Programs · Episode

VERDI: I Masnadieri

Program: At the Opera
Aired: Saturday, August 28, 2021 @ 6:00 pm
Hosted by Lisa Simeone

Verdi’s drama about doomed romance and a wealthy crook who seems to get away with murder is a hot-blooded, somewhat messy affair.  Yet the opera features an array of brilliant musical numbers, including arias tailored for its first leading lady, the legendary soprano Jenny Lind. At the Opera looks at the drama through recordings featuring sopranos Joan Sutherland and Montserrat Caballé, tenors Franco Bonisolli and Carlo Bergonzi, and bass-baritones Samuel Ramey and Ruggero Raimondi.

MORE ABOUT THE OPERA:

By the time Giuseppe Verdi was 40 years old, in 1853, he had already written a whole career’s worth of hit operas. For most composers, those successes would have been enough for several careers. Even so, Verdi looked back on that time as a bit of a grind.

Verdi was a hard worker right from the start.  During the nine years from 1844 to 1853 he completed 15 operas. Many are still famous, such as Ernani and Macbeth.  And he ended that string with a trio of undisputed masterpieces: Il Trovatore, Rigoletto and La Traviata.

Yet, as the years passed, many of his early operas fell out of favor – works such as Alzira and The Battle of Legnano. And Verdi, who was known to exaggerate when recounting his past, seems to have wondered why he bothered – once seemed to write those early dramas off, while referring to that period of his career as his "years in the galley."

It would be easy to ask how a composer like Verdi, who wrote so many great operas, could also have come up with scores that are hardly worth bothering with – and the question might be answered any number of ways.  But the best answer might be:  "He didn't."  That's because many of Verdi's lesser-known, early operas are actually works of true genius – compelling dramas set to music of striking originality – including his 1847 tragedy Masnadieri.

That opera premiered in London, at Her Majesty's Theatre, Haymarket.  When Verdi received the commission for the new work, he was enthusiastic, thinking it might lead to a box office hit and a healthy paycheck.  Only part of that came true.  Audiences found the opera overly violent and it had a short run, despite the appearance of the now legendary soprano Jenny Lind as the female lead.  Still, it did earn Verdi more money than any of his previous works.

The first of the two recordings of I Masnadieri we’ll explore on At the Opera comes from 1983.  It stars legendary soprano Joan Sutherland as Amalia, with the powerful tenor Franco Bonisolli as Carlo, in a cast that also includes bass Samuel Ramey and baritone Matteo Manuguerra. The second release is from 1975, and features Montserrat Caballé, Carlo Bergonzi, Ruggero Raimondo and Piero Cappuccilli.

THIS WEEK’S FEATURED RECORDINGS:

Richard Bonynge, conductor
Welsh National Opera Orchestra and Chorus
CAST: Joan Sutherland (Amalia); Franco Bonisolli (Carlo); Samuel Ramey (Massimiliano); Matteo Manuguerra (Francesco)
(DECCA 448553)

Lamberto Gardelli, conductor
New Philharmonia Orchestra; Ambrosian Opera Chorus
CAST: Montserrat Caballé (Amalia); Carlo Bergonzi (Carlo); Ruggero Raimondi (Massimiliano); Piero Cappuccilli (Francesco)
(Philips 4758703)

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