Il trovatore
CHAN 3036
Opera
'The three sturdy British principals bring their considerable experience to bear advantageously on their roles. Most successful among them is Alan Opie, whose Luna breathes love and fury in strong steady tones. He uses the admirable translation of Tom Hammond to notable effect, and generally conveys a knowledge of Verdian parlance. O'Neill, in good voice, also knows a deal about his role's needs... where are the Manricos about today who can sing the part so securely? Anne Mason, like Opie, makes the most of her text. She declaims her narrations with real conviction and throughout simulates a sense of live portrayal.'
Opera in four acts
Text by Salvatore Cammarano
from the drama El trovador
by Antonio Garcia Gutiérrez
English Translation by Tom Hammond
The Cast
Alan Opie, baritone - Count di Luna
Clive Bayley, bass, (PMF Scholar) - Ferrando
Sharon Sweet, soprano - Doña Leonora
Helen Williams, soprano - Inez
Anne Mason, mezzo-soprano - Azucena
Dennis O'Neill, tenor - Manrico (The Troubadour)
Mark Le Brocq, tenor - Ruiz

Geoffrey Mitchell Choir
London Philharmonic Orchestra
David Parry - conductor
Recorded in Blackheath Halls, London
16-20 December 1999
Producer - Brian Couzens
Sound engineer - Ralph Couzens
Assistant engineer - Richard Smoker




Gramophone
'Whatever the language, it's an inspired score... David Parry's handling of the score and the LPO's playing bring out its full vigour and brilliance together with a large measure of the work's underlying depth - the tense and fateful passions at its heart... O'Neill's Manrico commands respect... he sings with fine fullness of tone in the heroic passages and with skill and scrupulous care in the gentler lyrical music... Clive Bayley calls to mind singers of earlier times... the vocal production has a kind of solidity we don't hear often nowadays. Alan Opie is totally admirable, making a real character out of what can be a pasteboard villain and singing his highly demanding music in the best traditions of a Verdi baritone.'