The Guardian

‘The closing scene... has considerable power. It's strong enough to warrant a complete recording rather than this highlights disc from Opera Rara... James Westman forcefully conveys the fanaticism behind Corrado's principled nobility.’
 
Sicilienne
 
 
The cast

DELIZIA
- Dimitra Theodossiou
ROGGERO - Dmitry Korchak
CORRADO - James Westman
GIUSARDO BONELLO
- Ann Taylor
GIFFREDO
- Andrew Foster-Williams
MARGARITA - Cora Burggraaf
ISABELLA - Camilla Roberts
IL MARCHESE ALBAROSA
and A KNIGHT - Mark Wilde

Geoffrey Mitchell Choir
Philharmonia Orchestra
CONDUCTOR - Roland Boer
MusicalCriticism.com

‘... it's beautifully produced and contains excellent playing and some high-quality singing. And for sure, the work deserves reconsideration... We're told that this piece was a favourite of Patric Schmid, the late Artistic Director and former driving force of Opera Rara, and it's to him that the recording is dedicated.

The work's serious tone is indeed striking, from the dark, grave prelude to the spellbinding final scene. Ricci is capable of great complexity, including the interweaving of the voices with different instrumental lines in the orchestra and sophisticated large-scale structures.
8 September 2010
Top marks here to Roland Boer and the Philharmonia Orchestra for providing a near-ideal accompaniment in this recording. There's such vitality about the playing that one would imagine the orchestra had the theatre in its blood, rather than spending most of its time in the concert hall. Boer's tempo choices tend to be sprightly but never rushed, and he breathes with his singers.'