Special offer. Rossini: Maometto II
Elisa Balbo, Victoria Yarovaya, Mert Süngü, Patrick Kabongo Mubenga, Mirco Palazzi
Camerata Bach Choir Poznań, Virtuosi Brunenses, Antonino Fogliani
It is at its best in the opera’s dying fall of an end, where the heroine Anna Erisso prepares to take her own life in the catacombs of the besieged citadel. This is beautifully handled by Elisa...
Special offer. Rossini: Maometto II
Elisa Balbo, Victoria Yarovaya, Mert Süngü, Patrick Kabongo Mubenga, Mirco Palazzi
Camerata Bach Choir Poznań, Virtuosi Brunenses, Antonino Fogliani
Purchase product
It is at its best in the opera’s dying fall of an end, where the heroine Anna Erisso prepares to take her own life in the catacombs of the besieged citadel. This is beautifully handled by Elisa...
About
With its carefully planned yet complex dramatic structure and skilful transformation of a tale of heroic conflict between two enemies into a drama of impossible love, Maometto II is considered Rossini's most radical and innovative opera. Against the background of the violent and cruel tumult of war as the Venetian colony of Negroponte is invaded and defeated by Sultan Mehmet II 'the Conqueror', in 1470, Rossini contrasts this clash of civilisations with the tender emotions of a doomed romance expressed in some of the most beautiful melodies he ever wrote. Heard here in its original Naples version – the more conventional 1822 Venice version with its overture and happy ending can be heard on Naxos 8.660149-51 – this is a movingly tragic drama in which the suicide of the main female role is not without a grim relevance even today.
Contents and tracklist
- Merto Sungu (tenor), Victoria Yarovaya (mezzo-soprano), Patrick Kabongo Mubenga (tenor), Elisa Balbo (soprano), Mirco Palazzi (bass)
- Poznań Camerata Bach Choir, Virtuosi Brunensis
- Antonino Fogliani
- Recorded: 15, 20 and 23 July 2017
- Recording Venue: Trinkhalle, Bad Wildbad, Germany
Awards and reviews
January 2019
It is at its best in the opera’s dying fall of an end, where the heroine Anna Erisso prepares to take her own life in the catacombs of the besieged citadel. This is beautifully handled by Elisa Balbo…Wildbad also has a fine Calbo…The new set’s larger problem lies with the often sketchy coloratura of the male antagonists.
March 2019
The opera is highly attractive and the singing surpasses anything I could have expected.
March 2019
The individual performances are impressive…Yarovaya displays artistic purpose in her heroic fortitude as [Maometto’s] general Calbo, unfazed by the role’s multiple semiquavers…But the set’s prime asset is Mirco Palazzi’s Maometto. Palazzi’s rich and wide-ranging sonority and authoritative manner help him paint a complex portrait of the Turkish invader…While ensemble is sometimes a bit fuzzy around the edges, Antonino Fogliani’s conducting is broadly efficient.
