Rossini - Il Turco in Italia / Bartoli, Raimondi, Macias, Rumetz, Schmid, Welser-Most, Zurich Opera

Although this opera is nearly as beautiful as Rossini's masterpiece La Barbiere de Sevilla, it is quite nearly forgotten and rarely performed. We are lucky that Zurich Opera made efforts to perform this opera which without doubt becomes a magnificent performance, as especially performed by top singers the mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli with her clear rich voice and baritone Ruggero Raimondi. Indeed, it was rather boring at first in the introductory scene, as some unknown Poets were discussing distress due to lack of story material for a certain play. However, it began to be more interesting as Zaida disguising as the gypsy sang by Judith Schmid come forward accompanied by a harmonious choir. And it became enthralling when the fickle lady Donna Fiorella sang by the divine Cecilia Bartoli and Selim sang by Ruggro Raimondi appeared. The rest of the opera was a surpirse that it was nearly forgotten for so long, this opera is as beautiful as La Barbiere de Sevilla and La Cenerentola. In addition it was also performed magnificently by the singers apart from the two top singers also by Paolo Rumetz as the dumb husband and Reinaldo Macias as the jealous and abandoned lover, Don Narciso.We really enjoy this opera and appreciate that Zurich Operahaus made such efforts to perform this nearly forgotten title from Rossini's repertoire, as Rossini is my favorite composer. I would say, if you are a Rossini lover then it is recommended to try watching and enjoying this opera

This is one of my favorite opera's so I was really looking forward to viewing this DVD. I would say that I enjoyed about half the content of this production.The orchestration was the most outstanding element of this DVD. The instrumentalists where able to bring out subtle nuances in the score that I had never noticed on my recordings. They where also clear and dramatically effective. The only downside was that the tempo, at times, was too fast for the performers to keep up with. I'm a bit torn by that comment because I'm a huge fan of up-tempo Neapolitan opera but only if the language is coherently sung.One final note on the score, some cuts are made for time. They lessen some of the melodic continuances which is disappointing to me because what thrills me the most about Rossini's music is his enchanting melodies.The performers where satisfactory with Bartoli and Ramondi as the highlights. Bartoli provided her usual fluidic delivery with charming coloring and excellent understanding of the language and how to exploit it for drama or comedy. I must say that this is the best acting I've seen from her compared to the four other opera DVD's I've seen wither her as a performer. Her comedic timing is priceless and her manner is spontaneous and fresh at all times. Her voice is small and becoming increasingly thinner so she doesn't carry over the orchestra during more intense moments (like the stretta's).Ramondi is, quite frankly, an old man but he's still got it! In contrast to Bartoli, I think he has one of the most powerful instruments (bass-baritone) out there. In his older recordings his voice can cary over the most shrill soprano during the loudest ensembles, it blows me away. His performance on this DVD is one of an opera veteran with battle scars that hinder his performance but still leave him as a force to be reckoned with. His acting is effortless and his comedy fine, but his voice shows signs of age and strain but these are minor inconveniences compared to the greater whole.Oliver Widmer is acceptable as the nosey, scheming poet but there's just something about him that I've always found lacking. It seems like a combination of acting, singing, diction, and stage presence. He's there but that's about it.Paolo Rumetz performance as the emasculated husband was interesting. Ironically enough they decided to show his characters' push-over personality by giving him effeminate qualities. The irony lies in Fiorilla's contrasting personality as a wily, pushy, female wrecking ball.The stage direction was awkward at times. You know when you're watching an opera and it seems that some of the performers don't seem to know what they should be doing or where they should be moving? This performance had that kind of a feel but at least the sense of comedy is very present and tangible.The sets and costumes are trendy and whimsical which suits this opera just fine. The majority of the props and set elements are receded into the back area of the stage with a larger, slanted, pointed dais out front where the majority of the action takes place. One does get the feeling that in about eight years, both sets and costumes will be seen then as horrendous eyesores.Lastly, just a note on the originality of this score. A previous reviewer mentioned that the music for this opera is wholly original but there is one exception that I'm aware of. The introduzione is based on a musical phrase already used in at least three other operas that Rossini composed: "La cambiale di matrimonio" as a Cavatina; "La scala di seta" as an aria; "L'equivoco stravagante" as a Cavatina.

Rossini's froth and flirtations have an apparently endless appeal for many opera lovers. Certainly Rossini's way with explicating convoluted operatic plots that would defy the average soap opera is pure magic - and his ensemble pieces for singers are models of how it's done.Not only that, but Rossini arias and duets are often vocal showcases for dazzling techniques that bedazzle with fiery fioriture, energetic whisking up and down the scale, and cascading ripples of coloratura that challenge the greatest Rossini singers to give of their best.In this enchanting DVD of "Il Turco in Italia", there is so much to admire that it seems mean-spirited to cavil at anything. I'd better get the few drawbacks over with as quickly as possible. It really is a matter of the casting - there's no denying that Cecilia Bartoli is by far the best singer here. Without her, this DVD performance would have been rather fun to watch, but certainly no more than competent as an operatic performance. Even the presence of Raimondi does not lift the standard noticeably - he is, admittedly, a bass-baritone of enormous achievement, but most of those lie behind him now. He is still an unbelievably superb Scarpia in "Tosca", but the comic Turk of this opera, while not beyond him, is not his ideal role - at this stage for him, anyway. It's good but not superb. One doesn't really understand why Isabella is so taken with the Turk.The other performers do reasonably well. They are not outstanding, but they do their best and they are mostly enjoyable.The costumes are gorgeous! There is a real fairytale/folk-tale fantasy quality to the set and costumes, which complement each other in an almost Sendak-like ingenuity without QUITE reaching for such delicious grotesqueries. It's both child-like and somehow ironic... a send-up of monstrously kitschy sitcom furniture and child's fairytale illustrations. It's all blue polka-dots and cute flounces. The ludicrously unreal quality of the Turk's "Turkishness" and the entire flirtation-out-of-a-harem scenario is most deliciously captured.That, and Bartoli's divinely splendid portrayal of the coquettish Isabella, make this a must-have DVD. No one can turn on the pouts and laments that Bartoli can - equally, Cecilia Bartoli is without doubt a world-class singer whose beautiful mezzo voice and personal charm, not to mention her bravura ease with fiendish coloratura, make her the best Isabella I've ever heard.One may find oneself a little disappointed in the other singers, but bear up - for the fine conducting and the memorable sets and costumes, it is worth watching this DVD. With the casting of Bartoli in the major role of Isabella, who really defines the entire opera, it's not just a matter of watching - it's a matter of must-own-the-DVD, for repeated viewing and ever-increasing appreciation of one of the world's greatest mezzos in a dazzling role to which she does more than justice. Her voice is all velvet and fire, and her lively stage persona is exactly right for this role.

Excellent, imaginative production with superb singing from Cecilia Bartoli. Very quick delivery. The only reason for 4stars instead of 5 is because the case is a little torn. Not fair it really, it is second hand and the disc is fine.

This is colourful and funny and Bartoli is on top form as usual. This is my favourite Rossini opera, principally because in this opera, Rossini's musical writing appears very close to Mozart. When all is said and done though, Rossini is no Mozart and one can tire of Rossini. By contrast, Mozart's operas have something of the eternal about them.