Matilde di Shabran

ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Matilde di Shabran was Rossini’s last commission from Rome, where Il barbiere di Siviglia had had its birth. This premiere NAXOS recording revives the original 1821 Rome version, which was conducted at the last minute by Niccolo Paganini, and caused turmoil in the streets of Rome between groups of Rossini’s pros and cons. Rossini was not overly concerned, as he had his sights set on greener pastures: Vienna, London and Paris awaited.

The cast of this NAXOS release of the original version (of three) features a youthful group of gifted singers from the Bad Wildblad Festival : six males and two females. Contralto Victoria Yarovaya and soprano Sara Blanch, both raise the bar for their other colleagues getting the lionesses’ shares of the show stopping arias.

José Miguel Pérez-Sierra brightly helms this performance of this comic rarity conducting the Passionart Orchestra Krakow in this NAXOS CD which is sure to entice Rossini fans with its rarity.

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

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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.”