Galuppi: L'Inimico Delle Donne (DYNAMIC 33677) [DVD] [NTSC]

 

 

Create your own review

Born on the island of Burano in the Venetian Republic, Baldassare Galuppi (1706 - 1785) is another case of a composer who was highly popular and successful in his own lifetime, but whose work soon fell into obscurity after his death. After a spell in London at the Kings Theatre, Galuppi, nonetheless served two terms as maestra di capella at St Marks in Venice, spent several years in Russia in-between as court composer for Catherine the Great, and left behind over a hundred operas, few of which have ever been revived. L'inimico delle donne is therefore a welcome opportunity to hear performed one of the later works for which Galuppi was celebrated in his day, the opera buffa, a style that left behind a certain amount of influence that can be seen in the works of Haydn and Mozart.

Die Entführung Aus Dem Serail certainly comes to mind often in L'inimico delle donne when Agensina is shipwrecked on the oriental land of Kibin-kan-ka with her father, escaping from rich noble suitors that pursue her, since she has a profound dislike for men. Zon-zon, the prince of Kibin-kan-ka, is obliged by the law of the land to get married, but similarly he doesn't like women, finds their scent revolting and considers them about as attractive as toads. Inevitably, Zon-zon begins to find Agnesina not quite as disgusting as the suitable women lined-up for him by his retainers, while Agnesina for her part finds herself strangely flattered by the attentions of this foreign prince. I say inevitably, but clearly there's nothing inevitable about it except in terms of convention. As characters, they are far from fully-formed or convincing, and the situations - for all the comic potential they hold - are likewise scarcely developed. Surprisingly, the potential isn't really exploited in musical terms either. The opera is spritely paced, with lively Baroque dance rhythms, but it's all fairly conventional and not greatly aligned to emotional expression other than through slight variations of tempo. There's very little recitative and even arias are brief and restrained, with no high-flown sentiments or great displays of vocal dexterity, but this treatment seems well-suited to the light-hearted subject.

L'inimico delle donne is a modest affair then that in itself is not particularly funny, but there's a lot of entertainment that can be drawn from it with the right kind of staging, and every effort is certainly put into it in this rare 2011 production by the Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liège. The stage direction by Stefano Mazzonis di Pralafera respects the period, the tone and the buffa conventions with its colourful Mikado-like Oriental setting, though it introduces a few twists of its own in the form of shadow projections in the background. The music and the staging are well judged then, but what helps carry it all off are the performances. The singing is terrific from Anna Maria Panzarella (who will be familiar from various Rameau productions) as Agnesina and from Filippo Adami and Zon-zon, who both enter into the spirit of it in their acting performances without over-egging it. It's Agnesina's father Geminiano however who has some of the best lines and comic moments in the opera, and he's wonderfully played by Alberto Rinaldi. There are no weak elements either in the Court ladies or retainers to the prince, with Liesbeth Devos standing out as the feisty Xunchia.

Released by Dynamic on DVD only, the quality of the image is generally good but not all that impressive. It doesn't look like the production was shot in HD, but presented in Standard Definition NTSC it's still quite good. Contrast is high, and there is some slight shimmering breaking up lines, but the colourful staging looks good and the camera work captures the occasion well. Audio tracks are LPCM stereo and Dolby Digital 5.1 and there's a lovely tone to the orchestration and clarity in the singing. There is a little bit of ambient noise and stage clatter and one or two pops on the recording, but nothing that detracts from the overall quality. Subtitles are in Italian, English, French, German and Spanish.

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See the customer review...

 

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Search Listmania!