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On Sunday 19 November at the London Coliseum, Opera Rara and the London Philharmonic Orchestra will come together for a concert performance of Pacini's Alessandro nell'Indie.
This will be the first performance of the opera for 175 years, as well as its UK debut, and the recording made will be the first ever of the work.
As a taster, the ever-dependable Opera Rara has released this compilation of excerpts from Pacini's operas.
That it is only a collection of 'highlights' is here irrelevant, since the composer is little known, and any exposure is worthy. Thankfully, the disk has been put together with much thought.
Giovanni Pacini was born in the 1790s and died in the 1860s. His compositional career spanned over 50 years, which would be an achievement for any man. Perhaps more of an achievement would be composing anywhere between 70 and 100 operas, as Pacini did, and finding not one in the repertoire 200 years later.
What makes the disk so immensely pleasurable is that any preconceptions of mediocrity (for what other reason could there be for such a disregard for the composer?) are mercilessly quashed. This is florid bel canto to rival all but the best of Rossini, Donizetti or Bellini. The CD booklet admits that Pacini's music is 'uneven' in quality, but notes its 'magic enchantment' and 'lyrical beauty'. The latter two we find here.
The fizzing Overture from Adelaide E Comingio is first, and its opening tonic / dominant brass fanfares prepare us for what is to come. The mood is similar to that of some of the great Rossini overtures, and the Philharmonia Orchestra under David Parry plays with clear enjoyment. The first violins in their intricate part writing reveal a clear, pointed tone, and their pairings with the woodwind are delectable. The low string pizzicato is accurate; the viola support warm; the flutes play with attack. Parry takes a while to settle into a tempo, but his orchestra hit top form from the first note.
Whether the Philharmonia, the LPO or the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, orchestral performance is consistently precise and always alert to the singers. One need only listen to the Philharmonia's solo woodwind passages at the opening of Track Eight to realise that this is world class playing. Parry is only replaced as conductor on Track Four, a Cavatina from Temistocle, where Antonello Allemandi creates a mellifluous sonority, however heavy handed his approach is.
The singing is of similar quality. The Geoffrey Mitchell Choir occasionally needs sharpening up, but the soloists radiate confidence and technical finesse. The Quartet from Annetta E Lucindo is a perfect little piece, and Eiddwen Harrhy, Paul Nilon, John Cashmore and Geoffrey Dolton sing with vigour. Jennifer Larmore's soprano is burnished but rarely over-stylised, and in her cavatina she sails through the coloratura and expansive leaps between registers. Tenor Bruce Ford provides superb entertainment in his aria from Maria, Regina D'Inghilterra. His bel canto line is spot on, with a vast range of expression, while he soars to all those high Cs and B flats with no sign of strain.
Annick Massis is just one star of the CD, with her dramatic coloratura soprano appearing twice to devastating effect. The virtuosic Terzetto from Cesare In Egitto demands the highest technical ability of its soprano, who must negotiate a series of inconsiderately fiendish ornamentations above a rondo theme sung by two tenors. Massis's laser-like projection allows her not so much to float over as stand forcibly astride the accompaniment, while her fluid yet firmly directed coloratura is breathtaking.
And there is no conceivably better way to end the CD than with the cabaletta from Allan Cameron, which forces Massis into her highest registers (notably up to a high E flat) yet there is no sign of strain in her voice. The culminating high C sharp is both astoundingly accurate and piercing in its intensity. (The great Alan Opie also makes an appearance on this track, albeit a brief one.)
In November, the one performance of Alessandro nell'Indie at the London Coliseum will star Jennifer Larmore and Bruce Ford, and should be treated as absolutely essential. On the admittedly limited evidence of this CD, Pacini is a tragically neglected composer. It is up to the individual to decide, but this reviewer recommends laying siege at both the record store and the box office.
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