Today I listened to the new complete recording--the first peformed on period instruments and at 19th Century pitch--of Bellini's wonderful opera, "La Sonnambula," starring Cecila Bartoli, Juan Diego Florez and Ildebrando Arcangelo, magnificently conducted by Allesandro de Marchi. This is an opera that's fared very well on record, but even with very strong competition (Callas in multiple celebrated recordings, Sutherland, the wonderful Mariella Devia, Scotto, and others including, just last year, Natalie Dessay) this new recording is a vocal and musical feast. It's also beautifully produced, with an excellent essay and lots of beautiful (shopped) photographs. I'll write at greater length about the glories of this set, but if you've been considering buying it, don't wait: it's great. I thought I knew this fascinating work very well, but I learned a lot from this thoroughly enjoyable, meticulously prepared recording, and I'm sure it has much more to teach me.
It reinforces my strong belief that Bellini is the equal of any opera composer (a view shared by Richard Wagner, among many others, who wrote an additional aria for Oroveso for a production he conducted of "Norma" in his young years).
It's saddening that the state of the classical recording business in our troubled times makes it unlikely that many more recordings of this quality will emerge--but that's another story. Here's a set for the ages.
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