Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

Gioachino Rossini’s : ‘TANCREDI’ (Schwetzingen 1992: Gelmetti/ Manca di Nissa, Bayo, Gimenez)

This DVD captures a live performance of Rossini's first opera seria, Tancredi, from the Schwetzinger Festival 1992. It uses the Ferrara tragic ending with added bonus of the finale from the Venice happy ending as the encore piece.

Tancredi was Rossini’s break through into the genre of opera seria at Venice’s famed La Fenice in 1813. It is a very static bel canto piece (slow moving story with beautiful voice-oriented florid arias connected by sung speech). It is set in 1005 AD Syracuse and, thanks to the amazingly inane story-line and marvelously difficult music for the 3 lead roles, is exceedingly rarely staged. There are only 3 DVDs of this opera commercially available, and this is probably the best one (marginally edging the DVD from Venice starring Marilyn Horne in the title role).

The story is an adaptation from Voltaire’s tragedy ‘Tancrède’ about the return of the exiled Syracusian knight Tancredi to defend his homeland against the Saracene besiegers. Unfortunately, he missed the unaddressed letter his beloved Amenaide had dispatched via a page, asking him to return to rescue the city and take her as his bride. The letter was intercepted by her (unwelcomed) suitor Obrazzano, who then jealously proclaims it as evidence of her treason (mistaking the letter's intended destination as the leader of the Saracens instead). Argirio, the leader of the Syracusian Senate and Amenaide's dad, is forced to sentence his own daughter to death unless a knight emerges to fight her accuser to defend her honor (in the world of opera, you're guilty until proven innocent... or until you kill the accuser, of course).

Though he believes the charge against Amenaide, Tancredi takes up the challenge and slays Obrazzano in a duel. He then leads the Syracusians to victory against the Saracens, though is mortally wounded in the final battle (but not before being told by the dying Saracen leader that Amenaide’s letter was intended for Tancredi after all).

CAST:
Argirio (leader of Syracuse) ::: Raul Gimenez (tenor)
Amenaide (Argirio's daughter, loves Tancredi) ::: Maria Bayo (soprano)
Obrazzano (Syracuse knight, lusts for Amenaide) ::: Ildebrando D’Archangelo (bass)
Tancredi (Exiled Syracuse knight, loves Amenaide) ::: Bernadette Manca di Nissa (contralto)
Isaura (Amenaide’s lady in waiting) ::: Katarzyna Bak (mezzo-soprano)
Roggiero (Tancredi’s page) ::: Maria Pia Piscitelli (mezzo-soprano)

Gianluigi Gelmetti conducting the Radio Symphony Orchestra - Stuttgart

Sample clips:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JP3wvnfmSw (Argirio's aria)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmAtYXtxdsA (Tancredi-Amenaide Act II duet)

This staging is beautifully simple and minimalistic, using period costumes. It fits the story well and isn’t distracting. I like the scene of the arrival of Tancredi by sea with the background seascape painting and the ship sailing in from stage left. Unfortunately the beautiful scene gives way to an uninspired and stiff-as-a-log singing and acting of the Italian contralto Bernadette Manca di Nissa’s Tancredi. The scene setting and music set a perfect backdrop for Tancredi to make a memorable first impression to the audience, but to say that this Tancredi misses the dramatic boat is an understatement of the year. S/he is hardly anything more than a singing set prop... which I find frustratingly maddening since Manca di Nissa has a seriously beautiful and very rare true contralto voice and good technical command! She copes fine with Tancredi’s very florid and wide-ranging music, but dramatically this heroic knight has no face once can recognize. How can she sing as though she doesn’t understand the meaning of the words coming out of her mouth when she is Italian? Arrgggghhhhh!

As Tancredi’s love interest Amenaide is the Spanish coloratura soprano Maria Bayo. She is more dramatically involved than her onstage lover, though I find the voice rather thin and edgy with unfocused top notes. Her voice does mix well with Manca di Nissa during the two gorgeous duets between the lovers, though. Those are easily the highlight of the show.

As unenthusiastic as I am about the 2 lead roles that matter the most, I am impressed by the Argentinian tenor Raul Gimenez’s Argirio and the Polish Katarzyna Bak’s Isaura. Gimenez has a wonderfully ringing tenor voice that exudes authority becoming of Argirio’s status as leader of the Syracuse. His singing is clean and lyrical, effectively stealing the show with his Act I aria 'Pensa che sei mi figlia'! He also acts convincingly. Bak is unknown to me, but I hope to see and hear more of her. She has one beautiful aria ‘Tu che i miseri conforti’ in Act II and makes the most of it.

Ildebrando D’Archangelo, the Italian bass-baritone, also has a good showing as the vindictive Obrazzano. Frankly, I was disappointed Tancredi won the duel with Obrazzano since that deprives me of the much more dramatically involved D’Archangelo. Maria Pia Piscitelli does fine both vocally and dramatically in the minor role of Roggiero.

Maestro Gianluigi Gelmetti’s conducting is brisk and clear. Though a bit too brisk for me at times, as that lessens the descriptive/scenic quality of Rossini's music. I appreciate his including the beautiful ensemble finale of the Venice original (Happy) ending as an encore after the ending of the opera proper, however.


The Bottom line, if you have not heard this opera before, it is a good idea to first view this performance to get a good idea of the story and setting before getting one of the 3 great CDs of the work. However, if you have heard any of the 3 great CDs (with Marilyn Horne, Ewa Podles, and Vesselina Kasarova as Tancredi), you will likely find the musical performance here very disappointing.

With great technical and dramatically involved singing, this opera is a bright gem of the bel canto opera repertoire. When it isn’t done dramatically well, as shown in this performance, it is a long and boring thing to sit through. My personal favorite recording is the RCA Red Seal CD set conducted by Roberto Abbado (with both endings in their entirety). Though the other 2 (the Horne, and the Podles sets) are also wonderful (both use the Ferrara tragic ending).

Other recordings of Rossini operas:
Il barbiere di Siviglia (Zurich 2001), Le cambiale di matrimonio (Schwetzingen 1989), La Cenerentola (Munich 2005), Ermione (Glyndebourne 1995), Tancredi (R Abbado 1996), Tancredi (N Zedda)

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8