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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
As a lover of Beethoven's Fidelio/Leonore, I've always been intrigued to hear what both Paer and Mayr came up with in their versions written at much the same time. having heard several of Mayr's serious operas i was expecting a 2 act piece in the vein of "Medea" or "la rosa bianca e la rosa rosa". I was therefore surprised/bemused to find out that his version of the story is a short one act farsa sentimentale lasting less than 90 mins - a heartfelt work in the manner of Fidelio this is not - tho there is a solo aria for Zeliska(the equivalent of Leonore), it's not in the same league as "Abscheulicher"!
That said, this is a rather charming, unpretentious and pretty harmless piece worth getting simply for the fact it's bargain price with Naxos. The singing is what you would expect of a festival, no major singers in this recording but it's performed well and has some tuneful moments, such as the Sinfonia, the opening spinning song by the equivalent of Marzelline and the prison scene that starts disc 2. Listening to this farsa, I'm no longer entirely sure that the argument that Bongiovanni's recording of "Verter" isn't by Mayr as put forward in that recording booklet. Be that as it may, this is an interesting addition to anyone's CD collection.
That said, this is a rather charming, unpretentious and pretty harmless piece worth getting simply for the fact it's bargain price with Naxos. The singing is what you would expect of a festival, no major singers in this recording but it's performed well and has some tuneful moments, such as the Sinfonia, the opening spinning song by the equivalent of Marzelline and the prison scene that starts disc 2. Listening to this farsa, I'm no longer entirely sure that the argument that Bongiovanni's recording of "Verter" isn't by Mayr as put forward in that recording booklet. Be that as it may, this is an interesting addition to anyone's CD collection.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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1 review
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Before Beethoven; Another View of The Fidelio Story
31 Mar 2008
Format:Audio CD
One of the most delightful discoveries of the Bel Canto Revival has been Donizetti's teacher, Giovanni Simone Mayr, a German born composer who lived most of his life in Bergamo, Italy. Without being a revolutionary, he nonetheless advanced the harmonic language of Italian opera, taking it from Classicism to Romanticism. He looks back to Gluck, Haydn and Mozart, but was a major influence on Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and even the young Verdi.
His telling of the FIDELIO story, which predates the Beethoven work by several months, is straightforward, deeply sincere and musically lovely.
Much smaller scaled than the Beethoven, it has no chorus, but otherwise follows the same plot line very closely, although names are not the same and the action is moved to Poland. Like Beethoven there are very large and similarly structured arias for Zeliska (the Leonore character), Amorveno (The Florestan character) and there is a "gold" aria for Peters. Although Mayr has often been accused of using too much coloratura in his vocal writing, here, that is kept tightly in check with vocal lines of almost Gluckian simplicity.
Mayr is no Beethoven, but he succeeds admirably.
When the timings for the current performance first appeared on line, I assumed that there were cuts, as this is at least fifteen minutes shorter than the private recording of the first modern revival(London 1973). As it turns out, it is simply played much faster. The result emphasizes the buffo elements more than the serious ones. (The piece was described by composer and librettist as a "Farsa Sentimentale")The casting is perhaps appropriately with much lighter voices than in the London revival. There is some fine singing here, but nobody really plumbs the depths of their characters, and one really wants darker voices for Zeliska and Amorveno.
The live performance is very well recorded.
His telling of the FIDELIO story, which predates the Beethoven work by several months, is straightforward, deeply sincere and musically lovely.
Much smaller scaled than the Beethoven, it has no chorus, but otherwise follows the same plot line very closely, although names are not the same and the action is moved to Poland. Like Beethoven there are very large and similarly structured arias for Zeliska (the Leonore character), Amorveno (The Florestan character) and there is a "gold" aria for Peters. Although Mayr has often been accused of using too much coloratura in his vocal writing, here, that is kept tightly in check with vocal lines of almost Gluckian simplicity.
Mayr is no Beethoven, but he succeeds admirably.
When the timings for the current performance first appeared on line, I assumed that there were cuts, as this is at least fifteen minutes shorter than the private recording of the first modern revival(London 1973). As it turns out, it is simply played much faster. The result emphasizes the buffo elements more than the serious ones. (The piece was described by composer and librettist as a "Farsa Sentimentale")The casting is perhaps appropriately with much lighter voices than in the London revival. There is some fine singing here, but nobody really plumbs the depths of their characters, and one really wants darker voices for Zeliska and Amorveno.
The live performance is very well recorded.
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