Verdi: Un Ballo in Maschera

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Maestro Marek Janowski, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo and the Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir present Giuseppe Verdi's Un ballo in maschera (1859), together with a stellar cast consisting of Freddie de Tommaso (Riccardo), Lester Lynch (Renato) and Saioa Hernández (Amelia). Un ballo in maschera is Verdi's tragicomic masterpiece, in which the composer skilfully switches gears between the light and tragic, as well as between his earlier and more mature style. As such, it is both an entertaining and highly sophisticated work. The three main soloists are all seasoned Verdi interpreters, while Janowski approaches this ingenuous score with his eye for symphonic architecture, resulting in a performance that is lively and balanced. Marek Janowski is one of the most celebrated conductors of our time, and has a vast Pentatone discography, mostly consisting of German operas and symphonic works. After Cavalleria rusticana and Il Tabarro (both 2020), this is his third Italian opera recording for the label. Lester Lynch also has a longstanding relationship to Pentatone, and starred in many opera recordings, including Otello (2017), Cavalleria rusticana and Il Tabarro (both 2020), as well as La Fanciulla del West, Madama Butterfly (both 2021), and La Traviata (2022). The Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir has featured on several opera recordings, while the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo appeared on Arabella Steinbacher's Fantasies, Rhapsodies & Daydreams (2016). Freddie de Tommaso and Saioa Hernández make their Pentatone debut.

REVIEW
It’s easy to get bowled over by the Caruso of Tunbridge Wells. For the British-Italian tenor Freddie De Tommaso sings with such passion, warmth and force. He can certainly soar through anything Verdi throws at him, including the role of Riccardo, Count of Warwick and Governor of Boston, in that troubled opera of 1859, “Un ballo in maschera” (“A Masked Ball”).

The results are sonically wonderful, though tinged with more than a touch of the ridiculous. Partly it’s the opera’s fault. For all the dramatic vigour imparted by Verdi, De Tommaso, Saioa Hernandez, Lester Lynch, the Monte Carlo Philharmonic and conductor Marek Janowski, it’s impossible to take the 17th century colonial American setting seriously – a setting only arrived at after censorship demands forced changes in a libretto inspired by Swedish king Gustav III’s assassination in 1792.

The opera’s heavy artifice is further underlined by the antiseptic clarity of Monte Carlo’s Auditorium Rainier III, not the most atmospheric spot for the opera’s cast of lovers and political conspirators. Freed from stage noises or any activity other than singing, everyone hits the microphones head on, apart from the Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir, whose contributions were fed through at a later date from a Romanian radio station. Even when Riccardo lies stabbed and dying, De Tommaso’s decibels remain pretty hefty; while Lynch and Hernandez, cast as the love triangle’s other corners, are permanently at boiling point. De Tommaso’s vocal beauties are undeniable and Verdi’s music can be thrilling, but I wouldn’t pick this recording to demonstrate the opera genre at its most mature. --The Times - 3*

Disc 1
1: Preludio
2: Posa in Pace
3: S'avanza Il Conte! - Amici Miei...
4: Il Cenno Mio Di Là Con Essi Attendi
5: Alla Vita Che T'arride
6: Il Primo Giudice
7: Volta La Terrea Fronte Alle Stelle
8: Signori, Oggi D'Ulrica Alla Magion V'invito
9: Zitti...l'incanto Non Dèssi Turbare - Re Dell'abisso
10: Su, Fatemi Largo
11: Che Veggo!
12: Dalla Città All'occaso
13: Su, Profetessa, Monta Il Treppiè
14: Di' Tu Se Fedele Il Flutto M'aspetta
15: Chi Voi Siate, L'audace Parola
16: E Scherzo Od È Follia
17: Finisci Il Vaticinio
18: O Figlio D'Inghilterra
19: Preludio
20: Ecco L'orrido Campo - Ma Dall'arido Stelo
21: Teco Io Sto - Gran Dio!
22: Ahimè! S'appressa Alcun
23: Odi Tu Come Fremono Cupi

Disc 2
1: Seguitemi - Mio Dio!
2: Ve', Se Di Notte Qui Colla Sposa
3: A Tal Colpa È Nulla Il Pianto
4: Morrò, Ma Prima in Grazia
5: Alzati! Là Tuo Figlio a Te Concedo Riveder
6: Eri Tu Che Macchiavi Quell'anima
7: Siam Soli. Udite
8: Dunque L'onta Di Tutti Sol Una
9: Il Messaggio Entri - Ah! Di Che Fulgor
10: Forse La Soglia Attinse - Ma Se M'è Forza Perderti
11: Ah! Dessa È Là... - Sì, Rivederti, Amelia
12: Fervono Amori E Danze
13: Saper Vorreste
14: Fervono Amori E Danze
15: Ah! Perchè Qui! Fuggite...
16: Ella È Pura

Composer: Giuseppe Verdi

Conductor: Marek Janowski

Number of Discs: 2

Orchestra: Orchestre Philharmonique De Monte Carlo

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