Antonio Pappano's recording of Guillaume Tell with Accademia di Santa Cecilia Orchestra and Chorus is the first commercial recording of the authoritative 1994 edition of the opera by M. Elizabeth C. Bartlet. At three and half hours, it is essentially compete, with only a few cuts the composer had sanctioned. The performance, recorded live at 2010 concert presentations, reveals the seldom-heard opera as a masterpiece that deserves a place in the repertoire. It was Rossini's last opera, and it both summarizes his mastery of ...
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Antonio Pappano's recording of Guillaume Tell with Accademia di Santa Cecilia Orchestra and Chorus is the first commercial recording of the authoritative 1994 edition of the opera by M. Elizabeth C. Bartlet. At three and half hours, it is essentially compete, with only a few cuts the composer had sanctioned. The performance, recorded live at 2010 concert presentations, reveals the seldom-heard opera as a masterpiece that deserves a place in the repertoire. It was Rossini's last opera, and it both summarizes his mastery of musical drama and moves opera into new directions that were to influence both Verdi and Wagner. The finale is a remarkable moment, unlike quite anything that had come before it in opera, resplendently Wagnerian in the luminous, cathartic serenity of its depiction of the Swiss peoples' joy at being freed from a century of Austrian oppression. Gerald Finley is splendid in the title role. He projects nobility and humanity, and his singing is nuanced, powerfully ringing, and warm. The...
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