Rossini: Sigismondo

Margarita Gritskova (Sigismondo), Maria Aleida (Aldimira), Paula Sánchez-Valverde (Anagilda), César Arrieta (Radoski), Marcell Bakonyi (Ulderico/Zenovito) & Camerata Bach Choir Pozna?, Virtuosi Brunensis, Antonino Fogliani

This live recording of Rossini's rarely heard opera Sigismondo comes from the 2016 Rossini in Wildbad Festival. The opera is not filled with Rossini's distinctive musical landmarks and wonderful duets, for which blame is usually laid at the feet of librettist Giuseppe Foppa. Today, however, we can appreciate how this tale of an abused wife who retains her love for her deranged husband pushes the boundaries of the grand narrative tradition into a more searching psychological drama. An emphasis on madness and guilt and coloratura expressions of inner feeling results in a fascinating meeting of convention with experiment, Rossini’s subsequent re-use of his music for Sigismondo in later hit operas being ample evidence of its intrinsic quality.

"The singing is really good throughout, the lead singers excitingly so. Margarita Gritskova has a wide range and maintains her vocal quality at both
extremes."
Classical Ear - 4th August 2017 *****

"To modern ears, Sigismondo sounds fresh - as if it’s a brand new offering by one of opera’s all-time greats. An emphasis on madness and guilt and coloratura expressions of inner feeling results in a fascinating meeting of convention with experiment."
New Classics - July 2017

"There is a focused singing from the Camerata Bach Choir, Poznán, while under the perceptive baton of Antonio Fogliani the playing of the Virtuosi Brunensis combines momentum with some sense of period style; a fortepiano is used for recitatives."
Opera - December 2017