Bellini: I Capuleti e i Montecchi - Netrebko, Garanca [Luisi] [2 CD]

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Bellini: I Capuleti e i Montecchi - Netrebko, Garanca [Luisi] [2 CD]

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Accompanied by the inspired Vienna Symphony Orchestra under Fabio Luisi, Netrebko as Giulietta and the Latvian mezzo Garan a as Romeo delivered a thrilling display of bel canto at its most beautiful. Together with the brilliant Joseph Calleja as Tebaldo, the two divas outwardly so different sang exactly as Bellini himself demanded, especially in the second act: The opera, through singing, must make one weep, shudder, die. The Vienna audience expressed its gratitude with a 15-minute standing ovation . . . –Salzburger Nachrichten, April 2008

Netrebko was vocally unflappable . . . the lyrical, deeply felt arias were particularly well suited to the dark, succulent timbres of her nonetheless girlishly youthful-sounding voice . . . El na Garan a succeeded in convincingly projecting both the young nobleman s energy and the lover s caressing thirds, and, as the work requires, was the gently dominating partner in this wonderful pairing of voices, which harmonized, not through the similarity, but rather the distinctiveness of their vocal colours. –Die Presse (Vienna), April 2008

Bellini's version of the Romeo and Juliet story - the libretto by Felice Romani is not based on Shakespeare but on an Italian tragedy by Luigi Scevola - has notched up quite an impressive discography considering that is not performed that often. There are fine versions, both on EMI, conducted by Patane(4/76)and Muti(2/95), more recently by Roberto Abbado(RCA,9/98) and Donald Runnicles (Teldec, 2/00), and a year or so ago I reviewed the excellent DVD with Patrizia Ciofi as Juliet (Dynamic, 11/06). This new set, though, boasts three of the most admired singers of the moment, all of them in fine form. The performance is dominated by Elina Garanca's Romeo; she easily suggests both the swaggering duellist and the lovelorn youth. There are times when her rich, velvety tones sound almost like a soprano, and in the duets with Anna Netrebko's Juliet, the two voices seem naturally to complement each other. The slow section of their Act 1 "Ah, crudel, d'onor ragioni" develops into an almost Norma-like blend of scales and trills.

Netrebko sings the beautiful lament "Oh! Quante volte" with considerable feeling, although the voice is beginning to sound a bit mature now for the innocent daughter of the Capulets. This is all to her advantage in the more tragic Act 2 "Morte io non temo" as she contemplates taking the poison.

I Capuleti e i Montecchi was one of the last important operas to employ a mezzo as the masculine lead. The tenor who sings Tebaldo needs to be of equal strength to balance the drama, and Joseph Calleja rises to the challenge of his two-part Act 1 aria, "È serbata a questo acciaro" with virile strength. The duet in Act 2, when Tebaldo and Romeo are about to fight but then learn of Juliet's death, finds Garanca and Calleja striking sparks off each other; despite the beauty of the final tomb-scene duet, I found this confrontation the highlight of the proceedings.

Robert Gleadow makes a strong impression as Friar Laurence, and Tiziano Bracci is impressive as Capellio. Fabio Luisi leads the Vienna forces in a performance which, though obviously sympathetic to the voices, manages to accentuate the drama. It's certainly a star vehicle but also a satisfying account of Bellini's near-masterpiece, and (much as I love the Patanè) one which now leads the field. –Patrick O'Connor, Gramophone [March 2009]