The Cast
ELISABETTA
- Jennifer Larmore
LEICESTER - Bruce Ford
MATILDE
- Majella Cullagh
ENRICO
- Manuela Custer
NORFOLK
- Antonino Siragusa
GUGLIELMO - Colin Lee
Geoffrey Mitchell Choir
London Philharmonic Orchestra
CONDUCTOR
- Giuliano Carella
International Record Review
'Antonino Siragusa's rather dry voice, flexible with its high placement, 'speaks' quickly enough for him to tackle rapid divisions with apparent ease... Siragusa contrasts well with Bruce Ford's darker sound, and Ford himself is no slouch when it comes to moving the voice through passages demanding vocal dexterity... The women are on the same high level with Majella Cullagh in shining voice.
Jennifer Larmore is majestic, in commanding mood... She is on splendid form, the vast range of the role creating no obvious problems.'
Gramophone'Strong casting turns Rossini's 'Elizabethan' drama into a gripping theatrical event... Jennifer Larmore's performance, formidably well sung, has presence, character, and a real sense of ingrained authority. Siragusa is very fine. This is far more interesting Rossini singing than anything I have yet heard from the heavily promoted Juan Diego Flórez. With such strong casting, it goes without saying that the great confrontations in the opera - Elizabeth and Norfolk, Leicester and Norfolk, and so on - all come vividly to life.'
BBC Music Magazine
'Even by Opera Rara's customary lofty standards and characteristic zest for dusting off neglected pieces, this new recording must rate highly in the company's catalogue.'
The Guardian'Musically, the first surprise is that the overture is the one that Rossini reused in the
Barber of Seville, and Elisabetta's first aria brings material later developed in the
Barber as Rosina's Una Voce Poco Fa. What matters is the vigour of the writing with many marvellous ensembles, here beautifully performed by a strong cast with Giuliano Carella the idiomatic conductor.'
