Cons: Romeo has to stop singing and die at some point... Bummer.
The Bottom Line: A true celebration of beautiful singing that also tells the story convincingly. Can't beat Kasarova and Vargas in this repertoire. With Rossini-ornamentated bonus arias.
smorg's Full Review: Bellini: I Capuleti e i Montecchi / R. Abbado, Kas...
Vincenzo Bellini’s ‘I CAPULETI E I MONTECCHI’ (The Capulets and the Montagues) A bel canto opera in 2 acts.
This is an in studio CD recording made in June 1997 of Bellini’s bel canto masterpiece. The 3 CD set includes both the original work by Bellini and a bonus 3rd disc of the alternative ending by the composer Nicola Vaccai and 2 bonus tracks of Romeo’s aria and cavatina (slow & expressive song), ’Ascolta! Se Romeo... ’ and ‘Riedi al campo’ featuring ornamentation written by the other bel canto composer extraordinaire, Gioacchino Rossini.
Premiered in Venice in 1830, this opera is set to the librettist Felice Romani’s adaptation on the story of Romeo and Juliette, of course. Though it is not based on the Shakespeare play, but on the same 16th Century sources that inspired the English poet. The story is of the tragic love between Romeo and Giulietta amidst the conflict between their 2 families, the Capulets and the Montagues.
Plot: Giulietta, the daughter of the Capuleti leader Capellio, loves the exiled Romeo (who beside being the leader of the hated Montecchi clan, had also unfortunately killed her brother in a battle). Capellio very understandably wants Romeo dead and for his daughter to marry his ally Tebaldo. Romeo begs Giulietta to elope with him, but she puts duty and honor over love and refuses (operatic heroines are often tragically honorable like that... think Charlotte from Werther or Imogene from Il Pirata). She wins condemnation from all sides with Romeo angered by her refusal and Capellio by the hesitation she displays in marrying Tebaldo (in opera, it often doesn’t pay to be noble).
The tragedy is tragically precipitated by Dr Lorenzo’s excellent ploy of providing Giulietta with a strong sleeping potion to help her play dead (to get out of having to marry Tebaldo), but he never gets around to informing Romeo about it. And so the hero’s ultimate display of love by refusing to live without his heroine is all too well appreciated by the heroine herself when she wakes up to find that he had swallowed a whole bottle of real poison. Giulietta then justifies her need to have a personal physician by falling dead upon his lifeless body (apparently from a broken heart).
Just to entice you: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWXrt9v6c_s The music is a true bel canto gem (to heck with the lyrics or the story, the meat is in vocal writing to show off beautiful and agile voices), requiring a great deal out of the singers (indeed in this work we really cannot do without great singers in the 2 lead roles). Bellini was evidently the master of coining simple yet highly elegant and emotionally expressive melodic lines. And the ensemble numbers are just as beautiful as the solo ones!
The overture opens with a simple brass call that is answered with the French horns to the war-like background of fast timpani beats, establishing a mood of oppressive conflict leading into the chorus that opens Act I. The opera proper is full of elegantly beautiful melodies that perfectly describe each dramatic scene. Mesmerizing use of woodwinds (especially the clarinet solo in Act II’s Deserto e il luogo (the place is deserted) when Romeo approaches Giulietta’s tomb). And old Romeo gets one of the most beautiful ‘dead-bed music’ ever in his final aria and duet with Giulietta, Deh! Tu bell’anima and O tu mia sola speme, tosco fatal. For all I care, Romeo can take his time dying if that duet is well sung.
CAST: Capellio (Leader of the Capuleti, father of Giulietta, wishes Romeo death) ::: Umberto Chiummo (bass) Giulietta (Daughter of Capellio, loves Romeo) ::: Eva Mei (soprano) Dr. Lorenzo (Friend of Capellio ) ::: Simone Alberghini (bass) Tebaldo (A Capuleti ally, Giulietta's fiance, hates Romeo) ::: Ramon Vargas (tenor) Romeo (leader of the Montecchi, loves Giulietta) ::: Vesselina Kasarova (mezzo-soprano)
Conductor: Roberto Abbado / Munich Radio Orchestra Chorus Master: Udo Mehrpohl / Choir of the Bavarian Radio
I surrender. Vesselina Kasarova’s and Ramon Vargas’ bel canto singing have defeated my attempt to come up with adequately praiseful adjectives. They’re practically untouchable in this repertoire! Kasarova’s Romeo is youthful, sensitive and yet manly at the same time. The beautifully rounded burgundy color voice is so full of texture and clear... and very sensual (especially in the middle). And while most of the A-list mezzo soprani these day have such light voice as to be easily mistaken for a soprano, Kasarova has one of the most imposing lower registers there is (and as impressive as she is in this studio recording, she is even better live). Her interpretation of the role is so involved that even the recitative that connect the sung number sound alive and natural. There is an expressive face on this Romeo... One doesn't need to see him to know aurally that this is a dashingly hot-blooded and romantic young man.
What a way she has with coloratura! As if it isn’t hard enough to sing ALL the notes that fast, she shades them in many hues and accents them with dynamic changes while she’s at it (it is down-right intoxicating to hear). Many bel canto singers machine-gun me with their coloratura passages, but Kasarova never does. She has a fast moving voice that delivers real punches, but can also caress you with the softest pianissimo that would make you float in your easy chair. All her vocal pyrotechnic tricks are so well integrated to the musical lines that they just had to have been planned, but she is so musical that it always sounds spontaneous.
Kasarova is well matched by the other 2 leads of Ramon Vargas and Eva Mei. Vargas is simply majestic as Tebaldo... though his clear and noble voice is so beautifully soft and lyrical that it’s hard to imagine him as the bad guy of the show (it's rather disconcerting to be mesmerized by the Tebaldo listening to this work!). His Act II duet with Romeo, Arresta. Qual mesto suon echeggia?, is breath-taking. I wish he has more music to sing, but this opera really belongs to the 2 female voices.
The Italian soprano, Eva Mei, sings beautifully as Giulietta, the only female character in the opera. She is not as expressive as Kasarova is, but this is the most dramatically involved I’ve heard from her yet (more convincing in the role here than as Amenaide in Tancredi or as the title role in Thaîs). Her coloratura is as fast and accurate as ever, but they are more expressive now that she does color her voice more. A welcoming trend! With this performance, you’d be hard pressed to find a better cast for the 3 leads of this Bellini masterpiece anywhere.
Maestro Roberto Abbado (Claudio Abbado's nephew) once again displays his feel for bel canto opera orchestration. He really has a deep appreciation for the music, spending more time to explore and paints the background with the orchestra rather than just keeping things moving along. As the result this performance sounds more lively and multi-dimensional as a whole rather than just a virtuoso show for the singers. A truly beautiful musical performance!
It is a stellar recording of one of the most melodically beautiful operas ever written. There are many good recordings of I Capuleti e i Montecchi available now, but this one is the top pick for me. Highly recommended.
Catch a glimpse of Kasarova's Romeo at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qzKUY2rt7s (entrance aria) www.youtube.com/watch?v=Psa4Mi83XIk (Act I Romeo-Giulietta duet, Fuggire!)
3 CDs set. Sung in Italian. Booklet contains a brief history of the opera, synopsis, short bios on the lead singers, and libretto in Italian, English, German, and French.
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