Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Michele Mariotti – Rossini: Overtures (2018) [DSF DSD256/DSD128 + Hi-Res FLAC]

Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Michele Mariotti – Rossini: Overtures (2018)
DSD256 (.dsf) 1 bit/11,2 MHz | Time – 01:21:28 minutes | 12,8 GB
DSD128 (.dsf) 1 bit/5,6 MHz | Time – 01:21:28 minutes | 6,42 GB
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/176,4 kHz | Time – 81:28 minutes | 2,41 GB
Studio Master, Official Digital Download | Artwork: Digital booklet

The overtures are performed by the Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, which has played a seminal role in the Rossini renaissance of the last three decades. From the moment they were performed, Gioachino Rossini’s overtures have enjoyed the status of colourful, elegant orchestral showpieces. With their sweet cantilene, their rich harmonies, their brilliant orchestration, and their powerful and exciting rhythmic drive, these overtures encapsulate all that was modern, exhilarating and electrifying in Rossini’s music, yet maintain their freshness and attraction to modern audiences.

This album features a collection of Rossini overtures, taken from less well-known operas such as La Scala di seta, Tancredi, La gazza ladra, Matilde di Shabran and Semiramide, as well as from the classic comic operas L’italiana in Algeri and Il barbiere di Siviglia, concluding with the preludes to Rossini’s French operas Le siege de Corinthe and Guillaume Tell, in which the composer explored musical Romanticism. The orchestra is led by its Musical Director Michele Mariotti. Being born in Rossini’s native town Pesaro, Mariotti cherishes a life-long affinity with the city’s most famous son, and is commonly considered as one of the outstanding Rossini conductors of his age. He frequently works with the world’s most prestigious opera houses.

The overtures of Gioachino Rossini have long outlived their intended purpose as introductory music to his long-forgotten operas, and have instead become concert staples in their own right. While the opera Il barbiere di Siviglia is often produced and remains popular, and some of the other operas are periodically revived, most listeners only know Rossini through the nine selections on this hybrid SACD by Michele Mariotti and the Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna. The playing on this 2018 Pentatone release is quite clean and often spectacular in its virtuosity, and the multichannel reproduction conveys the crispness and clarity of the playing with great fidelity. Mariotti’s tempos tend to be brisk, and the humor of the music often comes through the seemingly madcap speed of the music. Of course, the famous Rossini crescendo is also exploited to maximum excitement, though the orchestra delivers superb effects over the full dynamic range, even in the softer passages that add suspense to the big build-ups. While many collections of the overtures follow the same essential program, albeit in varying order, few are likely to compete with this recording’s zestful performances and sparkling sound. First-rate and highly recommended.

Tracklist:

01 – La scala di seta: Overture
02 – Tancredi: Overture
03 – L’italiana in Algeri: Overture
04 – Il barbiere di Siviglia: Overture
05 – La gazza ladra: Overture
06 – Matilde di Shabran: Overture
07 – Semiramide: Overture
08 – Le siège de Corinthe: Overture
09 – Guillaume Tell: Overture

Recording producer & balance engineer: Erdo Groot. Recording engineer: Jean-Marie Geijsen.
Recorded in May 2018 at the library of the Convento San Domenico in Bologna, Italy.

DSD256