La Zingara was Gaetano Donizetti’s first operatic encounter with the city and theatrical life of Naples. Keeping faith with the quality of writing of his teacher Mayr and with the prestige that he drew from it, Donizetti launched himself into the world of Naples theatre with all the instinctive skill of a man leaping onto a galloping horse. He hit the mark first time (52 performances from May to October 1822) and started off the process of identification with the city that was to link the composer from Bergamo to Naples until 1838. We owe the first modern-day performance of La Zingara to the lively Martina Franca Festival, and our recording represents an absolute première of signal documentary value. Outstanding among the cast of performers, the mezzo-soprano Manuela Custer and the baritone Domenico Colaianni, who has already featured in several Dynamic recordings.

Artists

Manuela Custer (Argilla), Domenico Colaianni (Papaccione), Rosita Ramini (Ines), Massimiliano Barbolini (Fernando), Piero Terranova (Don Sebastiano Alvarez), Cataldo Gallone (Duca d'Alziras), Sara Allegretta (Amelia), Roberta Zaccaria (Ghita), Giulia Petruzzi (Manuelita), Giacomo Rocchetti (Antonio Alvarez), Massimiliano Chiarolla (Sguiglio), Filippo Morace (Don Ranuccio Zappador)

Bratislava Chamber Choir, Orchestra Internazionale d’Italia, Arnold Bosman