Search - Rossini - L'Equivoco Stravagante / Moroni, Voznessenskaia, Miotto, Carrisi, Bologna Opera on DVD

Rossini's first full opera

Richard | Minneapolis, Mongolia | 04/16/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is Rossini's first full opera. It ran into trouble because of its libretto. First the plot involves the heroine and hero concocting a plot to ward off her other lover. The plot is that she is in truth a castrato. Pretty seemy. Then there is a scene of foot sniffing. And the librettist considered himself something of a wordsmith so there are puns, etc to the point where some parts are incomprehensible. The translators had to leave the subtites in the original Italian at times.
But what about Rossini? The man is a genius. Here he is at the dawn of his career innovating. He composes wonderful extended ensembles. He gives us the first martial aria for his herione - a form that will wander down the years thru himself and Donizetti. This is not the mature artist but it is hardly the work of a neophyte. If you love Rossini you deserve to see him at the beginning here.
Unfortunately we are in the company of the not ready for prime time singers. The bass is squally. The tenor bleats and is almost inaudible in ensembles. Only the contralto shines. But I doubt there will ever be another chance to see this early gem. So if Rossini matters to you as he does to me, grin and bear it. It's not an awful performance, just parochial. The production is a little strange as well but doesn't interfere with the plot. The producer seems to have a fixation on food however because you probably see a 12 course meal in the course of the performance."