The Cast
ERMIONE
- Carmen Giannattasio
ANDROMACA
- Patricia Bardon
PIRRO - Paul Nilon
ORESTE - Colin Lee
PILADE - Bülent Bezdüz
FENICIO
- Graeme Broadbent
CLEONE
- Rebecca Bottone
CEFISA
- Victoria Simmonds
ATTALO - Loic Felix
Geoffrey Mitchell Choir
London Philharmonic Orchestra
CONDUCTOR
- David Parry
The Guardian
****
'Given that it deals with the hidden agendas of politicians and the messy aftermath of war, it's unsurprising that Ermione, Rossini's extraordinary adaptation of Racine's Andromaque, has become a cult opera in the last two decades. Paul Nilon's suavely vainglorious Pirro is pitted against Colin Lee's electrifying, altogether more volatile Oreste. Patricia Bardon makes much of Andromaca's implacably moral nobility, while David Parry's edgy, hard-driven conducting is admirably suited to the work's nerve-ridden atmosphere.'
The Sunday Times'A flop at its 1819 premiere, Rossini's Racine-based opera seria vanished from the repertoire in the 19th century. Since its first modern performance in 1977, however, its progress has been inexorable. This lavishly presented studio recording preceded a Festival Hall concert last year and makes a strong case for Rossini's most experimental serious opera. Parry's conducting is taut yet singer- (and woodwind-solo) friendly and unfailingly dramatic. The standoffs between Carmen Giannattasio's Ermione, Paul Nilon's Pirro and Patricia Bardon's Andromaca bristle with theatrical temperament. Giannattasio is occasionally raw, but thrilling, while Colin Lee (Oreste) and Bardon show you don't have to be Italian to shine in this music.'
The Daily Telegraph
'Opera Rara's performance was red-blooded... Bulent Bezduz and Loic Felix both shone as the Prince's friends, and Paul Nilon did a noble job in the taxing role of Pirro. But it was Colin Lee as Oreste who stole the show with some brilliant pyrotechnics: I'm not sure that Juan Diego Florez could have fired them off better.'
The Financial Times'Opera Rara's handsomely documented new studio recording helps us understand why the "serious" Rossini now commands the same respect as his popular comedies. Rather than constricting the emotional temperature, the opera's taut structure and virtuoso vocalism create an expressive energy that leaps out in almost every scene - notably those featuring the three tenor principals.
Paul Nilon's Pirro has the most flamboyant music but Colin Lee's Oreste and Bülent Bezdüz's Pilade sound more at home in the Rossini idiom. All thrive when sparring with Carmen Giannattasio's Ermione - a performance of temperament and style, not least in her hair-raising finale, where she combines the thrilling range of a Sutherland and the dramatic intelligence of a classical
tragédienne.'
