Rossini - The Early Operas (Il Signor Bruschino; La Cambiale di Matrimonio; L'Occasione fa il Ladro; La Scala di Seta) [2008]

These video recordings all from the Schwetzingen opera festival were recorded in the late 80s and early 90s and originally released on laser disk on the Teldec label.
Originally issued on high-quality laser disks these can still be found available at auction.
if you have a decent laser disk player you'll be all set, and laser disk audio is noticeably better than DVD.
These charming operas are very entertaining if without many of the big set piece arias that Rossini became known for later in his career. He relies more heavily on ensemble singing which can be quite thrilling - which he continued to apply in the finales of his later operas.

Stage director Michael Hampe gives us the opera at the time and location of its original setting—and it’s momentary cause for ironic reflection just how seldom that happens these days. The result, aided and abetted by a fine cast, is an attractive, energetic production of Rossini’s one-act farce. Amelia Felle and David Kuebler deliver the best singing, alert and stylish, with excellent coloratura. Alessandro Corbelli can’t command their facility at fast speeds (though he gets better at this as the performance wears on), but he supplies an object lesson in character acting. His opening scene—having his hair curled with coal-heated irons, briefly examining his breakfast, viewing each of his servants personally as he expresses his philosophy on life—is a thing of joy in its miniscule attention to detail and shifting expressions.
He’s well matched by Alberto Rinaldi. In a role that could have easily become repetitive and boring, Rinaldi discovers many expressive visual ways to turn his catchphrase (“It’s so hot!”) into a dozen differently inflected conversational starters and stoppers. The minor parts are all acted and sung well, with Gelmetti leading an enthusiastic and buoyant performance.
The picture format is 4:3 full screen rather than 16:9 anamorphic. Subtitles are available in Italian, English, German, French, and Spanish, while sound is offered in PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, and Digital Theater Sound 5.1. The lack of extras makes this DVD something less than a bargain, given its length, but I think its quality makes up for a good deal. There are no whorehouses in action, here, no breakdancing choruses, no invading Mongol armies done up like a platoon of Uncle Fester look-alikes—and yes, I’ve had the less than pleasurable experience to see them all in productions over the top. What we get here, instead, is good Rossini, done to a turn. And that’s good enough for me.
FANFARE: Barry Brenesal

Performer:
Gaudenzio - Alessandro Corbelli
Sofia – Amelia Felle
Bruschino padre – Alberto Rinaldi
Bruschino figlio – Vito Gobbi
Florville – David Kuebler
Un commissario di polizia – Oslavio di Credico
Filiberto – Carlos Feller
Marianna – Janice Hall
Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart
Conductor - Gianluigi Gelmetti
Directed for Stage by Michael Hampe

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, director Michael Hampe and conductor Gianluigi Gelmetti, in connection with the Schwetzingen Festival, staged the four farsa’s (Il signor Bruschino, L’occasione fa il ladro, La cambiale di matrimonio, and La scala di seta) at the intimate Rococo theater. Fortunately for Rossini-lovers, these absolutely wonderful productions were videotaped.
They are unpretentious stagings with beautiful, elaborate, realistic sets, extravagantly costumed, loaded with witty business, free of gratuitous shtick, and populated with a coterie of bel canto specialists.
– David L. Kirk, FANFARE

Performer:
Tobia Mill – John Del Carlo
Fanny – Janice Hall
Edoardo Milfort – David Kuebler
Slook – Alberto Rinaldi
Norton – Carlos Feller
Clarina – Amelia Felle
Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart
Conductor - Gianluigi Gelmetti
Directed for Stage by Michael Hampe

