Ponchielli: La Gioconda
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CD Details
Edition: Music CDCD Release Date: 1993-10-12
Music Label: Polygram Records
Music reviews of Ponchielli: La Gioconda
Music Review: Great recording of a neglected opera
Rating: 5 Stars
This recording is great! Ponchielli's opera has been unfairly maligned over the years. It contains great, effectively-orchestrated music and six wonderful roles for the leading singers. Sure, the plot is very melodramatic and the ending (Barnaba running away through an alley) is ridiculous, but it's the music that counts. The title role, Gioconda, is a difficult one to sing. It demands many low notes and a fair share of high notes. Anita Cerquetti has a huge, dark voice that is just right for Gioconda. The only problem I have with her voice is that her vibrato sometimes becomes excessive, especially in high-lying passages. She is very convincing as the street singer. Her concern for her blind mother, La Cieca, is believable and the way she conveys Gioconda's different emotions is great. Her low notes are strong and most of her high notes are very good. In the Act Four Gioconda/Enzo/Laura trio, her last high note becomes a screech. Her Italian diction is very fine and her phrasing is exemplary. The power and fury she unleashes in her confrontation with Enzo in Act Four is exhilarating. This confrontation is a highlight of the recording. Enzo is sung by Mario del Monaco. When he makes his entrance trumpeting out "Assassini", your ears are pinned back. He is a great Enzo. He not only sings loudly, but also softly. His golden tenor is thrilling in its power and he gives a glorious account of "Cielo e mar". When he and Cerquetti confront each other in Act Four, the sparks really fly. Laura is sung by Giulietta Simionato. This mezzo-soprano is known for her great acting, both physical and vocal, and here, she does not disappoint. Her voice is a bit heavy for Laura, but she sings her music very well. Her duet with Cerquetti is thrilling in its intensity. Cerquetti's voice blazes with unbridled fury. Simionato holds her own, asserting her love for Enzo. The first note she sings in the phrase "L'amo come il fulgor" is both thrilling and beautiful. Her "Stella del marinar" is fine, but the last high note could have been better captured by the recording engineers. Ettore Bastianini sings Barnaba with evil, insinuating tones. He is truly scary as Alvise's spy. His voice is positively huge on this recording and he is by far the most consistently loud of the six leading singers. His aria "O monumento" is filled with hate and evil. It is gloriously sung and ends on a huge high note. His fisherman's song in Act Two is sung wonderfully. Cesare Siepi is an effective Alvise. He doesn't have much to sing, but what he does sing is great. Franca Sacchi is a good La Cieca. She has strong high notes and effectively portrays her character's piety. Ponchielli wrote some wonderful music for this opera. He packed this work with numerous ensembles, some of which are very loud. His writing for the orchestra is great. He wrote a wonderful ballet, "The Dance of the Seven Hours", and his writing for the party scene in Scene Two of Act Three is scintillating. The boys' chorus at the beginning of Act Two is charming. The music depicting Laura's escape from Barnaba, played by the orchestra's string section and lasting several seconds, is very effective in evoking the flight of vessels through Venice's canals. The Gioconda/Enzo/Laura trio in Act Four is both moving and melodious.
This recording is well conducted by Gianandrea Gavazzeni. He paces the music just right. The playing of the orchestra is wonderful. Decca supplies multi-lingual synopses and an Italian libretto with English translation. The sound is very good.
Highly recommended.
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