Ernani
CHAN 3052
The Gramophone
Alan Opie 'really uses English words to project personality, and together with his sustained Italianate line and the fact that he never forces his voice his Carlo emerges as a rounded as well as a richly sung character...
The chorus is throughout splendid, allowed like the soloists to open out full-throatedly by the ample acoustic of the Blackheath Halls, which also permits entrances to be discreetly 'staged' and the important banda to be placed on- or off-stage according to context.'
Opera in four parts
Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave
after Victor Hugo's play Hernani
English translation by Antony Peattie
The Cast
Julian Gavin, tenor - Ernani
Alan Opie, baritone - Don Carlo
Peter Wedd, tenor (PMF Scholar) - Don Riccardo
Peter Rose, bass - Don Ruy Gomez de Silva
Susan Patterson, soprano - Elvira
Helen Williams, soprano - Giovanna
Paul Hodges, bass - Jago
Chorus of bandits, ladies-in-waiting, knights, retainers,
conspirators, noblemen & noblewomen
English National Opera Chorus

English National Opera Orchestra
David Parry - conductor
Recorded in Blackheath Halls 12-16 July 2000
Producer - Brian Couzens, Sound engineer - Jonathan Cooper, Assistant engineer - Richard Smoker
Classic FM
'A new recording of Ernani - in any language - is always welcome... Here Chandos adds the work to its admirable Opera in English series, offering collectors an unashamedly romantic interpretation of this passionate tale of love, revenge and tragedy at the heart of Emperor Charles V's Spanish court... Peter Rose is near ideal as the aged grandee Silva, while Alan Opie is on tremendous form as Carlo, musicianly to a degree and wedding notes to text with complete success... The sound is rich and mellow, revealing the score's varied colours and textures to good effect.'