Prague Sinfonia Orchestra & Christian Benda - Rossini: Complete Overtures, Vol. 1-4 (2012-2014) [Hi-Res]

02 Jun, 08:58
change text size:

Artist: Prague Sinfonia Orchestra, Christian Benda
Title: Rossini: Complete Overtures, Vol. 1-4
Year Of Release: 2012-2014
Label: Naxos
Genre: Classical
Quality: flac lossless / flac 24bits - 96.0kHz +Booklet
Total Time: 03:48:05
Total Size: 1.03 / 3.9 gb
WebSite: Album Preview

Tracklist

Rossini: Complete Overtures, Vol. 1
01. La gazza ladra: Overture
02. Semiramide: Overture
03. Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra: Overture
04. Otello, ossia Il moro di Venezia: Overture
05. Le siège de Corinthe: Overture
06. Sinfonia, "al Conventello"
07. Ermione, Act I: Sinfonia-Troia! Qual fosti un di!

Rossini wrote some of music’s most masterful and lovable operas. His gift for comic and tragic forms was matched by a relish for characterisation, qualities that are always evident in his overtures. La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie) is perhaps the most famous, one of the world’s most popular concert openers. But in Otello he reveals his more complex turns of phrase and in Le siège de Corinthe the writing is dramatic and colourful. The overture for Elisabetta, Regina d’Inghilterra was used again a year later by Rossini for Il barbiere di Siviglia. This is the first of four discs of the complete Rossini Overtures.

Rossini: Complete Overtures, Vol. 2
01. Guillaume Tell: Overture
02. Eduardo e Cristina: Overture
03. L'inganno felice: Overture
04. La scala di seta: Overture
05. Demetrio e Polibio: Overture
06. Il Signor Bruschino: Sinfonia
07. Sinfonia in D Major, "Bologna"
08. Sigismondo: Overture

Rossini’s ceaseless wit and invention are best exemplified in his series of operas.

His colourful orchestration and command of both comic and tragic elements can be savoured in this second of four volumes of the complete symphonic overtures. Guillaume Tell, with its overture in four movements, includes a scene for five solo cellos. La scala di seta (The Silken Ladder), one of his most popular pieces, opens with an overture of charm and élan. Volume 1 (8570933) was described by MusicWeb International as “an admirable start to what looks like being a very desirable series”.

Witty and vital, but also darker and rather less well known, Rossini’s overtures cover a wide variety of moods and expressions. This disc includes the perennial favourite La scala di seta (The Silken Ladder), and the witty Guillaume Tell. With little known operatic overtures included, it makes for a finely balanced programme; and whilst the favourites have been multiply recorded, others are very much under represented in the catalogue.

Rossini: Complete Overtures, Vol. 3
01. Maometto secondo, Act I: Sinfonia (1822 Venice version)
02. L'Italiana in Algeri: Sinfonia
03. La Cenerentola: Overture
04. Grand'overtura, "Obbligata a contrabbasso"
05. Matilde di Shabran, ossia Bellezza, e cuor di ferro: Overture
06. La cambiale di matrimonio: Overture
07. Tancredi: Overture

Volume 3 of the complete Rossini symphonic overtures continues the pattern of placing rarities such as the lively student work, Grand’overtura ‘obbligata a contrabasso’, and Matilde of Shabran, set in medieval Spain, alongside perennial hits such as The Italian Girl in Algiers and La Cenerentola (Cinderella), said to have been written in just three weeks. International Record Review described Volume 2 (8570934) of this series as having ‘excellent performances’.

Rossini: Complete Overtures, Vol. 4
01. Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville): Overture
02. Il turco in Italia: Overture
03. Sinfonia in E-Flat Major
04. Ricciardo e Zoraide, Act I: Overture
05. Torvaldo e Dorliska, Act I: Sinfonia
06. Armida, Act I: Sinfonia
07. Le comte Ory, Act I: Introduction
08. Bianca e Falliero: Sinfonia

The enduring popularity of Rossini’s operas is a testament to their wit and inventiveness, every overture a superb portrait of each ensuing drama. There is none more popular than the farcical comedy of Il barbiere di Siviglia, but themes of flirtation and disguise can also be found in Il Turco in Italia, contrasting with the heroism and revenge of Armida and the cunning exploits of Le Comte Ory.