L’occasione fa il ladro is the most scenically complex of Rossini’s five one-act operas, involving two sets (an inn and the Marchesa’s “Grand’atrio terreno” in her “elegantemente adbabbato” house). In this video, a visual element is added during the sinfonia, a storm scene (the music recycled from La pietra del paragone and later used in Il barbiere di Siviglia). A silhouetted horse and carriage are seen racing through driving rain before a wheel comes off, forcing a stay at the inn. If you’ve ever seen the video of La cenerentola from the Salzburg Festival, also directed by Michael Hampe, it’s the same gimmick. It’s clever and fun to watch.
The stock buffa characters are more or less present in L’occasione fa il ladro; prima and seconda donnas, primo and secondo buffas, primo and secondo mezzo carattere, yet Rossini and librettist Privadali use them in some unorthodox ways. The plot revolves around stolen and switched identities, an arranged marriage (the future bride and groom have never met—but their fathers are friends and want to unite the two families), and romantic deceptions. Okay, so you can drive an aircraft carrier through the holes in the logic; turn your pretenders on and enjoy 94 minutes of mischief and wonderful, tuneful music.
This is a handsome production. The attractive sets and costumes are traditional and fit the locale and period. The scene at the Marchessa’s villa, with a view of Naples Bay, begins on a sunny morning. As the opera progresses, the sun shades are drawn and later raised as the sun sets. A fine cast has been assembled, and Michael Hampe’s direction is sensible and straightforward, and he doesn’t interfere with the story by trying to call attention to himself.
This production, a collaboration between the Oper der Stadt Köln and the Opéra de Montpellier, is part of a quartet of the Rossini one-act operas performed in the Rokokotheater Schetzingen as part of the Schwetzinger Festival. The intimate theater eliminates the need to blast to the back of a big house, permitting the cast to bring us performances that are highlighted with many acting and vocal subtleties. A nice sense of ensemble helps to bring this production merrily to life. Conductor Gianluigi Gelmetti seemed to love Rossini, his eyes light up and twinkle as he punctuates the felicities of Rossini’s orchestrations. Without an overture, he doesn’t have as much opportunity to play to the camera as he does in the other entries in this series, where sometimes he mugs shamelessly, but he sets the tone for the froth that follows.
Opportunities to experience L’occasione fa il ladro are limited, especially when compared to several of Rossini’s better-known works. This is the only DVD currently available. There is, however, a CD sold as part of an eight-disc set that includes all five one-act operas (Brilliant Classics 92399, previously released on Claves), and a two-CD album from Ricordi Fonit Cetra with Luciana Serra and Raúl Giménez that unfortunately does not seem to be currently available. The Brilliant Classics was studio recorded; the Fonit Cetra was recorded during performance.
I’ve enjoyed these four Rossini Schwetzinger Festival productions for years; they remain fresh and inviting each time they are viewed. The casts are uniformly good, Hampe’s directing is unaffected, with many clever bits of business, and Gelmetti lets us enjoy Rossini’s merry tunes.
– David L. Kirk, FANFARE

Performer:
Don Eusebio – Stuart Kale
Berenice – Susan Patterson
Conte Alberto – Robert Gambill
Don Parmenione – Natale de Carolis
Ernestina – Monica Bacelli
Martino – Alessandro Corbelli
Radio – Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart
Conductor – Gianluigi Gelmetti
Staged and Designed by Michael Hampe

Barely four years into his composing career, Rossini wrote La scala di seta (“The Silken Ladder”). It is the third of his five one-act operas, works created around restrictions in cast size and production limitations. Four of the operas are comedies full of witty intrigues, but L’inganno felice is something apart, being more sentimental in nature. Rossini was in his late teens and early twenties when these one-act gems were written, but his compositional skills and genius for attractive melodies combined with rhythmic thrust were already in place. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, director Michael Hampe and conductor Gianluigi Gelmetti, in connection with the Schwetzingen Festival, staged the four farsa’s (Il signor Bruschino, L’occasione fa il ladro, La cambiale di matrimonio, and La scala di seta) at the intimate Rococo theater. Fortunately for Rossini-lovers, these absolutely wonderful productions were videotaped.
They are unpretentious stagings with beautiful, elaborate, realistic sets, extravagantly costumed, loaded with witty business, free of gratuitous shtick, and populated with a coterie of bel canto specialists. David Kuebler, Alessandro Corbelli, and Alberto Rinaldi appear in most of them. Originally, these four operas appeared on Teldec, but are now being released on the EuroArts label.
The plot of La scala di seta is firmly from the world of amorous intrigues, wily servants, forced betrothals, secret marriages, and deceived older men. The ladder, made from blue silk, is hung from the balcony each night so Dorvil can climb up and meet Giulia, to whom he is secretly married, and hide in her closet. Giulia is Dormont’s ward, and Dormont has arranged a marriage between her and Blansac. Giulia’s cousin, Lucilla, is in love with Blansac. Blansac is likewise interested in Lucilla. When Blansac discovers his intended is already married to Dorvil, he proposes to Lucilla and all ends happily. It’s not profound material, so sit back and savor the delights for an hour and a half. Your ears and eyes will be treated to a first-class production.
FANFARE: David L. Kirk

Performer:
Dormont – David Griffith
Giulia – Luciana Serra
Lucilla – Jane Bunnell
Dorvil – David Kuebler
Blansac – Alberto Rinaldi
Germano – Alessandro Corbelli
Radio – Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart
Conductor – Gianluigi Gelmetti
Staged and Designed by Michael Hampe


Il Signor Bruschino (Alessandro Corbelli / Amelia Felle / David Kuebler /Alberto Rinaldi) - RISBGG
La Cambiale si Matrimonio (John del Carlo / Janice Hall / David Kuebler / Alberto Rinaldi) - RLCDMG
L'Occasione fa il Ladro (Susan Patterson / Robert Gambill / Natale de Carolis / Monica Bacelli) - ROFILG
La Scala di Seta (Luciana Serra / David Kuebler / Alberto Rinaldi / Alessandro Corbelli - RLSDSG