AGNESE, TEBALDO, ISOLINA, FERDINANDO, AND FRANCESCO

ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Ferdinando Paer’s AGNESE and Francesco Morlacchi’s TEBALDO E ISOLINA both recently released respectively by DYNAMIC and SWR by way of NAXOS are both obscure operas.

AGNESE dating back to 1809 was for several years as popular an opera as any in its time, getting first rate productions all over Europe. Morlacchi’s TEBALDO E ISOLINA first saw stage lights in 1822, and much like Paer’s opera enjoyed successes all over Europe.

And then?

Paer’s AGNESE, thanks to the enterprising Teatro Regio Torino is receiving its first performance in quite a while. And a good one this one is, recorded on video in 2019 and given a stylish, tongue-in-cheek production directed by Leo Muscato and designed by Federica Parolini, Silvia Aymonine, and Alessandro Verazzi.

The nine-strong cast features a terrific group of singing actors: Maria Rey-Joli, Markus Werba, Edgardo Rocha, Filippo Morace, Andrea Giovannini, Lucia Cirillo, Giulia Della Peruta, Federico Benetti, and a charming six-year old named Sofia La Cara.

The Orchestra and Chorus Teatro Regio Torino are beautifully conducted by Diego Fasolis, and the video and sound are first rate.

Morlacchi’s TEBALDO E ISOLINA was recorded in 2014 during the XXVI Rossini Festival in Wildbad. Here it receives a winning revival with a young cast, supported by the Camerata Bach Choir and the Virtuosi Brunensis, led by Antonio Fogliani.

For the inveterate collector both these offerings will make a nice addiction to an opera collection.

Rafael de Acha http://www.RafaelMusicNotes.com

Published by ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Rafael de Acha has enjoyed a distinguished career in the arts as a performer, stage director, producer, and educator. He was born and grew up in Cuba. At the age of 17 he moved to the United States to study Drama at the University of Minnesota, and later Languages at L.A. City College, Music at the Juilliard School of Music, at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, and at the New England Conservatory of Music, from which he received the Master's degree. He has taught courses on the History of Music at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and at Florida International University, and contributed writings and reviews to Seen and Heard International (www.seenandheard-international.com ) and to this blog. He co-founded the award-winning New Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida, where he produced and staged twenty seasons of classical and contemporary theater, including fifty world premieres of plays that went on to have international and national productions on and off Broadway, including Ana in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 2002 and Tony Nomination 2003.) In 2006 he was presented with a citation from The Dade County Cultural Affairs Council for “trailblazing contributions to the arts in South Florida.”