Among
Donizetti
's 75 operas are many that keep specialists in operatic rarities in business. What is different about
L'esule di Roma
("
Exile from Rome
," 1828) is that it shouldn't have taken specialists to revive it. The work was quite popular in Italy and beyond through the late 1860s, and in 1840, well after several of the big
hits had appeared, his hometown of Bergamo staged a production of the work aimed at displaying his prowess.
may be classed as early
, but
Anna Bolena
and
L'elisir d'amore
were soon to follow, and one can hear a lot of this highly variegated score in those works, with its strong characterizations and its recitatives that constantly seem to be breaking into song. The opera is set in ancient Rome, with its central character, the senator Murena, unusually being a baritone or bass-baritone. He emerges as a figure of some depth in the conflict between his daughter Argelia and his loyalty to the emperor Tiberius, and he gets his very own mad scene. An international cast is headed by the very capable
Nicola Alaimo
as Murena, but another draw is the rising coloratura soprano
Albina Shagimuratova
as Argelia, and yet another is the work of conductor
Carlo Rizzi
, leading the
Britten Sinfonia
. Even for many
fans, this work will be new, and for them, it is a must. ~ James Manheim