Gioachino Rossini - Tancredi / Barcellona, Takova, Gimenez, Spotti, Frizza, Pizzi (Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino)

We have not had Daniela Barcellona (except for 2 performances of an ill-fated Norma at the Met)in this country. Any fan of Rossini and spectacular mezzo singing will not want to miss this DVD. And the production is spectacular-no Euro trash!

Very good 2005 version of very good opera.

Opéra rare de Rossini, revu et corrigé par un metteur en scène classique s'inspirant des tragédies en noir et blanc. Gestes précis, attitudes nobles, rien à voir avec les exploits vocaux des chanteurs précédents : les grandes envolées lyriques des Maryline Horne, Montserrat Caballé et autres Ricciarelli sont définitivement révolues. A chacun d'y trouver son compte.

This is a very balanced production of Tancredi with excellent singing throughout. The production style is very generic, but artistic and certainly not eurotrash.

Rossini is best known for a delightful long list of Comic Operas; less well known is the Rossini of Opera Seria. Of the several that I've seen, heard on radio or on recordings, Tancredi is on the top of the list. The present DVD recoding of the Florence May Festival of 2005 is a most satisfactory presentation of this masterpiece. Two of the singers are in really good voice and can handle the difficult and complex Rossini line. Daniela Barcellona as a mezzo in a "pants" role of Tancredi handles the music very well and has a deep rich voice to boot. To me the best singing was delivered by Raul Gimenez as Argirio one of the leaders of the Sicilian city of Syacuse and father of Tancredi's beloved Amenaide. All the rest of the cast are quite good. The production is quite modern but very well done and works well with all the scene changes demanded here. It was really pleasant to see a modern stageing work so well after so many recent disasterous productions in the "modern" mode. The orchestra under Riccardo Frizza worked very well with true Rossini verve and delightly lithe Rossini aound. The plot is fairly conventional; little more than a backdrop for the coloratura singing. A very good recording with a true sad, if not tragic ending. One of the most rewarding Rossini operas as far as I'm concerned

