Francesca Rimini

Written almost two centuries ago by Saverio Mercadante, coveted by many theatres of the day, Francesca da Rimini was, in fact, never staged. Every time it was scheduled for performance, something happened and it got canceled. A long series of incidents prevented it from reaching the stage for as many as 185 years. Its forgotten manuscript, which was only known for its ill-starred fate, suddenly re-emerged five years ago in Madrid, teh city where it was to have been premiered in 1831. The soprano Leonor Bonilla is quite impressive in the part of the protagonist: she portrays the character's psychological frailty as well as her determination wtih a steely vocal technique, spinning out incredible modulations, displaying strong and dazzling vocalizations, easily soaring into the high register and flaunting such an attractive, casual and poignant stage presence that she even dares moving some dance steps with the corps de ballet. Aya Wakizono is an admirable Paolo: endowed with a superb mezzo voice, she seeks and achieves consistency throughout the range, is virtuosic in the coloratura, and fluent. No less demanding is the part of the tenor Lanciotto, with its fearful leaps and ornamentation worth of the Neapolitan Rossini: Mert Sungu might in time get rid of a touch of harshness here and there, but already now he can tackle all the difficulties of the part with a timbric quality and an expressively worth of note…

It is a story made for the stage: Francesca da Rimini is a deceived woman-in-love who disregards her arranged marriage, decides that she has the perfect right to true love, and ends up murdered. Dante originally wrote a few verses on this subject, but some decades later Boccaccio expanded the sketch into a tale containing all the ingredients of a genuine tragedy. In 1901 Gabriele D'Annunzio drew on this material to pen a scandalous fin de siecle drama.

Zandonai’s most popular creation “Francesca da Rimini” was commemorated in Macerata, the provincial capital of the northern Italian region of Marche, in 2004. Massimo Gasparon (former assistant to the celebrated scenographer Pier Luigi Pizzi) was responsible for the direction, set and costumes of this production for the Sferisterio Opera Festival. With its all-star cast including Daniela Dessì and Fabio Armiliato as the passionate lovers (the singers are regarded as two of the leading interpreters of Italian soprano and tenor roles respectively, both hail from Genoa and are in fact also real-life partners) and the baritone Alberto Mastromarino as the ideal “villain”, the production follows in a long line of significant post-war performances of Francesca da Rimini. The Sferisterio – a 4,500-seat arena originally used as a venue for the traditional ballgame gioco del bracciale (a game played with spiked arm protectors and a heavy wooden ball) – was built between 1819 and 1829; since 1921 it has been home to the annual opera festival held in late July/early August. As has come to be associated with staged events in Verona, the representative open-air nature of the performance turns this lavishly costumed production in a historic setting into something out of the ordinary.

The Met's first production in more than 60 years is "treated with a keen appreciation for the special requirements of verismo and a practically vanished performing tradition. Scotto has found her ideal role…a great performance… Domingo sang glamorously… Levine's affectionate concern for the music told in every measure… The massive sets by Ezio Frigerio serve the work exquisitely … Piero Faggioni’s graceful direction strikes a perfect balance” (New York Magazine)

Paavo Järvi, Principal Conductor and Music Director of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich since October 2019, here launches a complete recording of Tchaikovsky’s symphonies, the first in both his rich discography and that of the Swiss orchestra: ‘When I think of the Fifth Symphony, I think of vulnerability and hope. It looks directly into our soul. It is perhaps the finest of his symphonies. The famous horn solo moves me and enriches me every time I hear it . . . Unlike the Sixth, the Fifth still holds out hope for life.’ The symphonic poem Francesca da Rimini op.32 completes this programme. This dark and violent ‘symphonic fantasy after Dante’, a drama of jealousy, was premiered in 1877, at the same time as Swan Lake.

Romeo and Juliet is such a perfectly conceived masterpiece (perhaps the finest symphonic poem ever written) that when it is presented with a fair degree of ardour it cannot fail to make its effect. Chailly's view is a romantic one. He secures an excellent response from the Cleveland players as he does in Francesca, especially in the beguiling middle section (notably from the principal clarinet). But he treats this epic piece like ballet music and the passionate final climax, when the lovers are discovered, sounds like a grand pas de deux.

Romeo and Juliet begins with 4 minutes of an intriguing, mysterious, adagio theme, followed at 5 minutes by an energetic, allegro theme. At 8 minutes we hear a beautiful, adagio melody over rippling French horns. After that, the existing themes are developed to express passion. Francesca da Ramini has an opening theme that evokes a netherworld. Thereafter Tchaikovsky extensively develops a powerful theme. Then at 10 minutes a clarinet begins a beautiful melody to be continued by violins then flute. Near the end the piece builds to a climax.