{"id":88721,"date":"2024-05-23T00:00:30","date_gmt":"2024-05-23T04:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/operawire.com\/?p=88721"},"modified":"2024-05-22T13:00:17","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T17:00:17","slug":"cd-review-pan-classics-litaliana-in-algeri","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/operawire.com\/cd-review-pan-classics-litaliana-in-algeri\/","title":{"rendered":"CD Review: Pan Classics\u2019 &#8216;L\u2019Italiana in Algeri&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\">\u201cL\u2019Italiana in Algeri\u201d is quintessential Rossini, from its lighthearted tunes to the many twists of its delightfully ingenious plot. As a result, there is no shortage of exemplary recordings, with the 1978 DG release of Claudio Abbado standing out among the indispensable milestones in the piece\u2019s discographic history.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">In 2024, it is the turn of Pan Classics to present their version of this buffo favorite by adding to the roster an uncannily spontaneous take. Recorded at a live performance from 2022, it proves unpretentious, as conductor <a href=\"https:\/\/operawire.com\/?s=Jakob+Lehmann\">Jakob Lehmann<\/a> and his cast of junior soloists manage to maintain a riveting freshness throughout its two hours and twenty-six minutes of playing time.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"p1\"><b>A Lean \u201cPappataci, Mustaf\u00e0!\u201d<\/b><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p1\">The newest \u201cL\u2019Italiana\u201d does not have at its disposal the voice of living legends<i> <\/i>like Sam Ramey or Marilyn Horne. Yet this does not put it at a disadvantage, as the cast sings with unending enthusiasm and near faultless precision. <a href=\"https:\/\/operawire.com\/?s=David+O%C5%A1trek\">David O\u0161trek<\/a>, for instance, lends his bass to the role of Mustaf\u00e0, the focal point of the opera\u2019s comedic action. Unlike some of his predecessors, he does not engage in vocal overacting but keeps his interpretation slender and lean.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Occasionally, it comes at the cost of sacrificing some of the part\u2019s comicality, starting with his opening lines of \u201cDelle donne l\u2019arroganza.\u201d Though cleanly executed, they appear to lack the sparkling naivety which one may expect from the Bey of Algiers. On the other hand, the directness of O\u0161trek\u2019s interpretation goes well with the crisp stance adopted by the ensemble of Eroica Berlin. The latter produces the closest to a period sound yet heard on any recording of \u201cL\u2019Italiana,\u201d including the past year\u2019s release from Glossa Music. For example, the use of a fortepiano creates an intriguing soundscape in the recitatives; it is seemingly at odds with the recording tradition by unmasking the music\u2019s historical roots, so to speak..<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"p1\"><b>Spontaneity and Directness<\/b><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p1\">The mezzo <a href=\"https:\/\/operawire.com\/?s=Hannah+Ludwig\">Hannah Ludwig<\/a> sings the part of the title-giving Italian, the sharp-witted Isabella. She displays an extraordinarily mature characterization, thanks to the honeyed tones of her well-rounded instrument which easily adapts to both the agility of coloratura runs and the heavily Romantic lines of the protagonist\u2019s Act two cavatina \u201cPer lui che adoro.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Baritone <a href=\"https:\/\/operawire.com\/?s=Adam+Kutny\">Adam Kutny<\/a> similarly boasts a richly layered voice, with a grave core and luminous tops. His delivery is polished and neat, though short of the subtle irony which makes \u201cLe femmine d\u2019Italia\u201d so memorable a piece in its most distinguished renditions. Kutny\u2019s warm timbre is complemented by the fine tenor of <a href=\"http:\/\/robertgilder.co\/test\/wp\/portfolio-item\/milos-bulajic\/\">Milo\u0161 Bulaji\u0107<\/a>. The latter puts on display an entrancing <i>mezza voce<\/i>; yet in the upper range his instrument grows persistently uneasy, revealing the strain of the dazzling coloraturas more than any of his co-singers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The cast is completed by the endearing Zulma of mezzo <a href=\"https:\/\/operawire.com\/?s=Laura+Murphy\">Laura Murphy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/operawire.com\/?s=Manuel+Walser\">Manuel Walser<\/a>\u2019s Taddeo. Walser intuitively realizes the buffo potential of \u201cHo un gran peso sulla testa,\u201d phrasing wittily but skillfully avoiding caricature. Finally, the role of Elivra is promisingly cast with <a href=\"https:\/\/operawire.com\/?s=Polly+Ott\">Polly Ott<\/a> whose airy soprano adds a sense of playfulness to the comprimario part.