Country Manners, (1890-Rome)
Melodrama in one act
Libretto by G. Targioni-Tozzetti & G Menasci
English translation by Edmund Tracey
The Cast
Dennis O'Neill, tenor - Turiddu
Nelly Miricioiu, soprano - Santuzza
Phillip Joll, baritone - Alfio
Diana Montague, mezzo-soprano - Lola
Elizabeth Bainbridge, contralto - Lucia
Geoffrey Mitchell Choir
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Brad Cohen - assistant conductor
David Parry - conductor
Recorded in Blackheath Halls, London
3-5 August 1997
Producer - Brian Couzens,
Sound engineer - Ben Connellan,
Assistant engineer - Richard Smoker
The Daily Telegraph
'The performance is notable for... dramatic intensity... where the singers must tear passions to tatters. The Anglo-Romanian soprano Nelly Miricioiu does just that as the wronged heroine Santuzza, successfully using her Callas-like style to portray the young woman's love and hate for the despicable Turiddu. That part is taken with a suitably impulsive vigour by Dennis O'Neill, who is in powerful voice and makes most of the chances Mascagni offers... The real vocal pleasure in the set comes from Diana Montague's sultry Lola, a cameo of lovely singing.'
