Verdi: I Masnadieri

Maestro Nicola Luisotti Saves This Sorry Production
I Masnadieri was staged in San Carlo two years after the world premiere in London in 1849 for a run of 14 performances and never again until this production from March 2012. The opera was rarely performed until a successful concert performance by the Opera Orchestra of New York in 1975 and the issue of a Philips recording with Bergonzi, Caballé, Cappuccilli and Raimondi, conducted by Lamberto Gardelli. Bonynge conducted it at the Sydney Opera House in 1980 and recorded it for Decca in 1982 with his late wife.

According to the blu-ray's book this blu-ray was compiled from all 5 performances in the run. Nicola Luisotti was recently appointed music director of the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, and this production is the first he conducted since his appointment. Gabriele Lavia, a well-known Italian director of high repute, as well as an actor, directed it. He is considered a 'specialist' of Schiller's text "Die Räuber" on which the libretto is based - he directed it...

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
There is a lot of "Good" in this performance of Verdi's 11th opera. Particularly of note is the singing of the lead singers, the chorus, and the orchestral work of the Teatro di San Carlo Orchestra under Maestro Niccola Luisotti. As to the particulars ...

Tenor Aquiles Machado does a fine job with the frequently demanding role of Carlo. While I prefer the vocal performance of Carlo Bergonzi on the Philips CD set (I think that Bergonzi was the top Verdi tenor of his time),I have enjoyed Machado's performance in a deleted TDK Rigoletto, and enjoyed this one enough to look forward to the C Major release of Forza, with Machado as Alvaro. His spinto voice is nearly perfect for the tenor roles that Verdi wrote during the galley years.

Soprano Lucrezi Garcia is a promising vocal talent who carries off the coloratura runs, trills and pianissimi quite well, although her physical size and near total lack of acting ability, are off putting. Her voice is evenly produced...

Poor production of a poor opera
A "poor" opera by Verdi? Yes, there are at least two examples of these: this one and "Alzira". Personally, I rate this one just slightly superior due to its rousing choral music. Indeed, the famous composer made liberal use of a male chorus as would be indicated by the title of the work - "The Bandits". Their best piece occurs in the third act when they proudly proclaim that as brigands they enjoy "stealing, killing, whoring, and fighting"; not exactly saccharine lyrics. The major problem with the opera is its libretto, which centers on the rivalry of two brothers for a woman and a title; it's the stuff for high drama but somehow leads to a totally improbable resolution. The "evil" brother commits suicide because the priest won't absolve him and the "good" brother kills the woman he loves so he can be true to the gang of bandits that he leads. The weakness of the opera is compounded by this production. Another reviewer, Noam Eitan, has written a marvelous critique with which I am...

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