Description:

The star of this bubbling performance is Oliviero de Fabritiis. And if you are thinking I am leading with that because the cast is mediocre, you are mistaken (more on that below). When one thinks of great conductors, one often thinks about the effect they have on the orchestra. De Fabritiis, however, elicits the same level of detail and nuance from the singers as the orchestra, extracting precise rhythms, speficitity of articulation as well as a unified musical idea that unites the pit with the singers in a way that you rarely hear.
Gianna Pederzini has all of the contralto credibility to make her an excellent Isabella. (She would go on to sing in the World Premiere of Dialogues of the Carmélites as Madame de Croisy.) She does take transpositions in both her arias, requiring some interesting harmonic invention to arrive at her favored key.
Nino Ederle brings a masculine charm to the role of Lindoro, fairing well in the lyrical moments and struggling a bit with the coloratura.
For a good Mustafà you want a singer with the comic timing of Dottor Bartolo (from the Barber of Seville) with the vocal gravitas of a Dottor Bartolo (from Le Nozze di Figaro.) Vincenzo Bettoni delivers just that.
Giuseppe Taddei, just 24 at the time of this performance, makes a strong impression in the relatively smaller role of Haly. He must have really impressed de Fabritiis because, among the many cuts in this performance, he decided to leave in Haly's charming Act II aria.

In Mono

OD 12033-2

2 New Rossini Operas