La Gazza Ladra - It's Not Just an Overture

[whipped guy]

The New Naxos Recording of La Gazza Ladra:

 

Naxos has done it again! On the heals of its release of a winning recording of Rossini's epic Guillaume Tell, comes this wonderful recording of La Gazza Ladra, which is probably Rossini's finest opera in the semiseria genre. It concerns the plight of a servant girl who is wrongly accused of stealing a silver spoon and is condemned to death. Fortunately in the nick of time the true thief, the thieving magpie (la gazza ladra) of the opera's title, is discovered and all ends happily, but not before the audience is plummeted into the depths of despair thinking that all is lost for the poor girl.

 

Opera semiseria is a mix of the comic and tragic. In that aspect it is similar to Mozart's Don Giovanni which likewise has a mix of varied emotions. With Mozart there is always the specter of the tragic percolating under the surface. However, Rossini being Rossini, he tempers the proceedings with a more optimistic outlook. Still, each opera is a roller coaster ride of virtually all the possibilities inherent in the human experience. Furthermore, in both operas the penultimate scene is a dark hued and powerful tour de force. In a sense both operas are harbingers of the verismo era which was not to manifest itself in earnest for decades to come.

 

Rossini opens the piece in dramatic fashion with the overture's infamous stereophonic double snare drum fanfare. It is interesting to note that several of the overture's themes reappear in the opera proper with interesting and attention grabbing effect. When the curtain rises we find ourselves in a rustic atmosphere that reminds us that one of Rossini's favorite compositions was Haydn's The Seasons. Only this is a version of rustic revelry that ratchets up the action several levels from the Haydnesque model. However, as the piece progress things darken and Rossini uses his famous crescendi to draw the listener into the action. With their repetitive ostinato phrases and rhythms these crescendi heighten the emotions and create an aura of excitement that literally grabs the listener. This is no more evident than during the ensemble that concludes the courtroom scene where the audience learns that the heroine's fate is sealed. All this cumulates in a tragic march to the scaffold where the persistent beat of even more ominous drums is once again heard. The juxtaposition between that and the next scene where it is discovered that it is actually that awful avian (quella gazza maledetta) who is the real thief is the ultimate study in contrasts. Still the roller coaster ride continues and for a fleeting moment the audience is led to believe that the execution of the innocent girl has indeed taken place. When that is discovered not to be the case, the jubilation that concludes the piece knows no bounds.

 

The opera was premiered in 1817 in the aftermath of the Napoleonic wars and as such is a reflection of its time and place. The whole Euorpean continent had just been subjected to a situation similar to that of the characters in the opera. Yes, real everyday people being placed in the middle of the most awful of predicaments was something with which the public was able to identify. That the piece ends on such a high note was something that public needed to experience given the ravages of war to which they had recently been subjected. In some respects one needs to put their mindset into the psyche that permeated that era to totally appreciate what Rossini was saying with this piece. As such the opera proved to be one of Rossini's most popular. In fact the opera became so popular that Pushkin replicated one of its scenes when he wrote his Boris Godunov, which scene was incorporated into the Mussorgsky opera of the same name. A back door instance of Rossinian influence on Russian opera!

 

Regarding the performance it is as fine as exists on CD. That it is conducted by Rossini scholar Alberto Zedda who produced the critical edition of the score for the Rossini Foundation insures an aura or authenticity. This is his second recording of the piece and since that original 1970's recording he has not only somewhat changed his approach, but the cast of singers are more adept with the Rossini style and embellish their vocal lines differently. In addition the sound quality if a bit bright is a significant improvement over his previous recording which is anyway now out of print. Therefore, anyone who owns that recording can feel free to get this never version without any reservations.

 

In summation the singing in this set it totally stylish. The Ninetta has a vivid soprano sound that warms up splendidly as the performance progresses. The Gianetto is likewise very fine with a fluent bright tenor sound. The bass who portrays Gottardo has a dark sound that is appropriate for the part. The Fernando has a contrasting lighter bass voice that can sound slightly rough at times. The Pippo is excellent and the supporting cast does as well as any. Even the Lucia does a nice job with her little aria intended as a break in the action. I would rank this performance as being better in sound quality and performance than the Sony recording which offers some overly rough vocalism in the soprano role and some less than pleasant sounds from the tenor. There is also a recording on the Dynamic label that has a cast of singers that perform on a similar level to this Naxos version. I find the sound quality of that version to be ever so slightly warmer and a bit more natural as opposed to the more upfront sound of this release. It is the difference between a balcony and front row center perspective and ultimately a tossup. I own all three versions and prefer both the Naxos and Dynamic to the Sony.

 

In the final analysis this Naxos set is definitely a contender and a no brainier at the asking price. In fact with few exceptions all the recordings in the Naxos Rossini opera series are contenders. As such, Rossini is smiling somewhere up there indeed!