Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia - Bruno Bartoletti (Deutsche Grammophon)

Of course, The Barber is one of the most recorded operas around, with Agnes Baltsa, Kathleen Battle, Teresa Berganza and Cecilia Bartoli amongst the most popular Rosinas (I wonder why they all begin with B?) and Hermann Prey, Thomas Allen and Tito Gobbi a few great exponents of the title role on disc.

Bruno Bartoletti's recording deserves to be heard however, in spite of such competition, because the cast is pretty good and the conducting sprightly.

Gianna D'Angelo is the equal of Berganza in the role of Rosina, and the jewel of this recording. Her rendition of 'Una voce poco fa' shows clarity of tone and a wide-ranging coloratura, qualities which are increasingly rare these days. D'Angelo's Rosina is a feisty animal, and in the big ensembles she easily dominates all the men; whenever she interacts with the other characters, it's not hard to tell who is going to win.

The Figaro, Renato Capecchi (who is Geronte on the recent DVD of Manon Lescaut), also has a nice voice, even if it's not quite suited to the role at times. Although enjoyable, 'Largo al factotum' is a little heavy in some respects. He does have a sense of fun, however, and manages to plot and scheme his way through the opera with wit and nimbleness.

The duet with Rosina, 'Dunque io son', is charmingly done, and he sparkles in the recitative particularly, where the singing sounds natural and fluent. This is a very different performance to, say, Thomas Allen's intelligent account for Neville Marriner on Philips, but nevertheless an interesting and more Italianate one.

For me, the Count Almaviva of Nicola Monti is a problem. He has an ideal bel canto voice on the one hand, light in tone yet fervent in delivery. But there is no getting past his technical shortcomings. Take his opening cavatina, for instance – the scales and runs are effortful to say the least, and his tuning is occasionally off as well.

Otherwise, the cast is excellent - Gabriella Carturan is a knowing Berta, Giorgio Tadeo a grumpy old Bartolo, and Carlo Cava is a creep of a Basilio.

I wasn't remotely impressed by Bruno Bartoletti's conducting of Donizetti's Don Pasquale at Covent Garden last year. But in this Barber he was in his prime. The overture alone tells us how elegant the recording is going to be, and so it proves – no mere slapstick in this reading, but comedy derived from dramatic situation and musical affect.

I particularly like the Act I Finale, where Bartoletti understands the shape of the twenty minutes of continuous music. The largo concertante - 'Che cosa accadde, signori miei' – is a lesson in how to phrase and manipulate a Rossini crescendo and climax. Even in the confusion of the stretta - when the characters are literally talking about how dumbstruck they feel – the strings of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks maintain a poise and grace that lends Rossini exactly the kind of dignity that he deserves.

Highly recommended, and at bargain price, worth exploring as an alternative to the more famous mainstream recordings.

share Tweet