Opera Rara is justly noted for its revival of rare nineteenth-century repertoire particularly, as here, when presented in a new critical edition of the score. In this case Donizetti’s relatively early L’esule di Roma – premiered at Naples in 1828 – was presented in its version for La Scala later that year, in which a prison scene …
Oprichnik (1870-2, premiered 1874) is the first of Tchaikovsky’s operas which survives, after he destroyed two earlier efforts. He wasn’t much more satisfied with this one, and it remained unheard in his lifetime after its, admittedly, successful first run of performances, as he claimed that he wished to revise the score. That task wasn’t finished before …
As Chelsea Opera Group’s programme note rightly indicates, Oberto (1839) as his first opera is “what Giuseppe sounded like before he became Verdi”. In fact there are already many signs in it of ‘Verdi’ – the mature composer revered the world over for more operas regularly mounted than any other. And if the comparison is not invidious, …
