James Levine conducts this comedy of a feisty Italian girl turning the tables on her bumbling captors via Rossini’s blend of madness and fun. Mezzo-soprano Marianna Pizzolato makes her Met debut in the title role, opposite tenor René Barbera and baritone Nicola Alaimo. Bass-baritone Ildar Abdrazakov plays the pasha who is overcome by love and pasta.
Gioachino Rossini: Stabat Mater (1832 version) / Giovanna d’Arco (arr. M. Taralli)
Soloists: Majella Cullagh, Marianna Pizzolato, José Lusi Sola, Mirco Palazzi;
Conductor: Antonino Fogliani;
Württemberg Philharmonic Orchestra;
Poznań Camerata Bach Choir.
Rossini’s Stabat Mater is one of the staples of the sacred music repertoire but had a complicated history. He wrote it for performance in Madrid but, running short of time, enlisted the help of his friend Giovanni Tadolini. Rossini completed six pieces, Tadolini seven. Tadolini’s pieces now only exist as piano reductions but conductor Antonino Fogliani has orchestrated them to allow listeners to hear the original work for the first time since 1833.
Marco Tarelli’s 2009 orchestration of Giovanna d’Arco (Joan of Arc), a cantata for solo voice, is also heard on this first recording.
Release date: 08/07/2016
Here’s an interview with Marianna on the latest issue of Melómano. La revista de música clásica.
Click on thumbnails below to read the interview!