... and it gets only meager praise from a couple of reviewers! What, am I a cheap date, musically? Am I too easily pleased? There are thrilling arias, rousing choruses, duets and ensembles as fine as any of the 19th C in Tancredi, Rossini's first 'opera seria' composed at age 20 and premiered in 1813. Tancredi became a Europe-wide success within a couple of years, establishing Rossini's reputation as a serious composers as well as a writer of buffooneries. Some of the best music from Tancredi would become "some of the best" in Rossini's later works as well. Gioachino was, shall we acknowledge, always in a hurry. The final scene of Tancredi must have astonished audiences in Venice, with its simplicity and pathos. The hero Tancredi dies, the music stops, no grand finale, the curtain falls. An alternate "happy ending", using the surprise of an enemy's honest declaration, was substituted By Rossini for subsequent productions in cities that had no taste for tragedy. Giachino was, shall we admit, always accommodating.The action is based very loosely on Torquato Tasso's poetic epic Gerusalemme Liberata, modified by Voltaire in 1760 in his tragedy "Tancrede" and further modified by librettist Gaetano Rossi for the young Rossini. The Norman knight Tancred has been exiled from Syracuse. His Love Amenaide, daughter of the duke Argirio, is courted by both the Syracusan Orbazzano and the saracen Solamiro, but she sustains her fidelity to Tancredi. A letter she sends him, pleading with him to save the city, falls into the wrong hands; Amenaide is denounced as a "traitor" and sentenced to death by her own father. Meanwhile Tancredi has sneaked into the city, accepts the false report that Amenaide ha betrayed him ... etc. As usual, the libretto is hardly more than an excuse for great music, to be sung virtuosically.And virtuosically it is sung in this performance! There are two DVDs of Tancredi available, this one and a Schwetzingen Festival TV production from 1992, starring Bernadette Manca di Nissa as Tancredi and Maria Bayo as Amenaide. The earlier performance was quite satisfactory, but this one is better in a number of ways, not limited to technical matters of sound recording and film quality. Bayo totally overshadowed Manca di Nissa in sheer vocal artistry, but that shouldn't be so, since the role of Tancredi really is the centerpiece of the opera. Contralto Daniela Barcelona rose to stardom in the 1990s with her performance as Tancredi, which might be called her "signature" role. In thsi 2005 production, Barcellona's skills are finely balanced with those of soprano Darina Takova as Amenaide; their duets are exquisite, the best moments of the score. It's worth, I hope, climbing out on the reviewer's limb and declaring that a comparison of these two productions reveals indisputably how much more accomplished at "bel canto" ornamentation and phrasing the singers of "today" are than the singers of the last century. Bayo had a superb voice but her arias sound naked and bland in comparison to Takova's. Even a comparison of the two tenors singing the role of Argirio, Raul Gimenez in this interpretation, will demonstrate how much bel canto technique has been recovered and relearned under the impetus of "historically informed performance practices."Contrary to common opinion, the role of Tancredi was NOT composed for a castrato. The contralto who premiered the role in 1813 was Adelaide Malanotte. Tancredi was always a "trousers role." I have to wonder, however, whether such trousers roles are still supportable in the era of filmed operas, both the "live broadcasts" in movie theaters that are generating new audiences for opera as well as DVDs. Daniella Barcelona is decidedly NOT cinema-worthy as Tancredi. She's a large busty woman, and no effort whatsoever went into giving her a "masculine" identity on stage, neither by costume nor by make-up. Why, she's wearing lipstick and eye-shadow, as one can't help but notice in close-ups. Actually, the acting in this production is so thoroughly old-fashioned and bluff that Barcelona seems only slightly less physically implausible than anyone else. Likewise the costuming -- seen from the second balcony it might seem picturesque, but in close-ups it's patently bargain-basement rummage stuff. But don't worry! The singing and the orchestra and the music per se are all good enough to make dramaturgy minor in importance.

Muy buena versión

Un décor volontairement épuré, avec le blanc et le noir comme couleurs dominantes, qui laisse ainsi toute sa place à la splendide musique et au chant rossinien.Trois excellents interprètes, Daniela BARCELLONA parfaite dans ce type de chant, la touchante Darina TAKOVA et le ténor Raul GIMENEZ dont le rôle est assez émouvant également.Beau travail.

This 2005 performance of Tancredi from the Teatro Communale, Firenze succeeds in all aspects. There is no weak element either in the production or in the cast. The cast is outstanding with the excellent Daniela Barcellona in the title role paired with the beautiful Darina Takova as Amenaide. They both sing wonderfully well in their respective solo music and make a great combination in their duets. They are supported by excellent performers in all the other roles. Coupled to great singing the cast are also excellent actors and this is a truly believable and impressive dramatic performance as well as musically outstanding. In addition the costumes and set are splendid. Although there are modern elements, particularly in the costumes, everything has the true historical feel and the monumental set is relatively simple but extremely effective. There are some lovely visual touches such as Tancredi's first arrival back in Syracuse by boat.The Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino play wonderfully well under the baton of Riccardo Frizza and all the delicacy and beauty as well as the heroic elements of Rossini's score come across really well. The sound quality is truly first class and the picture is very high quality. The action is extremely well filmed.The picture is in widescreen 16:9 format and the sound is available as either Dolby digital 5.1 or LPCM stereo soundtracks. The disc is NTSC not PAL as given in the Amazon listing. There are subtitles in English, German, French, Italian and Spanish. The opera runs for 155 minutes.

This dvd is a gem for bel canto lovers. Excellent singing, beautiful melodies, good traditional staging. Sound and picture are very food. Enjoy!

Distribution éblouissante, mise en scène sobre et efficace ,quant à l'orchestre il souligne admirablement l'action.l Ce tancredi correspond parfaitement à ce que j'en attendais