that adds interest to his tessitura. I very much admired his performance. Margarita Zimmerman(Argentina) in the contralto role of Calbo does her magic. An earlier reviewer said how this role made him long for Marilyn Horne and I had had the same thought and Ms Zimmerman would probably share it with us. However Margarita Zimmerman has done her homework and delivers up some magnificent singing in a burnished voice with beautiful low pitch and an elegant delivery. Samuel Ramey(KS) bursts into the end of Act 1 in a cloud of testostrone taking immediate vocal command, like a good Moslem prince, ultimately portraying a well defined anti-hero to play off of Anderson's fierce and delicate Anna.

Ramey is at a beautiful time and place with his voice and shows it off to striking advantage. The principals are well supported by the Ambrosian Opera Chorus who have plenty of della Valle lines to sing. All of the numerous arias, duets and trios are wonderfully sung by all. Bravi!



In a way the star of the performance is Conductor Claudio Scimone. He wraps the music around the singers with such grace and intelligence. It is a pleasure to hear his mastery of this composer. The Philharmonia Orchestra is sumptous-liquid-gold under Scimone's hand. While this London studio performance is a success for the ages in Rossini's time it failed.

Rossini had outgrown Naples and had cast his eyes north. This "Maometto Secondo" was too grand for Naples and Rossini knew it. "Macaroni guzzlers" he called the Neopolitans and not without affection, magnificent works resulted from his time there; he and them together, creating and receiving operas at an epic rate and this "Maometto" was the culmination of that collaboration. As to "Le Seige de Corinthe", that is one opera and this is another. "Maometto Secondo" is the older sister and "Le Siege de Corinthe" is the younger sister and they are alike in the way that sisters are alike and they are different in the way that sisters are different. And to both I say Bravo Rossini! This "Maometto Secondo"? Highly Recommended



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