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Conductor Lehmann leads with a swift, yet inspired hand whose brisk tempi powerfully drive the action forward. His relentless enthusiasm make the recording uncompromising in its directness, and thanks to the spontaneity of the soloists it conveys the very thrill of a live performance &#8211; minor flaws included, mostly in the shape of some uneven sound engineering.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cL\u2019Italiana in Algeri\u201d is quintessential Rossini, from its lighthearted tunes to the many twists of its delightfully ingenious plot. As a result, there is no shortage of exemplary recordings, with the 1978 DG release of Claudio Abbado standing out among the indispensable milestones in the piece\u2019s discographic history. In 2024, it is the turn of Pan Classics to present their&nbsp;{&hellip;}<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":88735,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[72,8],"tags":[12359,7859,7335,19812,593,22660,9570,3581,22659,21064,69],"class_list":["post-88721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvd-and-cd-reviews","category-in-review","tag-adam-kutny","tag-david-ostrek","tag-hannah-ludwig","tag-jakob-lehmann","tag-litaliana-in-algeri","tag-laura-murphy","tag-manuel-walser","tag-milos-bulajic","tag-pan-classics","tag-polly-ott","tag-rossini"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>CD Review: Pan Classics\u2019 &#039;L\u2019Italiana in Algeri&#039; - OperaWire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cL\u2019Italiana in Algeri\u201d is quintessential Rossini, from its lighthearted tunes to the many twists of its delightfully ingenious plot. As a result, there is no shortage of exemplary recordings, with the 1978 DG release of Claudio Abbado standing out among the indispensable milestones in the piece\u2019s discographic history.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/operawire.com\/cd-review-pan-classics-litaliana-in-algeri\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CD Review: Pan Classics\u2019 &#039;L\u2019Italiana in Algeri&#039; - OperaWire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cL\u2019Italiana in Algeri\u201d is quintessential Rossini, from its lighthearted tunes to the many twists of its delightfully ingenious plot. As a result, there is no shortage of exemplary recordings, with the 1978 DG release of Claudio Abbado standing out among the indispensable milestones in the piece\u2019s discographic history.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/operawire.com\/cd-review-pan-classics-litaliana-in-algeri\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OperaWire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/operawire\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-05-23T04:00:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-22T17:00:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/operawire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1713799059_PC10455.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Operawire Staff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@operawirenews\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@operawirenews\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Operawire Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/operawire.com\/cd-review-pan-classics-litaliana-in-algeri\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/operawire.com\/cd-review-pan-classics-litaliana-in-algeri\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Operawire Staff\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/operawire.com\/#\/schema\/person\/af8895a115288ee29f3ea95aa4976fe1\"},\"headline\":\"CD Review: Pan Classics\u2019 &#8216;L\u2019Italiana in Algeri&#8217;\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-05-23T04:00:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-22T17:00:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/operawire.com\/cd-review-pan-classics-litaliana-in-algeri\/\"},\"wordCount\":591,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/operawire.com\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"adam kutny\",\"David O\u0161trek\",\"Hannah Ludwig\",\"Jakob Lehmann\",\"L'Italiana in algeri\",\"Laura Murphy\",\"Manuel Walser\",\"Milo\u0161 Bulaji\u0107\",\"Pan Classics\",\"polly ott\",\"Rossini\"],\"articleSection\":[\"DVD and CD Reviews\",\"Reviews\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/operawire.com\/cd-review-pan-classics-litaliana-in-algeri\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/operawire.com\/cd-review-pan-classics-litaliana-in-algeri\/\",\"name\":\"CD Review: Pan Classics\u2019 'L\u2019Italiana in Algeri' - OperaWire\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/operawire.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-05-23T04:00:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-22T17:00:17+00:00\",\"description\":\"\u201cL\u2019Italiana in Algeri\u201d is quintessential Rossini, from its lighthearted tunes to the many twists of its delightfully ingenious plot. 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