Rossini – Adina

One hallmark of the Naxos catalogue is the label's many projects to record either a composer's complete oeuvre, or complete cycles of works from within that output. We extend that reputation this month with the release of Rossini's opera Adina, effecting the availability now of all thirty-nine of Rossini's operas in our catalogue. In a spirit of anticipation, collectors may note that although Adina was composed in 1818, it wasn't premiered until eight years later, making next year the bicentenary of the opera's first performance and this new album the perfect entree for that occasion.


Gioachino ROSSINI (1792–1868)
Adina
Farsa in one act (1818)
Libretto by Gherardo Bevilacqua-Aldobrandini (1791–1845)

Sara Blanch, Soprano • César Arrieta, Aaron Godfrey-Mayes, Tenors
Emmanuel Franco, Baritone • Shi Zong, Bass
Kraków Philharmonic Chorus and Orchestra
Luciano Acocella

Rossini’s Adina is a one-act farsa sentimentale or semiseria set in a seraglio in Baghdad where we find the Caliph determined to marry Adina who is also loved by Selimo. To this standard story Rossini brought an unexpected psychological depth, augmented by coloratura arias and male choruses of richness and daring. However, for unknown reasons he omitted a vital Terzetto, which has made the work problematic to fully realise in performance. This recording employs the Terzetto from Giovanni Pacini’s opera La schiava in Bagdad, a solution first proposed in 1861, much to the benefit of the opera’s pacing.

Listen to an extract from Scene 11:
Nel lasciarti, o caro albergo
About the artists
More recordings of operas by Rossini
2.110696 [DVD]
L’Equivoco stravagante
Colaianni • Kabongo • Mastrototaro • Franco
Górecki Chamber Choir
Virtuosi Brunensis
Pérez-Sierra • Schönleber
‘For all Rossini fans, this rarely performed work is an automatic purchase, and it gets an advance shoe-in to the 2022 Want List.’
Fanfare
Also available on Blu-ray (NBD0133V)
2.110592 [DVD]
Il Barbiere di Siviglia
Sempey • Trottmann • Angelini
Kálmán • Gleadow • Vestri
Le Cercle de l'Harmonie • Unikanti
Rhorer • Pelly
★★★★
‘Laurent Pelly’s Théâtre des Champs-Élysées staging of Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, expertly cast and superbly conducted, is the finest I have seen as a realisation of Rossini’s radical, life-enhancing marriage of music, text and theatre.’
Gramophone
Also available on Blu-ray (NBD0065V)
2.110706 [DVD]
L’Occasione fa il ladro
Regazzo • Talerko • Tarver
Virtuosi Brunensis
Fogliani • Schönleber
‘All of [the cast] deserve high praise for their commitment to the comedy and for crystal-clear diction that gives the text its proper priority.’
American Record Guide
Also available on Blu-ray (NBD0137V)
8.660512-13
La scala di seta
Urru • Angelini • Franco
Sill • Di Lieto • Burnens
Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra
Pérez-Sierra
★★★★
★★★★
‘This recording from Bad Wildbad … is very fine … A must for all Rossini fans out there. Bravo Naxos!’
Fanfare
8.660556-57
Ermione
Farnocchia • Faggioli • Marín • Kabongo • Wang
Park • Poltorak • Guran • Jankowski
Kraków Philharmonic Chorus and Orchestra
Fogliani
★★★★
★★★★
★★★★
‘This is the best recording we have yet heard of Ermione … The conductor Antonino Fogliani holds the whole drama powerfully on course.’
Gramophone
8.660403-04
Sigismondo
Gritskova • Aleida • Tarver • Bakonyi
Sánchez-Valverde • Arrieta
Camerata Bach Choir Poznań
Virtuoso Brunensis
Fogliani
‘[S]oprano Maria Aleida gives an extraordinary vocal display that’s quite a match for Gritskova … Antonino Fogliani can hardly be bettered in his magisterial handling of the score. Most enjoyable, highly recommended.’
The WholeNote


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