Rossini: L'Assedio di Corinto

Astonishing performance -- rotten sound

That was quite a night at La Scala on April 14, 1969! Thomas Schippers, a superior conductor, was presenting his conflated version of Rossini's L'assedio di Corinth, with two really stunning singers. While this version is a bit of a pastiche of the various versions of this opera and its predecessors, this was not uncommon of Rossini, who by this time was borrowing extensively from himself (and here also from others) and there is really no definite version of this opera. (E.g. for the authorized version for the opening of the new opera house in Genoa, Donizetti added a cabaletta he thought would improve things.) The version here may be unique, but it is certainly very satisfying. There is no hint of what version was recorded in the very bare-bones leaflet accompanying the cd -- which not surprisingly contains no libretto and very little information.

The most stunning aspect of this recording is the vocal pyrotechnics of Beverly Sills, who really takes your breath away with her high speed singing of hugely decorated music. Unfortunately, the very bad recording quality is particularly unkind to Sills. She did not have a very beautiful voice at the best of times, and here it often sounds downright ugly. How much of this is Sills and how much of this is the really atrocious recording (is an open question. Vocal tone suffers as technical bravado increases so it may not be just the recording, but Sills herself, that produces a less than fully satisfying sound. Marilyn Horne also turns in a marvellous performance and the sound is a little kinder to her -- but she sings at in a range that is easier to record, and she also had a much more beautiful voice than Sills. Each of these singers is amazing and makes the set worth hearing. The rest of the cast, though not up to these two, are very strong, and Shippers, conducting with an excellent orchestra and chorus, is first rate. But the sound really is bad. It seriously detracted from my enjoyment, and I am pretty tolerant of bad recordings. April 16, 2008

beggars can't be choosers

A great event in music history, a terrible recording. As another reviewer says, it is like somebody is in the audience with a cassette recorder. But it is the only copy of this opera I could find. March 29, 2008

Sills Sparkles in La Scala Debut in Flawed Recording

Despite the fact that Sills sang this opera for both her La Scala debut in 1969 and again for her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1975, no studio or Met recording of it exists with her. What we have is this live recording of the La Scala debut. It's a wonderful performance, but not up to the recordings of her performances in Julius Caesar, Manon or Roberto Devereaux.
The opera is later Rossini, and is closer in style to his dramatic grand operas than his earlier more florid music, and in order to showcase Sills' artistry had to be heavily reworked by conductor Thomas Schippers to bring out, and in some cases even create the stratospheric runs and trills that Sills did so well.
The tenor lead is also somewhat more dramatic than early Rossini operas call for, but casting Franco Bonisolli seems odd. Bonisolli was a famously tempermental heroic tenor with a ringing top, but without a great deal of agility in his voice. He also tended to shout. His first aria sounds like a collection of barks. While he does demonstrate greater fluidity in his singing as the opera goes on, and does manage in his duets and trios with Sills and Horne, to rein in his voice somewhat, he still tends to sing as if it were the climax of a verissmo potboiler. (He also sings the tenor lead in a recording of La Donna del Lago, which is even stranger casting!)
Sills was at the top of her game when this recording was made, and she doesn't disappoint. While other sopranos may have had better natural instruments (Joan Sutherland), few could match Sills for skill and sheer artistry. She was also a great singing actress, and as she repeatedly said in interviews, never hesitated to sacrifice a beautiful sound or tone for dramatic effect if necessary. She also made it clear that she would rather have a shorter, more dramatically effective career than a longer career singing perhaps more beautifully but less excitingly.
Marilyn Horne, singing a trouser role, nearly steals the show. Her large mezzo voice, with its robust chest tones, has been described as "having a dash of Worcestershire sauce." She was a true "mezzo di agilita", one who could handle the runs and trills and ornamentation of early bel canto with dazzling brilliance and technique. Her arias on this recording are worth the price of admission alone, and her duets with Sills are simply frosting on the cake.
The rest of the cast, including a young Justino Diaz, sing perfectly well if not memorably. American conductor Thomas Schippers keeps the whole thing moving at a lively pace and the energy never flags. The sound quality of this Opera d'Oro recording isn't great, although I don't think it's as bad as a couple of the reviewers. But I do agree that this is primarily an recording for fans of Sills and Horne who are already familiar with their work. For newcomers to the singing one of the greatest American sopranos of the 20th century, I recommend Manon, Julius Caesar, La Fille du Regiment, Roberto Devereaux, or (my favorite) Lucia di Lammermoor. August 9, 2007

A primadonna showpiece of dubious style

I've been fascinated by this 1969 production since I read an interview of the great Renata Tebaldi who performed the opera early in her career and who basically dismissed the way Rossini's music was performed in this Scala production. She claimed that by the time he wrote it, Rossini wanted to move away from florid music. Initially I thought Tebaldi was excusing herself for not performing the florid music but a little bit of research proved me wrong.

The great reviewer L.E. Cantrel below touched on this and his instincts were right but it isn't only the excessive ornamentation that is out of place here. The role of Pamyra is in the same group as Matilde in Gulielmo Tell and obviously Anna in Maometto. As such, the tessitura very much lies in the middle of the voice requiring anything but a high coloratura. Secondly, Assedio did not originally have a contralto but a tenor role because Rossini knew that in France, where he first presented Siege, they did not like women in male roles. The music he wrote for his tenor, unlike the trouser Calbo in Maometto, was not very ornamented.

When Schippers decided to have a contralto as Neocle in Assedio (and none other than Marilyn Horne) he also had to bring back the music from Maometto otherwise Horne would be useless. With Sills regular upward transpositions, a borrowed aria from an early Rossini opera and interpolated high notes solved the problem of Pamyra's tessitura and pleased the crowd who after all didn't know much about this obscure work.

What came out was spectacular singing by both ladies who without a doubt sieged La Scala. Rossini's intentions were of course dismissed and this ends up sounding more like most of his very florid early works without the more sophisticated style that is still preserved in Gulielmo Tell. I'm not dismissing his early works but it is nice to see a different side of him which this recording however doesn't offer us. The sound is adequate and the supporting cast good with promising beginners. For Sills, Horne and all coloratura fans it's a must but for Rossini studies you should look further as it doesn't deserve the 4 stars I gave for the singing..:-) February 25, 2007

Sills and Horne...it should have been recorded

I bought this after reading all the superlatives lavished on this recording, and yes, they are correct. But while it is all extremely exciting and virtuosic, it is also very beautiful. This opera contains some wonderfully melancholic music by rossini and sills magically spins the lines, creating a chilling atmosphere, much as she does with the opening scena of Lucia. It is also interesting to hear here live because she really was a daredevil and goes for all the notes and trills that one wishes many other sopranos would try for also. She is not always successful as can be heard at the end of the first ensemble where she goes for a high 'e' but sort of just squeels. Also, it's interesting to note the size of her voice in comparison to her colleagues. It can be heard quite well on its own, but when she sings with others, such as horne, one can really tell that Sills' voice is really lacking in size. Anyways, the sound is what you would expect from D'oro, though I thought it would be a little better because it was recorded in 1969. Alas, it should have been done in the studio! July 10, 2006

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