Ferdinando Paer Agnese opera to libretto by Luigi Buonavoglia. Directed 2019 by Leo Muscato at the Teatro Regio Torino. Stars María Rey-Joly (Agnese), Markus Werbe (Uberto), Edgardo Rocha (Ernesto), Filippo Morace (Don Pasquale), Andrea Giovannini (Don Girolamo), Lucia Cirillo (Carlotta), Giulia Della Peruta (Vespina), Federico Benetti (Warden), and Sofia La Cara (Agnese’s Daughter). Diego Fasolis conducts the Orchestra and Chorus del Teatro Regio Torino (Chorus Master Andrea Secchi). Carlo Capulo on harpsichord. Set design by Federica Parolini; costume design by Silvia Aymonino; lighting design by Alessandro Verazzi; assistant direction by Alessandra De Angelis; assistant set design by Anna Varaldo. Directed for TV by Tiziano Mancini. Sung in Italian. Released 2020, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
According to Clive Paget on page 40 of the July 2020 Opera News, Paer taught composition to Liszt and wrote 55 operas. Agnese, semi-serious work dealing with madness and reconciliation, was Paer’s biggest hit. According to Tim Ashley in the April 2020 Gramophone at page 112, Agnese was a big star vehicle during the time between Mozart and Rossini. But then it sank into the oblivion of the vast sea of forgotten Italian operas. It was fished out of the murky waters in 2019 with its first modern performance and the first recording ever!
It appears the serious aspect of the work concerns Agnese’s elopement and estrangement from her father, who is in an insane asylum when Agnese returns and seeks reconciliation with dear old dad. The comic aspect is the situation in the asylum, which is run by—can you believe this—a bumbling character named Don Pasquale. Paget is enthusiastic about the set, costumes, and the orchestral performance under Diego Fasolis. He views the singers as about par for the Italian-opera game, but has reservations about the libretto and personal directing. Paget concludes that this “nicely filmed rediscovery is a curiosity worth exploring.” Sounds like this would be a perfect gift for the lover of Italian opera in your life who is sure he already has everything.
The opera folks are starting now to really use YouTube in their marketing. From Dynamic:
And here are 2 clips from Regio Torino (may not be exactly what’s on the disc):
And finally, here’s a longer clip uploaded by the lead soprano in this production!
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